Diez

It is hard to believe that we have been here 10 days already. We have seen a lot and done a lot, but it doesn’t feel like a week has passed since we got on the plane in Atlanta. Vacations always go by too fast.

Today we got an early start and made it all the way down to the beach we tried to reach last week, but had to forego due to the slippery walking trail. With no rain to speak of for 3 days the path was quite passable, and we were able to get to the beach (Playa Ventanas- Beach of the Winds) with little trouble.

It was well worth a second attempt!
This is one of the nicest beaches we’ve seen. The first thing we came upon were two caves, visible only during low tide, that go right through the rocks and open to the sea.

The roaring and rushing of the water makes an incredibly deep and resonant sound, which I plan to capture on my audio recorder at another time. I did get some video of the waves rushing through the caves, which I hope to upload to You Tube tomorrow.

It was a little past low tide so it wasn’t safe to go all the way through the passage, but the kids had fun walking halfway in and looking at the cave walls, which are completely submerged at high tide.

This beach also has some of the clearest water we have seen. We really enjoyed swimming in the surf, which is quieter and has no undertow.

Another part of the beach has caves carved out along the beach, and we had some fun holding up the roofs.

As the tide began to turn, making the beach harder to walk on, and more people started to fill it up, we packed up and left.

Next up was the Uvita farmer’s market, where we again got some nice vegetables and fresh eggs, and this time also a whole pineapple.

We ate at our favorite soda, Soda Naranja, which is painted green to match the color of the oranges found here, which are green even when ripe. It turns out our little friend Donne is the grandson of the proprietess and son of one of the waitresses.. All of them and a few other relatives live in the back of the restaurant. They use the kitchen for their own meals, and get their food and gaseosos wholesale. Smart!

Shortly after we got home, our run of good weather finally ran out, and we had a moderately strong thunderstorm. The clouds covered the lowlands in an eerie misty, blanket.

We made a dinner featuring food from the Market, but were stymied by the corn we bought, which was either old, or meant for roasting or popping. Samuel gave it a try but couldn‘t get his teeth in it at all, even after 15 minutes of boiling. We’ll stick with broccoli and green beans from now on.

We returned to the soccer field after dinner, where some sort of championship was being played between regional winners. I neglected to bring the camera, but next time we’ll take some pictures of these very serious players, and even more serious referees.

We have been without electricity for about 8 hours now. The power goes out for some time just about every day. It’s a reminder that this beautiful and vibrant country is still working to become modern. I hope the power comes on before my beer gets warm!