Marissa and I decided that we would go to the black sand beaches with the Violas. One of our workers, Julio and his family agreed to accompany us. Julio is married with 2 very cute little boys, they are clearly a very happy family who share much love between them. I think they really enjoyed spending time with us, even though at times there is a language barrier. We rode in the back of his truck, it was a beautiful ride with views of majestic mountains and patchwork fields.
It took about 2 hours to get there. The closer we got to the coast the hotter it got, even though we were in the truck with the woind blowing in our faces.
Julio took us to a water park called, Agua Magic. You can see the ocean from the water park. The park was similar to water parks in NJ but just smaller, and not nearly as crowded!! It was really nice and the water was beautiful. The kids had a good time riding down the slides and Kate and I relaxed in the wave pool...the waves were the perfect size. We did notice, however, as the day went on it got hotter and hotter....and hotter. We decided to walk to the ocean through the black sand with our flip flops on, but when the sand hit your feet it felt like a first degree burn..it was hot!! We waded for a few minutes, and then decided to head back to the park. The ocean was beautiful, and we were on a private beach with almost no one on it. You could look down the coast and see very crowded beaches that would remind you of Seaside Heights on a hot summer day. Lots of people swimming, sun bathing and I believe drinking the national beer, GALLO.
We hid in the shade for a bit then hit the water again, and then figured out if we curled up next to the pool wall we were out of the sun...lolol. Did I say how hot it was?? Sunburn was apparent by the end of the day.
When it was time to go we all jumped back in the truck and headed back. We stopped in a small town to buy Ceviche. I would say it is fish stew, and I was not having any. The town was interesting, lots of coconut stands, shark jewelry and small bottles of a golden color liquid which we thought was moon shine, but found out it was shark oil. The oil apparently does something for the lungs.
The wind was battering our faces and we noticed a dark cloud so we put on rain ponchos and hid our faces in the ponchos. The few times I peeked out my face was pelted with what felt like tiny little pebbles, and lets not talk about my butt sitting in the back of that truck:)
To say it was an attack on all senses is to say the least, however the time spent with good friends is valuable. We had many laughs and made some great memories.
We arrived home and everyone was exhausted, time to rest and prepare for what lies ahead this week. We are planning to volunteer at the school. We are building quite a library at the school and I want to get it organized so children can check out books and practice reading at home. That is going to be a whole new experience!!! Looking forward to it!!
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