Mi amor, el oceano

Today's activities involved beach and ocean -- that's my kind of day! We drove to the "other side" of the island intending to spend the day swimming and snorkeling. It's gorgeous over there. Definitely one of my favorite places on earth.
The wind had other plans, though, because the waves were far too strong to do any swimming. Check out those waves!
I waded in once. (How could I resist?) But I wasn't even up to my waist, and the waves were almost knocking me over! It was far too strong for us to do any actual swimming.
So, instead of swimming, we went tide pool exploring. The other side has several long stretches of sand, but it also has lots of rocky areas. The water slowly erodes the rock way, and when the waves are strong, like today, the tide pools form. Some of the rock is relatively smooth, but much of it is like this. You have to look carefully before taking every step!
We saw lots of baby fish, crabs, and a couple sea urchins. Here's a large crab.
We also happened to be in the right place at the right time and saw an area of rock with two blowholes! (They are near the middle, toward the left in the photo below. Click on it to see a larger version.) They were super cool. I wish you could have heard it when the water shot through them. It was so loud!
We got up (probably too) close, and I took a couple videos. Here's a short, funny one when an extra huge wave sprayed us pretty good.

Of course, you know I like to give accurate descriptions, so it's only fair to also show you a couple photos of all the trash that has washed up on the beach. Most of it is plastic of some sort -- water bottles, lids, bags, etc, but you would be surprised at how many shoes there are! Usually they are sandals, but I actually saw a high heel today.
We really wanted to swim, so we headed back over to the west side of the island and visited Playa Corona, our favorite beach bar. After fajitas and some guacamole, we went into the water for some snorkeling. You only have to get up to your knees in the water and you'll see fish.

Of course, I saw a barracuda. I'm pretty sure I must smell like barracuda food or something. However, unlike the past several times, Dave saw it too. And I got a photo! Nasty looking sucker, isn't it?
I had a pounding headache most of the morning -- I think I was dehydrated -- and breathing through a tube didn't help matters much. So, after snorkeling we headed back to the inn and relaxed for a few hours. And in case you're wondering, yes, I drank A LOT of water this afternoon.

Tonight we ate at a lovely little restaurant called Kinta. Imagine a Mexican Kelly Jae's and you'll have a good idea of what it was like.
The restaurant was mostly outdoors and had a funky ambiance to it. The presentation of the food turned everything into a work of art -- very cool. We both ate things that we normally wouldn't have, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Dave had a cumin black bean soup with avocado, along with grilled scallops and cilantro rice. I had a salad (lettuce, carrot, red onion, and goat cheese) with a hibiscus-balsamic vinaigrette dressing, and then I had a chile relleno (poblano pepper stuffed with vegetables and cheese). Everything was delicious!

We bought some coconut ice cream tonight at the grocery store (as if the mango sorbet weren't enough, huh?). It's amazing! We also bought more hazelnut-chocolate candies. (And I'm eating one right now!) Here's an update from Dave:

Dave here. as you can see from the pics below. I found a pair of sea shell lips. also i am working on my survivor poses with the bamboo stick that washed up. I missed putting sunblock on the back of my legs and a spot on my left arm. They are pretty red and its the first day UGGGG! I am worn out and it wasnt a rough day. I also snorkeled today. I always want to breathe in thru my nose so i wear regular googles and have a nose plug. I got into the water today, put my flippers on, put my goggles on, snorkel tube in my mouth, ready to go, right? Wrong. not only did i forget my nose plug at the hotel, I also forgot I needed one. head in the water, things look cool, I take a deep breathe sucking in thru my mouth and, thats right, thru my nose also. Man was that ever nasty tasting fresh ocean water all up in my nose and down the throat. That was just about the end of snorkeling today. I stuck it out though and did a little more. Well thats it for me. Dave.