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Playa Blanca and the Sand Flies
Entry 9 of 64 | show all | print this entry |
On Monday morning, after a long sleepy Sunday, Rory and I decided to go to Playa Blanca with our friends Allert, Jessica (Swiss), and Gucci (French). We took a taxi to this shaddy market where people were trying to sell us all sorts of interesting looking breads, fried rings of what-not and fruits that were all the wrong colors. A man came running up to us saying "Playa Blanca?" and we followed him to his boat. He told us it would be leaving in 10 minutes and Playa Blanca was the first stop. Awesome. Or not. An hour and 15 minutes later we finally departed for the sea. I guess 10 minutes Colombian time is much longer than expected. At this point we were all hot, sweaty and completely annoyed, but as the boat started to move the mood lightened and by the time we reached the beach we were all smiles and laughter.
The boat ride took about 45 minutes and landed us at this beautiful white sand beach with crystal clear water. There were no buildings insight except for little open air huts lining the length of the beach. We were immediately harassed by locals asking us if we wanted fruit, back massages, beaded necklaces, or fried something-or-others. As we slowly but surely got rid of these pesty creatures, we found a little place called Christina's that would give us a tent and hamocks to sleep in for the night. We started off the day by ordering some lunch which was served about 2 hours after ordering, another long annoying wait. Later we realized that all restaurants serve breakfast, lunch and dinner at a specific time. Considering there is no electricity and they are cooking by fire it makes a lot of sense. The meal consisted of a whole fried fish, caught fresh that morning, rice, salad, and french fries. It was delectible!
The rest of the afternoon was spent lying around on the beach, taking frequent dips in the warm calm water and rolling joints with the pot we bought from Christina. Nice work Christina. In the evening we decided to try another spot for food and walked down the beach to Hugo's. Hugo served a mean Pina Colada for about $4, although the dinner menu was much the same. Surprisingly though, the fish was 10 times bigger and had to be split us between the 5 of us. I could live on fried fish for the rest of my life, so yummy! As the sun slowly fell behind the clouds and then below the ocean, something unexpected turned my mood from satisfied and relaxed to edgie and grumpy. Sand flies.
I wish someone would have told me about the awful sand flies on Playa Blanca, although I still would have visited the island but I may not have spent the night. Once again my legs are completely litered with bites, this time smaller and red, but itch 10 times worse. As I sit here today I continue to itch and iritate. Can't a girl catch a break!!
The night sky over Playa Blanca is something I've never experienced before in my life. The moon was so bright and the light reflecting off the water lite up the white sandy beach to a point where candles weren't even necessary. The water was warmer than the air and calm as could be. We all went for a late night swim to enjoy the moment which was incredible romantic. Too bad Rory and I weren't alone. After the swim we dried off and headed back to our tent to get away from the sand flies.
The next morning we pretty much did the same thing as the day before, starting out with a joint and then a plate of fruit. Sun tanning, swimming, sun tanning, swimming, ordering lunch (10:00am), sun tanning, swimming, sun tanning, swimming, eating (1:30pm). The only difference was this day we ordered lobster for lunch. So Hugo went out in his kayak and 15 minutes later came back with about 10 live lobsters!! We each got three on our plate with all the sides and it only cost us $10!! Rory was in heaven. Fresh caught lobster for lunch - makes the day perfect.
At 3pm we took a boat back into Cartagena and immediately showered. I'm not sure how people live on that little beach all year long without electricity or running water, but they love it and swear by it. Not for me. I need a little more action in my life as I'm sure you all understand.
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