I kind of like this place.
That is definitely my impression after having been here a couple of weeks and finding our rhythm. As I sit writing this blog I can hear the music rolling down the main road from yet another gathering getting prepared for the day. It appears there is some type of martial arts competition going on today at the beach. The previous two days were beach volleyball and of course the daily futbol (soccer) games on the beach. The overall atmosphere is very positive here and everyone is very accommodating to everyone else’s activities.
Karen and I have started our morning runs on the beach again and it is wonderful. Especially at low tide, it is almost surreal the amount of beach you have to yourself.
We have our daily routine of shopping for food and supplies. The local market has an interesting selection of fruits and vegetables. The bakery we have found sells outstanding loaves and other treats. The shopping for meat I find the most entertaining as we (due to our lack of spanish language skills) stumble through communicating with the butcher how we would like our selection of meat cut. The man has amazing patience and a sense of humour.
The fish market is an event in itself. For 70Cordobas ($2.70US) per pound you get very fresh snapper. Be prepared though, because you get the whole fish. Ours was 5lbs all in, but don’t worry, you get it all. We watched in wonder as the fish monger removed the head and filleted it for us right there. Then proceeded to bag up the fillets, head, tail and bones and hand it to us with a curt nod. Never having been in possession of so much fish parts I am now looking forward to learning how to make fish stock. Should be entertaining, we will probably need another litre of wine from Sanchez for that project.
We have found a nice bar on the beach that is the perfect place to recover from all that walking around in the heat getting our shopping done. Everything in the photo below is 120Cordobas ($4.60US)
On Monday Karen and I tried our hand at surfing. Fantastic experience with a great company, http://www.sanjuandelsursurf.com . Dario and staff did an excellent job of instruction and keeping us safe. The video pretty well sums it up. The only thing it doesn’t show is the sore muscles and stiffness for the next two days.
The other activity we have undertaken so far is the hike up the south hill to check out the sights from the statue of Jesus.
The views from up top are well worth the effort. But be warned it is a hell of an incline to the top. Made for an awesome hills repeat workout later in the week.
Very much looking forward to the coming months here.