Friday, August 7, 2009

What If A Great Wave Should Wash Us All Away?

Bright and early on Saturday morning, four other volunteers and I headed to sunny Tunco Beach in El Salvador for a relaxing weekend. We went in style, having air conditioning in the shuttle for the first time since arriving in Guatemala.

We got to our hotel, which was a very cute little place on the beach with a pool, hammocks, and a great view. After some lunch, we went for a dip in the ocean. In the ocean there is this huge black unusually shaped rock, which was visible from anywhere on the beach. It seemed to give this beach its character.



El Salvador is known for its surfers and there was no shortage on Tunco Beach. One of the most entertaining parts of the weekend was watching the surfers catching the waves.


After some time in the ocean and in the pool, I lazily slept in a hammock for a few hours while soaking up the sunlight; the definition of relaxation.


Unfortunately, my relaxation time ended when I woke up and saw Stan, one of the volunteers I went with, being carried up the stairs leading to our hotel. He looked absolutely horrible.

Apparently, he had swum out too far and the tides kept pulling him farther and farther away from shore. He yelled for help, and another volunteer who happened to be down by the beach, was able to get the attention of a man who swam out to help. This man was an oyster fisher and had flippers on to help him swim. Luckily, he was able to rescue Stan and bring him back to shore. He was freaked out, but he was okay. He was a trooper and even made it out to dinner that night. Here we all are after a delicious dinner.


While at dinner, it rained like crazy, but we got to see another amazing lightning storm. It seems each time I am by the water a lightning storm has happened. They are seriously amazing to watch.

My favorite part of the weekend was the new people I met. While in the pool I started playing with some kids and we became fast friends. They were here on vacation from Mexico City visiting their grandparents who live in El Salvador. The little girl who was five, Carla Rebecca, and I bonded over the fact that we had the same middle name. The boy, eight year old David, and I practiced headbutting balls in the pool together. Here are my new friends Carla and David.


I also talked to their parents and grandparents. Their grandfather comes to the states often for work and wanted to practice his English with me, which was very good. I wanted to practice my Spanish with him. We were having a conversation back and forth while he spoke to me in English and I answered in Spanish. It was quite amusing.

I also made another friend this weekend. We found him in our room...


The weekend ended with more time in the ocean, hammock, and pool. Out of the two beaches I visited, I far prefer El Salvador to Monterrico. The beach was prettier and much easier to swim in, the town and hotel were nicer, and there wasn’t even a comparison on the food. The seafood at El Salvador was incredible! Two days there was not nearly enough.

Love,

Julie

“Pig” –Dave Matthews Band

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