So…We woke early the next morning, had coffee and headed to the beach for a pre-breakfast walk. The “teams” are at it again. They have just started to pull the net in. You can tell because the birds are circling overhead. We hurry to see the catch. Huge. A couple of string-rays (again) and thousands of fish. Pelicans get some. Black turkey buzzards get some. All on the team take home plastic bags full.
We try to ask how they divided up the catch, how they are related and what do they do with all the catch, but very little of our English is understood. Only smiling people looking back at us. Back to #11 for breakfast and to prepare for a relaxing morning on the beach. As this is our first beach trip for the year, we can only handle so much sun in one sitting. Time for more beers and a little break. We get in the car and drive to the mini super or bodega, which is about 5 minutes from #11. You can get eggs, 35 cents beers, rum, Spanish wines, bug spray, coffee - you know - the important stuff. We only have a one hundred dollar bills and 4.25 in change.
Today, they cannot make change, so we get 8 beers, 4 eggs for $3.40. Just what we needed. When we drive back to Las Sirenas, I see Mr. Inez. He is sitting in the same spot as when we checked in. He seems to oversee the other workers that do yard work, collect trash and exchange dirty towels for clean ones. He’s good, but no English at all. I tell Tracy to stop. I will see if he can make change on the $ 100. Tracy chuckles and says “Good Luck.” I walk over to where he is sitting. It’t outside the cottage that says “Recepcion”. He looks at me. I hold up the one hundred dollar bill and say “make change” and “picito”. He looks at me, then at the bill. Takes it. Looks for the magnetic strip, making sure it’s real. Then opens his check in log book, there’s money in the pages. He counts out 5 $ 20 bills. Perfect. As I get in the car, Tracy says “Pretty Good”.
Late afternoon and we are ready for some air conditioning. A shower and ceiling fan feel really good. A pupu platter with apples, nuts, chirizo and leftover cheese from the restaurant and a white Spanish riojas wine. For entertainment, we have brought along a portable dvd. We rented Borat and the series WEEDS - first season. We sit on the back porch, looking at the dvd and relaxing well into the evening. The bedroom is the only room with actual air-conditioning. The kitchen/living room and the back porch have ceiling fans. The bedroom keeps just above freezing.
It’s really easy to sleep. We are so spoiled.
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