Sun and Sand
Trip Start
Aug 01, 2007
1
24
39
Trip End
Sep 16, 2007
Monterrico,
Guatemala
Friday, August 24, 2007
I left San Pedro for Monterrico via a convenient shuttle. I wasn´t feeling up to a chicken bus adventure. Before I left i left behind a bag of loose tea i had bought while I was there. Even though the tea leaves are different than pot leaves, my desire to have any issues while crossing boarders was less than none.
The drive to the coast was uneventful except for crossing a river. Nobody said anything about crossing a river on an unstable wooden barge. (The bridge was apparently only 80 percent complete.) We pull up to the water´s edge in a minivan and wait. I´m thinking, ´why have we stopped? are we waiting for something?´ About 5 minutes later a flat wooden barge like thing powered by a little motor pulls up in front of us
Coconut Tree
. The minivan precariously drives up two wooden planks, one plank for each wheel, and parks itself on the barge. The barge looks like it can only keep a float one car, at most. To my horror, about 5 other cars drive on to the barge. I do not think that I terrify easily, but i was gripping the car door until my knuckles turned white and I think I almost hyperventilated. We cautiously were steered across to the other side. I definitely thought we were going to sink. I know, i know they are use to crossing the rushing river. However, I was not use to crossing a rushing river on a piece of wood with a motor attached to the back of it.Eventually, I got to Monterrico and found a place to stay. Monterrico is beautiful with black sand beaches and a line of very powerful surf. Additionally, Monoterrico includes a turtle nesting group and mazes of wetlands.
The small town was fairly deserted, as things don't get busy until the weekend. Monterrico is where the relatively wealthy Guatemalans relax on the weekends. Many of the Guatemalan families arrive either late Friday night or early Saturday morning to spend the weekend by the beach.
After a late breakfast, I spent the afternoon in a hammock with a book. Tough life, huh? Later in the day i met up with a girl I had dinner with in Antigua and a friend of hers. Diana and her chain smoker Danish friend. The chain smoker Danish went through 9 cigarettes in the course of 3 hours! I tried to stay away from the smoke, but it is hard when every body around us was smoking also. ( I miss the no smoking in public areas rule of California.) The two girls were nice enough and we had dinner
Coconuts
. During dinner, I thought I had successfully avoided being eaten alive by mosquitoes. But to my great displeasure I found giant red welts all over my legs and ankles. I was some family of bugs breakfast, lunch and dinner. They don't itch terribly, but aren't that attractive either.
By the end of the evening, some locals had come and a game of volleyball started. I watched by the side lines and attempted to talk to some of the children in Spanish. The kids were from Guatemala city and had been coming to the beach every summer for as long as they could remember. It was nice seeing the different families playing in the sand and the children covered head to toe in black sand.
