Going to the beach, we think
Son of a Beach
July 10, 2014
We woke up around 8 am, rolled out of bed, ate some egg grub and got ready for the beach. Life is difficult when you are in beach bum mode…NOT!
The owner of the hostel, Joseph, asked us if we were going to the playa ( that means “beach” in Spanish). His English is non existent and our Spanish is poco- poco, but we are able to communicate. He offered to take us to the beach instead of having us walk. We quickly said yes and took off in his Mercedes SUV (super nice car…I want one). Well, we thought we were going to one beach and he ended up taking us to another one (turns out it was the same beach, but we were confused with the direction). He drove us 4km away, through a secluded jungle like road and dropped us off on the side of a trail and told us to follow the path. Uh…ok.
We walked on a wood plank, tree covered path alongside a river. The path dead ended into an over- grown trail which opened up onto a river bank which met the ocean. We were walking through the river to reach the other side of the sandy beach when we heard deep barking. We saw the trees and shrubs shaking and heard massive barking and then appeared three huge white dogs, all about the size of bear cubs weighing close to 200lbs. They came pounding down the side of the hill heading straight for Abby. Ahhhh! I’m freaking out. I’m half- way in the water, surrounded by rocks and Abby is 20 feet ahead of me about to get torn apart by these massive bear dogs. Should I videotape the proceedings or start to throw rocks? My mind was torn. Abby was looking at them running towards her and at me and she was telling me to remain calm as I’m going to a) pee my pants b) close my eyes so I don’t have to see her pulled apart c) gather my momma bear courage and go after them. Ya…all of these thoughts were going off in my head at once.
Abby talks calmly to the dogs as they rush her. And then they stop. Look at her. Wag their tails. Want their heads- the size of boulders- to be scratched and then turn and bark at me!
The two smaller calf size ones are puppies and the mom is watching both her pups and us suspiciously.
Well we make our way onto the beach flanked by the welcoming committee. They escorted us down to the water and then watch as we continue to walk away. We were super happy that we were left intact.
The beach is beautiful. Thousands of shells lay on top of the sand. We have a mile of white sand to ourselves. We found a cove that protected us from the wind and we laid out on the beach to enjoy the sun. Two hours later, a mom, grandma and two little girls came. They laid their towels right next to ours. A mile of empty sand and they are right next to us. I could have held hands with the grandma if I chose to.
Time for us to go. But first I went to the waters edge. I looked down and found a beautiful shiny black shell. My perfect unique Camino shell that I will turn into a necklace. Then we set off to find our way out. We walked and walked and walked through over- grown trails and up and down tree root paths. It took us almost a hour to walk back the 4km.
But who cares? We are beach bums. We have nothing but time on our hands and a large bottle of sunscreen to use up. We like this Camino adventure.
My Way on the Hwy 
That’s so true Mormon Soprano. I can go to an empty theatre and someone sits down next to me,behind me or right I front,same in a restaurant when I find a nice out of the way table where I can eat & read,but even worse is when there is a large restroom and I go to the most isolated stall for reasons I won’t say, and darn someone takes the one next to me even if ten others are empty! Thanks for the photos Shawna The ferns are wonderful. I can’t imagine an empty beach.
The bear-dogs story made me laugh. Thank heaven they ended up being friendly! I also have to laugh about the lady who decided to put her towels right next to you. What’s up with people like that?! It always happens to me in a movie theater. We will be like the only people there, and two people will come in and decide to sit on our same row next to us. I always want to lean over and say “Really?!” I mean, don’t they have any desire for personal space? Maybe it’s just our magnetic personalities, Shawna. People [and dogs] are drawn to you! They can’t help wanting to be near your energy field. That must be it. 🙂
There I would be on the early morning Hawaiian Beach… Anyone of many–… Emptiness in all directions… A bit of heaven! But EVERY TIME a couple would walk onto paradise…walk straight toward me, and set their Hello Kitty towels and other misc beach goodies right on top of me! It happened day in and day out for years! They offered no communication or greeting… Just carried on as all was well in their world. I would scan up & down the long lengths of empty beach! But after many a month, I found out that some just need to be “with you” no matter what! My Lifeguard friends told me not to feel special… It was just the Norm for certain people[s]! I stopped trying to make any sense of situations … & just made My Move to another beautiful area… Gotta know the battles you want to fight… Life is too short – – :oD
Love You Girls! XXXXXOOOOO Girls Just Want to Have Fun!!! – – so do it!