In developing countries such as Colombia it seems people go about their day in accordance to the sun. Whatever time the sun rises people start their day, and when the light is gone the day is done. I’m not exactly sure when the sun rises as it was up every day when we woke but I can tell you it sets at about 6:30pm. Sleeping outside in a hammock we woke with the sun at whatever time that was. Our guard dog was still around and we chatted with the woman we ran in to a few hours earlier during the whole theft episode. We got a little understanding of how people lived on the beach and she commented on how white I was. I also discovered that my sunglasses were missing. They were presumably taken at the same time as my little bag but not returned. I don't like to spend more than $50 on watches or sunglasses so it wasn't a huge loss other than the fact I was standing on a beach with little shelter.
We left our packs with the three backpackers and took a walk down the beach to the far side which seemed to have a few huts or structures. Our dog friend followed us along the way. We found a very cool little establishment that had hammock huts, cabins, and family sleeping quarters around a two-story building. It was the only two story building I remember seeing on the beach. It had a cement foundation but was built with wooden poles and the same small wood strips as everything else. It was decorated with shells and coral set in the cement base which came two or three feet above ground. The second floor was an open air restaurant dining room. The tables where nice with glass tops showing beach artifacts such as coral and starfish mounted in the table. Outside lining the building were the biggest pieces of coral I have ever seen out of water. We ran in to a guy who called himself something similar to Twenty who was very nice and worked at the hotel/restaurant.
We enjoyed a very nice breakfast on their shady second floor dining area overlooking the beach. We ate what was becoming our standard breakfast of eggs with arepa. Like other places they serve it with coffee or hot chocoloate. Kirby gets the coffee, I get the hot chocolate, and she drinks half of my hot chocolate. And of course you can't forget the fresh fruit juice. I'm not even sure what fruit I was drinking while I was there. I think guanábana and granadilla might have been involved on occasion.
We decided to grab our stuff and stay at this wonderful little place we found that had no other customers. Once we retrieved our packs it was time to enjoy the beach. I’m not a huge fan of the sun being that it will kill me via skin cancer at some point in my life so I was happy to have a place to relax with a roof on this remote beach near the equator. Spending a few hours exposed, let alone a whole day, is a nightmare for me. In this direct sun I can get serious burns in 15 minutes. I have to lather up with sunscreen on all parts of my body every day a few times a day. You get used to feeling grimy before too long.
Before going for a swim I tested out my hammock while Kirby did some reading and writing. First I noticed the large bumble bees which were very interested in my wood hut. After a while they settled down and I noticed a small lizard or two running around. That must have drawn my attention to Joe just a few feet behind me. Joe is the sand crab that lived in a hole in our hammock hut. He was a good 5 inches wide with legs and 2 – 3 inches high. His body was over an inch wide and an inch high in the front but narrowed towards the back. He walked sideways but I didn’t see him walk much. I watched him for awhile as he hung out at the top of his hole. He bolted in his hole before Kirby had any chance to come near. Later when we saw him from a distance at the top of his hole he would disappear before we got anywhere near. I assume he felt us coming.
We swam for a bit. We had a nice beach area in front of our hut thingy. Other parts of the beach had seaweed and plants on the bottom. A sailboat pulled in to the bay and dropped anchor near us. Kirby and I swam out to it but I think they were passed out in the cabin. I then got stung by a jellyfish for the first time in my life. I’ve seen them all over the Chesapeake Bay and heard stories of people in pain. I knew right away what it was, it felt like a nettles plant had wrapped around my arm. Growing up in the woods I experienced that quite often. So we get out of the water and walk back to our hotel/restaurant place (that 10 minute walk fried my back). I had red spots where I was stung and they swelled a bit above my skin. It seemed to remain wet after I dried off and I’m not sure if I was just sweating in that area on my forearm or if I was reacting to the sting and seeping some liquid or what. After 15 minutes or so the stinging really died down and it wasn’t that uncomfortable.
That afternoon we decided to hike to a hill in the distance. It was a different color than the foreground and appeared to be another type of soil or rock. We were told it would take about 40 minutes. My guess would have been at least double that. We walked through the arid desert brush. There were lots of goats, trails in the dirt from small lizards, and a crab skeleton here and there. I guess a fish carried the crab over? I don’t think this type live far from the water. We passed a few families with land fenced off with their single or couple room wood house built in the middle. Along the way we made some friends when two boys and three girls joined us. The oldest could have been anywhere from 6 – 9, it is hard to pin point it now. They walked with us for about 20 or 30 minutes and Kirby tried to talk to the oldest. The locals in rural areas spoke a native language although it seemed everyone we encountered spoke Spanish. Apparently Kirby was having trouble communicating with the girl mainly because of the girl’s lack of Spanish. The girls walked very close to Kirby holding her hand at first (I noticed they weren’t so eager to touch me). After awhile the oldest stopped and they all stood looking at us. That was as far as they went. Kirby and I waved good-bye and continued the second half of the hike on our own. We saw a cemetery in the distance at the base of a ridge. The north end of that ridge ran to the sea at the end of our beach. The south end seemed to meet the ground in the area we were walking. We noticed a shallow lake on the way that was hidden from the beach. There was a large herd of goats in the area.
We were rather close to the hill we were hiking to but still not at the base when the trail turned to sand and went uphill. At the crest we came upon a surprise. We walked across the peninsula and had the ocean in front of us. We were looking at a small bay with a surf. On the left were rocks, the water was a good 40 – 50 feet down but with a nice rock plateau at the base. On the immediate left was a 150 foot wide open semi-circle in the 40 foot tall rock. It wasn’t anywhere near smooth rock but rugged sharp rocky rock with the surf pounding it. This was a place you didn’t want to in swim. But just to the far side of that was a short sandy beach. There were a dozen tourists swimming who all came from a mini-bus parked up above them at the same elevation we were at but a few hundred feet away. On the far side of the beach was the hill we were walking towards. This hill was the right boundary of the bay and was surrounded by ocean on three sides (I assume having never seen the opposite side). At the top was some type of catholic artifact we think. These are the pictures I wish I still had.
On the way back we ran in to a few guys herding their goats. They make a funny loud noise. The goats were of all shapes, sizes and ages. They herd them by voice but mostly by throwing rocks at them. This is how dogs are usually treated in the country I’m told. So we walked among 150 goats for a bit before they took a right in the road. We walked along the beach before having a dinner by candle light (electricity not available). They brought us the usual fried fish, fried plantains, and coconut rice. They added an extra fish though and we had trouble finishing it all. Twenty and his hidden kitchen crew were quite hospitable and brought us a water pan with soap at the end of our meal.
We passed out in our hammocks and were very happy to have a real hammock hut with one wall that blocked the strong steady wind. It was a comfortable night and I wasn’t complaining about having my own hammock this time.
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