Columbia Day 9

Today was a beach day! There are lots of beach tour packages in the area. We opted to go with the most economical because it gave us the most time at the beach and included lunch all for the low price of $40,000 (about $13 so you don’t need to dig out your currency converter). When you can find transportation to a beach over an hour away for that price why do more research? Of course, it was a bit of a mad house trying to figure out which corner of the plaza we were supposed to be on for the bus. People kept dragging us all over the place, and it was so hot–even at 8 o’clock in the morning. But obviously, it all worked out.

We made it to the beach, and then we paid $40,000 (yes, the same as the whole trip) for our umbrella and 2 lounge chairs–there is an upcharge if you want 2 lounge chairs.  I managed to negotiate down from $50,000 but I was too hot after walking from the bus to our designated spot on the beach to haggle any further.  They were prime chairs because the people next to us ended up laying directly behind/underneath them.  

And then we spent the rest of the day floating in the Caribbean ocean.  It was glorious. The sand was white. The beach was narrow, but stretched for a mile or so. The water was warm, and fairly clear. It had a green tint.  The water got a little wavy, but that may have been because of the massive number of jet skis for rent and the banana boat which also covered up the smell of salt water with gas fumes.   And it was crowded with people, but we didn’t care. 

I am not sure how many massages I turned down, but I turned down even more “pearl” and “coral” bracelets.  All too soon, it was time to head back to the bus.  Just one problem, the guide couldn’t find the bus. Now it doesn’t make much sense to me at all why he didn’t have the bus drivers phone number to call him. He walked all over the muddy parking lot in the blistering heat looking for the bus, and then to the next lot. All the while we stood there in the sweltering sun literally sweating out sunscreen. Finally, the parking lot attendant said there was an accident on the road, but the driver would be there soon.  The way I look at it is that we could have had an extra half hour on the beach instead of wasting a half hour in a muddy parking lot, but oh well.   The beach was still great. 

Love,

thetwinsontour