This beach vacation was not exactly the same as the one I experienced a month ago, but it was just as enjoyable in its own way! We left for the beach around 2:30 Friday afternoon. We rode in the same bus we took to get here from Guatemala City, except this time we didn’t have massive amounts of luggage. Compared to the other forms of transportation that we have since experienced, this bus ride was luxury. It took us about 3 hours to get to the shore. Once we arrived, we unloaded off the bus and onto a “Lancha,” a small wooden boat powered and steered by a little motor at the back. The ride to our hotel took us though a mangrove forest. We saw a ton of Pelicans and crabs, and unfortunately trash.
When we arrived on the island, we were taken through the “streets” of the community. Everything was sand and totally secluded… definitely not your tourist location. The walk across the island was not long, and we arrived at our hotel quickly.
Although it was called a hotel, the accommodations were not anything like a United States hotel. The hallways were outdoors and the rooms were very simple. Each room had a toilet and a sink, but there wasn’t really a door to the bathroom, which was initially a shocker but not a huge problem. Each room fit 2 people, and I stayed with Marissa, my friend that I live with in Xela. Considering all we did was sleep in our rooms, it didn’t really matter what they looked like (although I did have a little fear of the cockroaches, spiders and weird worm looking thing that greeted us as we walked in).
That evening, we walked around the beach for a while. The beach is on the Pacific side, and the sand was black. The waves were also huge, I’d say about 10 feet (nothing like the Gulf of Mexico). Dinner that night was awesome! I got grilled fish… and talk about fresh fish! These fish were literally taken out of the water hours before being cooked and eaten. I have to admit I was a little shocked when I first opened the foil wrapping and saw a whole fish… skin, tail, flippers, head, etc. But, I had fun eating it! With a little bit of fresh squeezed lime and salt, the taste was amazing. I have absolutely no idea what kind of fish it was, but it was good and a new flavor.
That night we hung out just drinking and talking. There was a so called “self serve” bar. It was basically a refrigerator that was full of sodas, beer and water. It worked on an honor system, so each time you took something from the fridge, you wrote it down on your “tab.” It was very convenient and surprisingly the prices were very inexpensive (5Q for a soda, 10Q for a beer). We also walked out to the beach. Some who were very under the influence decided to go skinny dipping in the water (I’m not included in that group!). The sky was so clear that night and there was essentially no artificial light, which led to an amazing view of the moon, the stars and the Milky Way. I have never seen so many stars in my life and it was so beautiful! I tried to take pictures but they obviously didn’t turn out.
We spent Saturday day just relaxing at the beach and the pool. I woke up around 7 am and took a nice swim (by swim, I mean getting thrown around in large waves) in the water and walk on the beach before eating breakfast, which was eggs, beans and tortillas. We were warned that the bugs would be horrible, but they weren’t too bad, although I did spend the weekend layered in sunscreen and bugspray with a nice helping of sweat and sand (lovely, I know). I also used my little OFF! bug spray fan thing, which was fairly effective (I slept with that on and next to me which gave me a little more comfort from my little critter roommates, seeing as it was too hot to sleep in my protective cocoon).
We were told that lunch would be a fruit parfait, so we were all assuming an overly sweet mix of fruit and sugar. Instead, it was an amazingly large bowl of fresh fruit… oranges, bananas, watermelon, pineapple, apples. So exciting!
Later in the afternoon we took a ride in the Lancha through the surrounding mangroves. We were told we would see a lot of wildlife, but all we saw was two egrets. Oh well, it was still fun and beautiful! Before dinner, we took a walk on the beach. As we were walking we look ahead and see a group of 3 hogs just strolling along the beach. Who says hogs can’t take their family to the beach for a vacation too?!
That night dinner was the same. After dinner, we were told to head out to the beach, where there was a surprise bonfire and makings for s’mores. It was a lot of fun to hang out around the fire, look up at the stars, and hear the ocean. I’ve always wanted to have a bonfire on the beach!
As we were hanging out around the fire, a couple of little Guatemalan boys approached our group and asked us if we wanted to catch ocean crabs. A couple of us joined them and it was crazy the skill they had! We had a flashlight, but they didn’t even need it. They somehow saw the shiny eyes of the crabs and would just run after them with a stick. Amazingly, they pinned the crabs just perfectly so they wouldn’t die but get stunned. Then, the boy picked up the crab and just ripped out the pinchers so it was no longer dangerous. I held it in my hand and it was a really strange feeling… sort of slimy but at the same time prickly. Then, the boy took it back to our fire, stabbed a stick into it and stuck it over the fire. Soon, there was fresh crab meat to eat. I didn’t eat any of it, but others of our group tried it and they said it was a little gritty from the sand but otherwise tasty.
Sunday morning Rachel and I went on a nice run on the beach and we jumped in the water for a little bit once we were finished. At 9am, we had breakfast (the same beans and eggs and tortillas) and then we set out for our trip back to Xela. Once arriving, we were taken to a bakery for lunch where we had vegetarian sandwiches on whole grain bread, fresh squeezed fruit juice and watermelon. It was fantastic!
Overall, the trip was a great experience. Although not as crazy as the finca trip and not as luxurious as a Florida beach resort, it was full of moments where I just thought to myself… how cool is this?! I’m really excited to be having these experiences and seeing the land not separated from it, but really living in the culture.
Here is a link to the hotel: http://playatilapa.com/hotelrooms.htm
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