Yesterday, we awoke early in order to take full advantage of the beautiful weather. Moo, my dad, and I trekked down to stuff ourselves with a hot breakfast--only to find that THERE WAS NO FULL BREAKFAST ON WEEKDAYS. JUST FRUIT.
me tryna keep it together
So, I had some more granadilla like the ~local~ that I am plus tons and tons of sweet pineapple that tasted almost Hawaiian it was so delicious, then three-fifths of the Stod clan walked on down to the beach. We tanned and read our books until Si and my mom joined us an hour later.
Si, Moo, and I were desperate to go paddle-boarding (even though we aren't exactly experts or the best balancers), so we rented a few out from the hotel. We were super excited!!!--until they warned us about the sea snakes.
wut
THEN some of the beach-goers pronounced with all-knowing looks that these snakes were deathly poisonous.
WHAT
Absurd!!!! I wasn't about to die for some physical exertion, so I was all ready to check those boards back in. Just as I was dragging the board back up shore, when we got the "all clear" on the sea snakes. Apparently, they're so tiny, the only place they can latch on to you is the skin between your thumb and forefinger. As long as you don't let them grab on, you'll be fine.
basically
We honestly all thought that keeping our hands out of the water wouldn't be too difficult; however, our terrible balance meant we were constantly falling. Our fear was not assuaged at all by Si and Moo's spotting of a snake in the water next to us!!!
one of the few moments I was able to stand up
We ended up getting distracted by a vendor walking along the street selling homemade bracelets and anklets with seeds from the beach and imported turquoise. We each bought two.
the babe of a seller himself
We ran up to the beach club's restaurant to get some lunch before going snorkeling. Although our waiter promised our meal would only take twenty minutes to prepare, it ended up taking more than an hour to get our food. We were like--
Especially when my dad realized his lasagna didn't even have noodles--it was just cheese and veggies.
After lunch, we headed out to a catamaran (this cool raised boat thing) that would take us to the coast of a small, uninhabited island to snorkel. Honestly, though, I think my favorite part of the entire day was just laying on the deck of the boat with my sisters, soaking in the sun.
Snorkeling, though, was pretty fun, too. We saw a stingray, a lionfish, and a prickly fish, and we even got to pet a blowfish! Fun stuff!
We rode back to the mainland at sunset, and I think it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.
The gold and the navy--stunning combo
The sky was perfectly violet!
Tan or tomato, you decide
This has probably been my favorite part of the trip so far. I don't know if it was growing up in a close-ish proximity to the beach, or perhaps it was playing water polo for four years, but I feel most at home on the water. I think I may just retire onto a boat, or sail around the world in a few years, or maybe just live as a mermaid. Any of those options would work for me.
The night finished perfectly with an early screening of The Bachelor #TeamOlivia
This morning, we woke up bright and early to go white water rafting!!! It literally took three hours of driving in four different vehicles to get to the river--but it definitely ended up being worth it. Rivers are scaled from Category 1 to Category 5, and the river on which we were travelling was about a Category 3--didn't stop me from screaming like a lil child at every slight turn.
However, my anxiety was validated when our raft flipped going over some giant rapids--TWICE IN A ROW.
Me, Si, and Moo
The ride was such a blast, especially with our awesome guides. It took us another few hours to get back to the hotel, and we just about passed out after our return. We've been relaxing and watching TV as a fam for a few hours, and Moo and I are now watching my fave movie in the whole wide world.
Tomorrow is our last full day in the country--should be an amazing one!!!!
Sunkissed and Content,
Aubrey
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