Monday, June 23, 2008

One week gone by...


Back in the same internet cafe, sadly the air conditioner doesn’t seem able to cool all the hot bodies in here today, its raining outside and it seems like everyone else in town has the same idea as we do- do laundry and go to the internet.

The past few days have been incredibly relaxing and after a week here we are finally starting to feel in the groove of things again, with life here, and each other, and our daily routine. We've spent most of the time exploring new beaches in the close proximity of our camp site. My book, short stories by Barbara Kingsolver is just a few short pages from ending; I've spent lots of time in the hammock. The soccer semi-finals have been on TV and Pollo has been watching them religiously with people from all over the world. The Russia and Holland game proved particularly noisy.

We’ve been cooking two of our meals a day at the camp sight; we found some pancake mix that is all in one just add water, so add fresh bananas and guava jelly and giggle as all the other campers envy our feast. The stove in the kitchen is more like a blow torch and a bit of a death trap to light- Pollo has take on that task and does so with a lighter attached to a 3 foot long stick. The fridge here is a nightmare, it doesn’t stay cold and things get stolen, I’ve taken to writing "pregnant Kerry’s" on all our food, hoping people will feel some kind of compassion for stealing my food, it was oh so sad to get all hyped up for grilled cheese and end up with just bread. For lunch we have been enjoying all kinds of salads, today we have PB&J with papaya planned. There is an older gent named Norman who typically shares the kitchen with us while we cook, and amuses us with his stories of traveling throughout the region.

Dinner is our meal out and we have tried almost everyplace in this little rinky dink town, but our stand by is now "Miss Sam's Soda" a tiny ma and pop cafe that serves up good (not great) plates of jerk chicken accompanied with salads and a tablespoon of spaghetti with sauce and sometimes a fried banana. They also have their own scotch bonnet hot sauce in huge jars on the table and Pollo always leaves looking like he's just come from the shower. Sam her self is very unfriendly, but the service is fast and the price is right at just 3$ per meal. Best of all they are one of the only places in town that never runs out of watermelon juice, my personal favorite!

Yesterday we rented bikes, heavy clunkers, beach cruisers with fancy seats and 3lb locks- packed up avocado and cheese sandwiches and headed out with our snorkel gear to the near by town of Punta Uva. The ride took us first through the jungle on a tiny foot path, winding our way through the trees and vines sending ground crabs running in every direction. It paralleled the beach for a while finally dumping us out the other side onto a dirt road that looked like it had a recent land mine explosion every few feet- just a little bumpy. But still with fly catchers and tanagers and parrots over head and the thick jungle canopy shading us from the sun above it was really a great ride. It was only 5 miles to our destination where another dirt food path took us back out to the beach; we rode a few hundred feet up the surf line in the waves (something new for me and very exciting) and found ourselves a little private piece of with sand with aqua blue water and coral reef lining the beach. here is the map of our route, click on the S on the screen to see the sat image http://sportstracker.nokia.com/nts/workoutdetail/index.do?id=255209 The snorkel Jesse got me a few years ago was put to use and we spotted lots of fish or al sizes, the water was a bit rough but it made for excitement as schools of big parrot fish would suddenly appear in very close proximity to our faces. Pollo gave a few shouts through the snorkel, and it was very funny to watch.

Soon afterwards we were joined by the Sunday crowd of families; they all pulled up in their trucks and SUVs, spilling kids and coolers and blankets everywhere. We worked on our tans and talked about baby names for a while, and eventually the families all left to avoid the mid day heat and we retired for a short nap to the shade of our palm tree.

The ride home seemed to go faster than the way there; we raced huge morpho butterflies the entire way, and were soon back at the campgrounds. A cold shower and a hot meal finished off the day. We sat in the hammocks last night and watched a huge tropical storm role in from the sea- lighting filled the sky and it was still pouring when we woke up this morning. All the crabs have taken refuge in their holes, drain pipes, and overhangs in the sidewalks- they look like little trolls guarding their bridges.

Today should be our last day here; we are moving on tomorrow to a town about an hour north to explore new territory. More updates soon!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Seems like a great time you're havin' :) Keep up the posting.