Here in Vietnam, the first day of summer is April first–or at least that’s what one of the locals here in Cat Ba told me.  If that was to be an April Fool’s day joke, it backfired; after spending five days on the island with nary a peep of sun, I awoke yesterday morning to that glorious ball o’ fire blazing away in the cloudless sky.  I’ve spent the last two days sunbathing and splashing in the ocean on an isolated beach that’s accessable only by an elevated footpath built into the side of a cliff.

The following pics were taken on my second day here, so there’s no sun, but it’s still breathtaking scenery even when shrouded in mist.  There are three beaches here; just follow the road below,

and if you head right, you get to the only beach with a resort on it.

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I’ve been told that not much happens here in the sleepy little fishing town called Cat Ba until the summer months, when throngs of Vietnamese tourists descend on the island, causing hotel and guesthouse prices to quadruple. 

This past weekend, however, the town was swaddled in visitors here for a festival.  Although I was told it was being held for the Miss Vietnam pageant, I’m leaning towards believing the person who told me it was held to honor Uncle Ho, as I didn’t witness any ladies strutting their schtuff on the stage set up across from my guesthouse.

Starting on Thursday, the video below shows what I woke up to every morning.  The video was clipped, as I ran outta space on my card, but you’ll get the jist. 

I’ll be adding pics and more videos over the next few days in between beach time–and wait ’till you see the pics of the beaches…absolute nirvana!