Tuesday, July 14, 2009

It's Been So Long Since I've Seen The Ocean, Guess I Should

This past weekend 5 other volunteers and I headed to Monterrico on Saturday morning. Monterrico is a tiny beach town on the Pacific Ocean and only about a two hour drive from Antigua.

Although this lazy beach town is only two hours away, the weather is drastically different. The air in Antigua is always pleasantly cool, making it feel like it’s always Spring here. In contrast, the Monterrico weather is HOT! We were all pretty much sweating the entire weekend.

We got there, found a hotel, got a quick bite to eat at a place overlooking the ocean, and headed for the beach. The sand here is volcanic and therefore black. Black sand equals burning feet! I felt like I was walking on coals while making my way into the water.



The feel of the water was much welcomed in the heat, but what I was not expecting was the waves! These were some serious waves. I was anticipating a nice calm dip in the water, but as soon as are feet got wet we were all pretty much knocked over by the force of these things! Just standing up in the ocean was a hard core workout, but it was pretty cool.

The other unique thing about this beach was the sand. I already mentioned it is volcanic black sand, but what I didn’t say is that it is the stickiest sand in the world! I’ve been the beach enough times in my life to know that you get sand all over you, but this sand was seriously the most difficult sand to get rid of. After three dips in the pool, two showers, and two days, I think it’s finally all gone.

On Saturday night we got to witness one crazy rainstorm during dinner. Once the rain subsided, we took a walk on the beach to watch the amazing lightning in the distance. It literally lit up the entire sky and ocean. It was the second lightning storm I have seen in two weeks and they were each incredible.

Sunday morning started bright and early when four of us woke up to take a boat ride through the mangroves. We had hoped to see the sunrise, but unfortunately it was a little bit cloudy. We were, however, able to view some amazing and beautiful nature as we made our way through reeds on the water. The tour was completely in Spanish, but I actually understood a little of it. Even if I couldn’t, the view was stunning. Take a look.






We spent the rest of the day sleeping, cooling off in the pool, and reading in hammocks overlooking the water. Not a bad trip for $28.

This coming weekend, I think I’m actually going to stay in Antigua. I want to hit up the market, possibly climb a volcano, tour a macadamia nut farm, and catch a soccer game. Oh and maybe sleep a little too.

Love,

Julie

"A Long December" -Counting Crows

2 comments:

  1. Very solid pics dude, I'm impressed, and in awe.

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  2. Ugh...I soooo wish I could be there. And all for $28. I seriously cannot tell you how much i LOVE reading how you are diving into this all head first. I am beyond proud of you Julie!!

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