Palm trees & the ocean!

On Saturday and Sunday I went with ten other students from ICA on an overnight trip to Playa Monterrico (Monterrico beach). It was wonderful! Monterrico is on the far east side of the Pacific coast (almost to the border of El Salvador). It was my first time seeing the Pacific Ocean as well as a black sand beach.

We were a fairly mulicultural group. Out of the 11 of us, five were from Europe (Germany, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic). It was fun learning about some countries in Europe. We discussed and compared many things from reality tv shows to appropriate beach attire. During most of the trip we spoke English with one another, which was a much needed break for my tired brain.

The trip there and back was interesting and long - five hours each way! It was both beautiful and nauseating. We rode in un micro (a large minivan) down a long, winding mountain rode. Within an hour of leaving I was already seeing palm trees! Pedro had told me the drive was beautiful, and he was right. There are mountains and volcanoes on one side of you and gorgeous green plains on the other nearly the whole drive.

A not so gorgeous part of the drive. These puddles are at least a foot deep. That makes for a pretty bumpy ride. Luckily only a small portion of the trip was like this.

We arrived around 2pm on Saturday and left at 3pm on Sunday. It was HOT. When we left Xela in the morning, I could see my breath, but when we arrived at the coast, we were all sweating. No air conditioning in the micro or the hotel rooms, either. We ate at the same restaurant four times during the trip, which was pretty funny. I had a licuado de pina colada (pineapple-coconut smoothie) every time! It tasted amazing! It was nice to eat fruit, too. In Xela fruit is very expensive, so I don't get to eat it nearly as often as I would like to.
Some students got a whole fish to eat. Yuck.
Here's the outside of the restaurant

It was interesting for me to see the different lifestyle of the Guatemalans near the coast compared to in the mountains. Even the homes are different because of the extremely different temperatures.

We tried to swim in el oceano (the ocean), but the waves were pretty intense. Actually, I 've never seen waves like the ones there! Rather than swimming, I went into the water, got knocked over by a wave, stood up, got knocked over again, and then repeated the process. I didn't even go in past my waist! Some of the guys went in pretty deep and tried to body surf, but I thought it was too dangerous. (Don't worry, I was smart.) Everyone ended up being covered in the black sand. Luckily, the hotel had a piscina (pool), too.

I'm really glad I got malaria pills before I left home because the mosquitos were really bad during the evening. I didn't have any in my room, though. On the drive back to Xela we stopped to use the restroom and one of the girls purchased a coconut from a roadside stand to drink the juice. (The Guatemalans are wonderful entreprenuers.) After she had drank the juice, one of the guys asked the Guatemalan man to cut it in half so we could eat the actual coconut meat. I had never ever eaten raw coconut meat, but it was wonderful. We had fun trying to cut it out with pocket knives in the bumpy van, too!

It was a fun trip and a good way for me to get to know some of the other students. (When we left, I didn't know anyone else who was going.) It was a much needed break from classes and studying. Here are some more photos....

This is the type of bus that the Guatemalans use for public transportation. Students call them 'chicken buses' but Pedro said that the Guatemalans never call them that. They call them camionetas. I haven't ridden on one yet.
The inside of my room at the hotel.
And the outside of my room. I was in the middle room in this building.
The incredibly wonderful hammocks!
Tim actually spent the night in the hammock, which was much cooler than sleeping in the room.

Some beautiful flowers
I took this one for Mona and Misty
Palm trees and the beach
In the crazy waves
P.S. I posted twice today. Don't miss the post underneath this one, too. There's some good photos!
P.P.S. I loved all your comments about kissing the old man! No worries, Dave. To answer a couple questions....
Cheyanne -I would be happy to share the chocolate with you, too. :)
Mom (and others) - I ended up researching the pills I bought online and decided not to take anymore. They are for too much acid in your stomach, and I don't think that 's my problem. I've been taking Ammodium AD regularly, though, and I have Tums, too. It 's been a little better. I'm trying hard not to let it ruin my fun.
Mom (again) - I'm not sure it I'll climb the active volcano, but there 's an activity this weekend to climb a dormant volcano with a lake in the top crater. I might do that one.