Adventures

Yesterday we went on an excursion with some new friends. Bob, who is building a beautiful house here, drove the six of us to a beach he had heard about. We headed off having packed up chairs coolers, umbrella etc. for our adventure. We passed by several small towns and eventually saw the sign for Puerto Suelo. It pointed to a road that was very rough and narrow, passing through mango fields and cattle pastures. When we arrived at the end of the road we were at a river that appeared to connect the ocean to the large Manialtepec Laguna that we knew was to the left of us. We looked for a path or way to cross the river. On the other side of the river we could see several huts but no one was visible. Carey whistled her loud whistle but no one appeared. John the lifeguard at our resort had told us about this beach but neglected to tell us about the river. We assumed we were in the wrong place or missed a turn and headed back the way we came. About halfway a truck was coming in the other direction and we pulled over and stopped to make room. The truck stopped and we asked the men how to get to the playa. They motioned that we should honk our car horn. Ok then! We headed back to the river and honked. Sure enough people appeared on the banks, a boatman with a canoe came across and loaded our stuff and took us across in two trips. He showed us to the beach as we walked through the tiny village. We were able to sit at a table on plastic chairs under a wide palapa. It was a restaurant and had a bathroom of sorts including toilet paper! I never travel without toilet paper. We didn't need our chairs, snorkling equipment, or umbrella. We could have purchased beer or soft drinks but we had our coolers. A pleasant women came to ask us if we wanted food and pointed to the sun to indicate when we would like to eat- now, noon, afternoon. We chose noon. "What's on the menu?", we asked. Camerones and quesidillas were the only words we caught but it turns out that was the menu including rice and hot sauces. We headed to the ocean for a swim and  were tossed and turned as we got in and out. But beyond the crashing waves it was so nice. The temperature must be 82-83F. We went back to the shaded area and enjoyed our drinks and spent a few hours there. We walked past the primitive open kitchen and toward the shore a little farther toward the lagoon. It was filled with birds and the water was clear. We were told we could swim there if we wanted. We went back to our table and lunch was served. Shrimp and rice and corn tortillas with a bit of cheese in them. The shrimp would have been caught in the morning. They were overcooked and hard to peel. I wished they were headless but in the end they were tasty and the rice was good. I didn't add spicy sauce. We stayed another hour or so and paid our bill which included the boat ride. $200 pesos or about $13 cdn per couple. We headed back with all our unused gear and were canoed back to the car. We didn't see any other villagers. I read later that five families live there and the village includes a school for the six children who live there. I wonder if they are hiring a non spanish speaking teacher-I might apply.
We returned to our condo late afternoon and after taking a shower to remove all the sand trapped in my bathing suit I went for a swim in the pool and met some more new friends! One is an artist from NYC who has built a house here. He has invited me to come and paint when his studio is set up. Quite a nice day.