Being on the beach has brought a lot more activity into our lives. We have met up with Jason and Angie and their kids, met up with our friend from last year, Jane; met a whole bunch of new people out outings ranging from a beach party at a nice condo resort, to a fund raiser for a local school. In between, we have found some time to hit the beach, and more importantly, time for my noggin to heal.
finding a minute to relax
We met the Daniels at a beach right in front of our house. They pretty much already look like Ticos, dark hair, dark skin the works. Their espanol is a little rough, but getting mucho mejor. While hanging at the beach, Me, Jason and the boys were showing off our boogie boarding / body surfing prowess, and I must say, it was very impressive, at least to us. The water down here is fantastic, extremely warm, clear and calm. It is easy to spend the whole day in it, forgetting that the sun is beating down upon your head every second.
me catching a wave as Jason looks on in awe.
Olivia showing us all how to hang ten
Me, being the wise man that I am, put my dew rag on; and me, being that wise man that I am, forget that I had it on when I tried to body surf the big Kahuana. Needless to say, after two somersaults, shorts full of sand, and salt water throughout my whole sinus cavity, I emerged without my trusty dew rag. So, uh, Schemanskis, I know you are in Hawaii, keep on eye out for a black dew rag, there is a handsome reward for its return.
we stayed in the water well past sunset.
We also made a road trip down to Tamarindo in the Daniels Dream Wagon. It fit all 10 of us. Along the way we stopped at a great coffee shop called Cafe Cafe, and the coffee was fantastic. The guy working the counter was great, a true surfer named Daniel. He also attends the church we attend while here in Flamingo.
Photo by Jace, in front of Beach Community Church
fun bridge for the hijos outside the church
We hit the board work and did some tourisimo shopping and then hit the local Auto Mercado grocery store. Tracy and I managed to spend about 44,000 colones for our shopping efforts, or about $80 in Alaskan money. I didn’t dare ask Jason and Angie what they spent, but let’s just say the dream wagon was squatting quite a bit on the way home. We have noticed that cheese and peanut butter are very expensive, while fruit and veggies are very reasonable, to down right cheap at times.
the men talking things over during lunch
We did get to see some Congo monkeys on the drive back, after stopping for some true Italian style ice cream. It was a full day topped of with a fund-raiser for a local school where we met another 300 english speaking friends. Man, vacations can be exhausting!
one of the many Congo monkeys in a tree by the road
What we learned:
A great way to inject salt water into every orifice of your body is to body-surf.
A great way to inject sand into every part of your body is to body-surf.
A great way to have the experience of being in a washing machine is to body-surf.
These people know how to put on a potluck!
The monkeys that bark like dogs are called congos, not manos, and they travel in families and the big one is the dominant male. Thanks shirtless, extremely overweight man smoking a cigarette and interrupting our wildlife viewing experience for your un-wanted and un-requested monkey facts.
sigh, another sunset
and another
another
last one
Examined this site, the details would be an asset to so many people, I will be spreading the word. Thanks