full moon | Taking Our Time

Feb 23 – Even though I have no real news to report, I will now share things to do during the beach part of your vacation.

Go to the beach every morning. We walk along the shore, getting accosted every five feet by touts wanting to rent us a chair or umbrella or sell us sunglasses. Jim is a strong swimmer and wanted to swim in the surf, but before he got past his waist, the lifeguard told him, “No mas!”

Do you think the pelican sees himself as an egret?

Shop at different food markets. Jim loves to compare foods available in different areas and devise recipes that contain local flavors. Did you know that milk comes in a plastic bag here? Not refrigerated, just on the shelf. You buy eggs singly, or by the 15.

Bring home fruits that you can’t identify. Here’s a test:

The one on the left has skin like an orange, but looks very different inside. It is a lulo, or naranjilla, used for juice (with added sugar), but considered too sour for eating out of hand. We juiced it and found it orangey and delightful.

If you thought the center fruit looked sort of like a tomato, you were correct. It is a tamarillo, or tree tomato. Cut it in half, then scoop out the dark center portion with a spoon. Jellylike, sweet and delicious.

The third one had us stumped, and Google was no help based on the outside. Was it a pear? A potato? Nothing to do but cut it open. Aha! Once we saw the inside, we immediately knew by color and aroma that we had a strawberry guava! It had lots of hard little seeds, but that didn’t stop us from gobbling it down.

Go to a different restaurant for lunch every day.

Whole mojarra, coconut rice and plantain

Engage with the street vendors. This is Jim’s favorite. He likes to ask the guy selling flip flops if he has a pair for him (pointing to his size 13 feet). The poor guy never does.

Sit on your balcony and watch the traffic below. This is a pleasure I did not expect. It is cool and breezy, and the motos and cars provide a mesmerizing hum. Watching the progress of the little yellow taxis, the mergings and turnings, is simultaneously relaxing and exciting.

Swim in the pool. No explanation needed.

Go back out onto the balcony after supper and appreciate the full moon.

An excellent way to spend a week.

Feb 3 – So, what makes a successful beach vacation? Swim, walk, eat, and repeat!

In the morning, after coffee in bed looking at the ocean, we walk along the sandy beach, then swim in the Pacific.

After lunch and perhaps a siesta, we swim in the lap pool, which we have to ourselves.

We like to watch the family of iguanas that live in the pool shed. The adults are about two feet of body plus another two feet of tail.

There is an incredibly loud bird in the nearby tree – he mimics different calls and sometimes sounds like a monkey. We are amused.

For our evening walk, we head down to the little promontory to watch the big birds gather to watch for fish.

Jan 5 – Now here’s some excitement! We were running out of food, so got up early to trek up to the Pan American Highway to reprovision at the little market. We wanted to go before it got too hot. For the first time all week, I had to put on pants and shoes!