Holiday on the Caribbean part 2

The next day the weather again was clear blue skies and lovely temperatures we played on the beach all day long and I was very good this year by using factor 20 sun cream and I didn’t get burnt at all. We had a surprise with the little girl as she was showing great bravery with the sea, normally terrified of the sea and screaming murder if it went over her ankles this year she was running through the waves and it was so entertaining watching her doing it and screaming in pleasure this time.




There were a few surfers and mostly American students taking their well deserved winter breaks, the waves were quite high maybe 5-6 feet and very long but breaking all at the same time, which was a pity. I went swimming in these waves and remembered not to get out of my depth this time and I found where all the beach had gone. It had been dragged out into the bay and the water was only 3-4 feet deep up to 80 meters out at sea. So it was a great time to swim and try body surfing on the big waves. The water was warm and nice maybe 75 F but again it was pretty murky with lots of leaf and wood debris in the water, but hell this is paradise who cares about a little bit of rubbish in the water.



Beach cabin, Very Pretty


For the next day we planned to go to the national park taking a picnic with us and I could try snorkelling. That night we only got disturbed once with the Italian and his escort who were dancing around the pool at midnight. The next morning I awoke to find my body was covered with large swellings mostly on my legs and hands, it turned out that the mosquitoes had been biting me a lot but only after a couple of days had they started to swell and go red, the little girl was the same but Jenny having been born here in the mosquito swarms doesn’t suffer the swelling only a little itching on the bites. We had a light breakfast of cereal again and decided to take the car to the park entrance and then walk the 5 Km into the park to reach the tip where the coral reef is, the waves were still pounding again in the bay and red warning flags were out to stop swimmers but only applies to people who can read the warnings and still some local idiots were swimming in the rough areas. The walk was nice but we were followed all the way but some 25 local kids who were making lots of noise and just being irritating.




We sat at the tip but the waves were huge across the reef maybe 6-9 foot and looking very dangerous but I was 75 yards away from that I put on my gear and tried to get out there but from the beach side it was very shallow only 2 feet and just all weed and the tide across the reef was very fast making it very hard to make any headway, so after 30 minutes of going half way to the reef and seeing nothing but weed and the very sandy sediment filled water I gave up, it was pointless and I new it I hadn’t seen a fish or anything only 1 large mollusc. I was disappointed, this reef is not worth travelling into the country for, it is far better in Belize or Honduras so I have been told. This is something I want to do 1 year with a buddy of mine, ole Keith. So we spent the next couple of hours out there looking at all the hermit crabs on the trees and beach letting the little girl enjoy having them run across her arms and she was in heaven, we saw some of the capuchin monkeys that have become habituated to the walkers and beg food from them, it looks really cute but it is bad for their behaviour. On out walk back it was getting dusk and it is all swampy and full of standing water and this means more mosquitoes. They were the most aggressive I have ever encountered, they follow along at head height and land on you in full view but are very fast to catch and kill and they were swarming and I was killing them non stop for the hour we had walking back carrying the little girl most of the way as she was lazy and wanted carrying. So I was bitten all over again and was very tired and seen nothing for my long walk to go snorkelling in the turbid waters on the only reef in Costa Rica worth going to. Once again it was that shit syndrome coming into play, the healthy diet thing was also wearing a bit thin only eating tuna and bread and little bits of other stuff so when we got back into town after the walk we went to the local tiny supermarket and bought eggs and ham and sausage for a giant fry up when we got back to the cabina. Oh lordy the fry up tasted like heaven probably the best tasting thing I had eaten in all my life well that week at least. The next day the morning was very fresh and cloudy and the waves were again huge we sat around the pool watching the girl play and get more confident with water,




the sun came out and we were roasting and the humidity was high sweat was pouring off us and to be honest I didn’t really notice it as I am used to it with working in Peru and Malabo was just as humid, I don’t know what I am going to do if I end up being sent to Russia to work for next winter. This was day 4 of our holiday and I was starting to wind down very nicely and we slept in very late maybe 8.00am and I am getting to enjoy that, we had tuna once more for lunch and I am getting to hate it. I started drinking a few more beers than I normally do and I think I am getting to enjoy or perhaps tolerate it a little better, not a good thing. We spent the next day exactly the same just chilling and eating more fried food more beer and trying not to think about my impending departure for Peru. In the afternoon another family arrived and they moved into the room next door to us and the guy was another huge Italian and was a chain smoking coffee drinking arm waving loud guy and I am not sure what the problem with him was as he spent all night in the hammock and being a huge fat guy the beam he was attached to was creaking like an old schooner, all night long snoring and creaking the goddam beam, I was so pissed off I wanted to go out and kill him, the next morning day 6, my legs were covered now in dark red patches from all the mosquito bites and I was feeling pretty lousy from having no sleep and the sky was dull grey and it was blowing quite cool for the Caribbean so we packed all our crap away in the car and drove back to San Jose, refreshed for the holiday but worn out as all holidays do to you. Ready to go into the breach once more for queen and country and my bank account. Peru here we come.