The Caribbean Coast and a (very short) trip to Panama

After finding out on relatively short notice that the kids would have some more days off school at the end of the week, we decided to swing into adventure mode again, celebrate Madeleine's 13th birthday and take a trip to the Bocas del Toro in Panama.  This area is purportedly stunningly beautiful, laid back and offers endless opportunities for secluded beaches and any water sport imaginable.  Maybe one day we'll actually make it there.

One of the numerous banana plantations in Limón Province, Costa Rica

We were all pretty excited to venture to the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, our first journey ever to the Caribbean Sea anywhere.  We chose to avoid the route through San Jose in an effort to enjoy the backroads and not fight traffic.  The drive, scenic and occasionally completely unobservable thanks to fog and rain, took about six hours.  We were warmly greeted in Limón Province by sun, blue skies and what seemed to be thousands of container trucks hauling pineapples and bananas.  About an hour south of Limón itself, we came into Puerto Viejo and located (with the help of one of my new favorite apps, Trip Advisor) a really cool hotel just across from the beach at Playa Cocles.

Bienvenidos al Mar Caribe

We settled into our bungalow, replete with mosquito nets.  It's pretty common in this neck of the woods to have houses and buildings open to the outside and to use nets to thwart the biting critters.  Our kids were a bit concerned about being bitten after hearing of malaria-carrying mosquitos in this province.  As if mosquitos themselves aren't nasty enough.  The last time we checked, the CDC recommended antimalarial prophylaxis only for stays in Limón Province of longer than 7 days.  Hopefully our decision to roll the dice for our five day trip won't come back to haunt us.

The troops settling in for the night

We set out the next morning for the Costa Rican border town of Sixaola, down in the far SE corner of the country.  The trip was uneventful and we cleared Costa Rica immigration without difficulty and without having to pay a fee.  Fortunately we were able to drive our car over the border river on a vehicle bridge that appeared a whole lot safer than its pedestrian counterpart.  Little did we know that the true adventure began after we crossed.

Pedestrian bridge between Panama and Costa Rica over the Sixaola River

We managed to navigate the mandatory (but very cursory) $1 car fumigation, find our way to pay for the entry stamps ($3 each) and successfully locate the immigration office.  We were feeling pretty good until we tried to obtain the proper permit to drive our car into Panama.  It turns out several forms are required including copies of our passports, the registration, title of the car, proof of insurance and a couple of others.  We'd read online about what we thought we needed and gathered up all the documents we could locate.  We made some copies in a nearby shop and went back to the customs office.

As luck would have it, we were missing one:  a certificate required from the Costa Rican government allowing us to take our car out of the country.  The customs officer came with me back to our car in an attempt to locate the form in the car.  I was wondering whether an opportunity to pay a "fee" at that time would arise so we could be on our merry way.  No such luck.  At his suggestion, Madeleine and I trekked back into Costa Rica by foot to visit the Costa Rica customs folks.  They said that we could get the form, but that we had to travel back to Limón, an hour and a half away, to get it.  We crossed the border for the the third time back into Panama.  Asked again if there was any way for us to drive our car in without this form, again waited unsuccessfully for a chance to pay a "fee" to make everything good and finally gave up on our plan of driving through Panama to get to Bocas del Toro.  Instead, we ate lunch and went shopping in the not-so-stunning border town of Guabito.

Sully surveys the scene before lunch

Found plenty of sharp machetes for sale but struck out on nice Panamanian baseball bats

Fortunately for us, we'd made absolutely no reservations in Panama, had been smitten with the Costa Rican Caribbean coast and were completely free to do whatever we wanted, so long as it didn't involve us driving our car into Panama.  We briefly considered trying to find a secure parking lot for the car and some kind of bus or shuttle to Bocas but instead opted to hang out for a couple of hours and head back to the Puerto Viejo area.

A couple of observations about this experience and our brief time in Panama.  First, our kids like to ask a lot of great questions at the most inconvenient times despite the fact we sometimes just don't have answers.  Why can't we take the car across?  Why do we have to have that form?  What happens if we can't drive where we want to go?  What will we eat for lunch?  What will we eat for dinner?  Impressively, even though our plans for the next several days changed abruptly, they were able to roll with it.  Maybe some life lessons?  Second, people in Panama really seem to like baseball.  At the lunch counter we chatted with a few different guys about Major League Baseball.  Impressive with their knowledge and passion, the fans we talked with seemed to know a lot especially about the careers of players from Panama like Mariano Rivera, former Yankees pitcher.  I look forward to catching some games in Panama in the future.  Also, food seems really, really cheap.  Our lunch, including three dishes, bags of Doritos, five drinks and lunch for the guy sitting next to me was about $16.  It will be fun to come back in the future.   Finally, flying by the seat of our pants and being spontaneous doesn't always allow plans to play out as expected.  And that's just fine with us.

Fortunately, we were able to cross back over into Costa Rica without any trouble and had our passports stamped for another 60 days.  Though less than what used to be the standard 90 days for tourist visas, it wasn't 14 days.  We'll just have to travel again.

Erica lounges after a tough day of border crossing

With good fortune we found another great place to stay, this time renting a small house at Caribe Town, not too far from where we'd spent the night before.  The owners of this gorgeous spot, Jessica and Marc, are an enthusiastic and super friendly couple, she hailing from the east coast of the US and he from Barcelona.  We also chatted briefly with a guy from the UK who'd just finished the famous La Ruta de los Conquistadores (http://adventurerace.com/la-ruta-mtb/) on a fat-tire mountain bike.  Who's up for a gentle three day trek from coast to coast next year?

Our beloved Montero Diesel at our temporary abode

The next four days and nights were some of the best days ever for our family.  With an abundance of gorgeous beaches with water as clear as I've ever seen, we had a fantastic time.  Highlights at Punta Uva included sea kayaking ($6/hour/kayak), hiking out to the grave of the apparent last pirate of the Caribbean, snorkeling and chowing down on pineapple.  Our sources also told us that the most recent Pirates of the Caribbean movie was filmed here.

Henry at Punta Uva

The last Tico pirate, we hope

Madeleine soaks in the view

Punta Uva vista

Franklin, friendly seller of "Pattys", tasty empanada-like pastries filled with plantain, beef or pineapple

In the search of the killer snorkeling spot

We had the good fortune to visit the Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica (http://www.slothsanctuary.com), an amazing and unique facility.  The tour began with a tranquil canoe trip through their forest land and an impressive array of birds in addition to sloths and monkeys.  The sloths are unique creatures in their appearance, physiology, genetics and overall habits.  This was truly a great place to visit.  We were impressed by the young tour guide's enthusiasm and knowledge.  After listening to him complain about what is felt to be true by sloth "experts", we even encouraged him to go back for more school and to start a research program at his family's facility.

One of a kind, at least in Costa Rica

Buttercup manages to eat, even while apparently in heat

Such curious creatures doing what they do best

Plying the tranquil waters of Limón Province

We visited Cahuita, another nearby town, found geocaches, planted geocaches, showered in tree showers, swam and allowed Madeleine to do whatever she wanted on her 13th birthday.  At the top of her bucket list was scuba diving.  I'm pretty confident that this birthday will not be forgotten.

Our teenager!

A great birthday in late October

Though I'd not dived since my teenage years in Singapore, our instructor was able to find my PADI certification.  After an introductory course for Madeleine/refresher course for me, we practiced our skills in knee-deep water and followed this success with a dive on the reef that we swam to.  She was hooked even before we motored out to another reef a mile or so offshore.  The visibility was great, and the highlight for me, other than hanging out with my teen on her birthday had to be a cool octopus trying to hide from us.

Sully hard at work

Just like that

Who couldn't love a tree shower with a mosaic floor?

What's up with the fuzz on this insect?

This particular area of Costa Rica is also home to several of the country's remaining indigenous peoples including the Bribri and the Kekoldi, with their unique sets of traditions and languages.  We attempted to take a tour of the Kekoldi reservation and its iguana farm but there was a big meeting on the particular day we tried.  Next time, for sure.

How can you go wrong with the trifecta on this tour?

Laid back is an understatement.

Quite fortunate to be able to finally experience some of the Caribbean flavor of Costa Rica, we overcame some preconceptions and fears about this area based on reputation and what we've read online and in guidebooks.  While exercising caution and striving to be adequately savvy, another unknown entity has been absorbed into our collective experience.  And it was fantastic.  We can't wait to go back.

Expert interview (Madeleine, Henry and Sullivan): school and life in Costa Rica

The experts: Sully (6), Madeleine (12) and Henry (10)

I sat down with our experts to discuss how they are feeling about living and going to school in Costa Rica.  Enjoy!  - Erica

E: Henry, you were recognized as one of the top students in your 4th grade class, 8 months after starting school here and with everything in Spanish.  Did that surprise you?  
H: No  
E: Why not?  
H: Because my Spanish is pretty good.
E: How do you explain how you are doing so well?  
H: I study a lot.  
E: Do you have to work harder here?  
H: No, there is not very much homework.  
E: What about studying for exams?  
H: That is hard.  It takes a while.  But it is fun to take exams.  
E: Why?  
H: It is good to get them over with.  
E: Do you get stressed out when you have to take exams?  
H: A little bit.

E: Madeleine, you were also recognized as one of the top students in your 6th grade class. Did that surprise you?   
M: Yes, because at first I was expecting to get really low grades because of the Spanish.  But then I learned that the material was not too hard.  
E: What about doing it all in Spanish?  
M: It made it a little harder than in English, but there is not that much of a difference.  
E: Are you surprised that doing school work in Spanish was not that much harder?  
M: Not really.
H: No, some of it is the same material [that he had in the US].  
E: Were you surprised that you could study and take tests in Spanish and do so well?  H: No.
E: Do you think you are a more serious student than your classmates? 
H: Maybe.  
M: Definitely.  Most girls study hard, but the boys don’t.
E: Do you think your past education helps you to do so well?  
H: Yes, in math especially.  
M: Yes, but having parents here to help us study helps a lot.  Other kids here probably don’t get as much help from their parents, or their parents may not expect them to do so well.
E: What specifically in your school background has helped?  
M: Math helps.  I have done most of the material before in the US.  Especially for Spanish class; the content we have done in English class in the US is the same (parts of sentence, punctuation, synonyms, antonyms, etc).  Social studies and science are harder, because it is mostly memorizing things instead of doing things hands-on and writing about things we are learning.
E: Do you miss the writing?  You did a ton at Laurelhurst [school in Portland]. 
M: At Laurelhurst I dreaded new writing projects, but now I realize that it is good that we did so much because it is an important skill.
E: Is there anything about school in the US that you miss?  
H: Not really.  
E: How is PE here? 
H: OK, just harder.  
E: Why, because it is in Spanish?  
H: Yes, and there are not quite as many fun games as we played in the US.
E: What have you been doing in PE here?  
H: Volleyball and soccer.  
M: It’s pretty lame; we have to use tape balls for soccer and caution tape for a volleyball net.  But the PE teacher takes it very seriously.

E: Just recently we have realized that you are now able to understand Ticos [Costa Ricans] speaking Spanish better than even your dad, thanks to the many hours you have been in school listening to your teachers and friends speak Spanish.  Does that kind of make it all seem worthwhile, to be getting better at Spanish than your parents?  
M: Yes, it does seem worthwhile, because for almost everything, you guys know more, and it feels like a good achievement to be better at something than you.
H: I don’t think my Spanish is better than yours yet.
E: I think you can understand Ticos better than me.  
H: True, since I go to school every day.
E: Can you understand most of what your friends say?  
H: Yes, mostly.  
E: Your teacher?  
H: Yep.
E: Can you remember what it was like when you first started school here?  
H: I did not understand very much.
E: Do you feel you have come along way?  
H: I guess.
E: Do your good grades convince you that you have come a long way?  
H: Yeah, even though they are not very good.  
E: Top 6 in your grade not very good?!?!  
H: It’s ok.  
E: You must have very high standards.  
H: I don’t.

E: What else would be interesting about school here to your friends in the US?  
M: How everything is so laid back, and the teacher is so different from teachers in the US.  Sometimes all she does is talk about non-school stuff, and everyone is yelling and being crazy, and she does not do anything about it.
H: The food at school is a lot better here.  
E: What food do you like best?  
H: Rice and beans and fried chicken, with crema to drink [E: very sweet creamy drink - I don’t know what’s in it, and probably don’t want to!]

E: What did you think about the Independence Day celebration? [see blog post from Sept 16: http://roulierjonesroam.blogspot.com/2013_09_01_archive.html]
M: It seemed like we spent a long time preparing for it, and it was just a parade, but it was fun.  I felt special being part of it even though we are foreigners.
H: It was neat.  
E:  What about it?  
H: They celebrated a lot!
E: Did you like the faroles [lanterns] parade the night before?  
H: Yeah that was pretty cool.
M: It was kind of weird.  We have not been part of the culture and grown up with the traditions, and it does not have as much meaning to us.
E: Did Independence Day here [Sept 15] seem different from our 4th of July?  
H: There were no fireworks here.  In the US it seemed like we did not celebrate as much.
M: Yes, it seemed different here.  On our 4th of July we would get together with family and watch fireworks, but here the whole town got together and got involved.  
E: Do you think that is because we live in a small town here?  
M: The school was the center of the celebrations.  The teachers organized the marcha [honor roll members who marched in a special group] and the whole parade.

E: Do you fell completely accepted by your classmates and teacher?  
M: Yes, pretty much.    
H: Yeah.
E: Do you feel like an outsider/ foreigner around them?  
M: No, especially when I am with my friends  They don’t do anything differently around me.  
H: Yeah kind of.  I can’t tell if that is a good feeling or not.

E: Does it feel weird that your school year is about to end [early December], while your classmates in Portland just started their new year? 
M: Yes, but then I will have to start the next year [February] while they are still in school.
H: Yeah, it is weird.
E: Do you feel disoriented about what time of year it is? [I do!]  
M: Sort of, because the school year is so different, and there are not really seasons here.  In Portland, we were used to Fall being when trees changed colors and lost leaves, and in spring there are wildflowers and rain.  Here we don’t have that much change.  
H: Yeah, it seems like it is always one season here.

E: Do you feel out of touch or out of sync with your old life?   
M: Yes, because school is so different here, and when we go back to the US, people will talk about things they have done, but I will not have been there for it.  
H: Yeah kind of, but it does not really bother me.
E: Do you feel you are missing out on your old life in the US?  
H: No, not really.
M: Yes, a little bit.  
E: What specifically?  
M: I don’t know.  
E: Kind of a vague feeling of missing out, but nothing specific?  
M: Yeah. 

E: What are your general impressions of living this simpler life in Costa Rica?
H:  I like it.  It is not quite as busy.
M: It is nice, because we don’t have the pressure of going to things like activities/ sports games, but at times it is boring.  Sometimes we sit around too much.  In the US, I sometimes felt I did not have enough time to hang out with my friends, but now I feel like I have too much time, with not enough to do.

E: How are your friends here? 
M: They are good, but it can be boring when I don’t understand what they are saying.  I can’t jump into their conversations with other people because I can’t understand very well.  But talking one on one is easier.  
H: They are nice, maybe nicer than some kids in the US.

E: What do you like best right now about living in Costa Rica?
H:  The food and that it is not so busy, but the food is my favorite thing.  
E: You are not sick of rice and beans?  
H: No, I like them.  They still taste good.  

-----

[Sully was watching Monsters Inc in Spanish while I was interviewing him.]

E: How do you like school?  
S: It is good.  
E: It is getting easier as you learn more Spanish?  
S: Yeah
E: How do you think your Spanish is?  
S: Pretty good I guess.
E: Are you able to talk to your friends as much as you’d like?  
S: Yeah
E: Can you understand most of what they are saying?  
S: Yeah
E: Do you like your teacher?  
S: Yeah
E: What do you like about her?  
S: She lets us have candy.
E: Is she patient?  
S: Yeah
E: Have you learned most of your Spanish from her?  
S: Yeah.  She knows a lot of English too.
E: Does she speak much English to you?  
S: Sometime when I don’t know what she is saying in Spanish  [E: she never speaks English to me!]
E: Who is your best friend?  
S: Marcos
E: What do you like best about him?  
S: Most times he is pretty funny.  I just don’t like that he can’t play soccer because he had a surgery.

E: How was it marching in the Independence Day parade?  
S: Pretty fun, especially the drinks we got.
E: Did you like dressing up for the parade? 
S: Yeah it was pretty fun.

E: Do you think kids are different here than in the US?  
S: Pretty different.
E: How?  
S: The color of their eyes and hair and skin.  Not really any other differences.
E: Do you feel different or like you stand out here?  
S: Pretty different.
E: How?  
S: Because the other people are different, and because it is just kind of embarrassing because everyone in the school is different.
E: Do you feel uncomfortable?  
S: Just embarrassed.
E: All the time?  
S: Just sometimes.
E: Do you get too much attention?  
S: Not really.
E: Does it feel strange to be different?  
S: Pretty strange.
E: Are you getting more used to it?  
S: Yes

E: How would your friends in the US like living here?   
S: I am not really sure.  
E: Any friends who would like it here?  
S: Maybe Beck or Chase
E: Why?  
S: I bet they would want a new scene.
E: So you like having a new scene?  
S: Yes
E: What do you like best?  
S: Because it is really sunny, more than it would be in Portland.  It is also kind of fun when it is dumping down rain.
E: Are you getting used to the thunder storms?  
S: Yeah.
E: Do you like them?  
S: Yeah
E: Anything else interesting your friends in the US would want to know about Costa Rica?  
S: Probably just that the houses are different.  Some are bigger and some are smaller.
E: How does our neighborhood here compare to our ‘hood in Portland?  
S: The size.  It is a smaller neighborhood here.
E: How about the things you do here?  
S: Here if I wanted to I could probably run around the block by myself or with my friends.  It is pretty fun because I can just walk over to peoples’ houses.
E: What do you like best about living in Costa Rica right now?
S: All the friends who [whose houses] I can walk to.

---

The experts want to know what other questions you have.  Please comment here or email roulier@yahoo.com with your questions.  Thanks!

Tragedy in Arenal

Days after our failed attempt to drive to La Fortuna, there was tragedy on this same stretch of road.  We heard Tuesday that a man and his son had been carried away by a massive landslide early Tuesday morning.  The story we heard was that the man was asked to check out and photograph a recent landslide, about 10 km from our town, by the owner of the land, and he also wanted to warn a bus driver of the danger on the road.  His young son had begged to come with him, though he should have been at home getting ready for school.  While they were looking at the old landslide, a new slide gave way and buried them.  We heard that the man was on the phone with his wife at the time.  There was a huge search effort organized, with many many volunteers digging with shovels to try to find them.  The expat community organized to bring food and drinks to the 350+ searchers, and stores and restaurants donated food as well.   

On Wednesday I first learned that the boy was 10 years old and a 4th grader at our school in Nuevo Arenal.  Then when Henry came home from school that day, he told us that the boy, named Robert, was in his class.  Henry knew him from his first day of school in February, and Henry had helped Robert in English class.  Shocking.  

The search effort continued Wednesday and Thursday, and Thursday afternoon the bodies of Jeudy (the dad) and Robert were both found, lying close together.

The funeral was to be Friday afternoon, and Henry and Madeleine’s classes were told by their teachers to buy black ribbons to wear in remembrance and come to the church wearing their school uniforms at 4:00.  We heard later that the bodies had to be taken to Heredia, near San Jose, 3 hours away, for autopsy.  The funeral would be delayed until the bodies arrived back in Arenal.  We later heard that the funeral would start around 7:30.  The kids and I walked to the church and found a large group waiting around.  One of Madeleine’s classmates said he had been there for hours waiting.  Our crew was tired and could not wait much past 8.  As Sully was falling asleep back at our house, around 8:50pm, we heard the church bells ringing to mark the beginning of the funeral.  We were disappointed that we could not attend, but felt good that we had tried.

Henry’s class learned a song that they planned to sing at the funeral and again at the burial.  His class watched this video at school, in order to learn the words:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-A3ZwXIVyc

Henry was eager to find the video at home and listened to it several times Friday evening.  Apparently this is a traditional song for funerals here.  It is beautiful.

We heard Saturday morning that the burial had also been the night before, around midnight.  The condition of the bodies was not good, and they had to be buried without further delay.

At first this tragedy seemed distant, something we might hear about in the news.  Because the slide was 10 km away, I initially assumed that the people lost did not have a connection to our town.  As time passed, the sadness of the situation felt much closer.  Now I think a lot about Robert’s mom, Adrianna, and his little sister, Shandra, who also goes to our kids’ school.  To lose half of their family so suddenly, waiting over two days for them to be found, then having to go for the autopsies and then the stress and rush to finally lay them to rest.  It breaks my heart.  It was very beautiful to witness how our little town worked so hard to find Juedy and Robert.  Everyone wanted to help.  I think the family must feel very supported and must know how missed Juedy and Robert will be.

Saturday was Cultures Day in Costa Rica, and also the day that we got Nik back from his latest work trip to Portland.  In light of the recent painful events, it was better than ever to have our little family back together.  Somos bendecidos... we are blessed.

Boys wearing their black ribbons

Madeleine and friends waiting for the funeral

Remembering Robert

Cemetery in Nuevo Arenal, a peaceful resting place.

Orthodontist, road to Fortuna, Liberia & beach!

Playa Hermosa

While Nik was back in the US (work trip #4), Madeleine had her first orthodontist appointment.  The orthodontist comes to Nuevo Arenal once a month, one day near the end of the month and sees patients at the dentist’s office in town.   Nik had talked to the dentist to get an appointment for Madeleine, and the dentist was going to call me when she knew what day the orthodontist was going to come.  The last Saturday of September, I got a call from her on my cell phone while the kids and I were walking down to (what we call) the waterfront park, on Lake Arenal.  The dentist asked if Madeleine could come today, in an hour.  Short notice, but the timing was perfect!  We continued our walk, explored a bit at the park, then walked back into town for the appointment.  The orthodontist agreed that Madeleine needed braces and told me that we needed to get some imaging and dental molds done, at one of a few radiologic centers in nearby towns.  We chose the closest town, La Fortuna, and got the info to call for an appointment.  The orthodontist also reviewed for us the 3 payment options for braces, which the dentist kindly wrote down for me.  If we were to pay in full at the next appointment, the total cost would be $1160.  For 24 months.  Hello medical tourism!

I proudly made an appointment (over the phone in Spanish) in La Fortuna for one afternoon that next week when the kids did not have school due to teacher meetings (a frequent occurrence).  We set out for La Fortuna on a road that we have traveled many times.  It winds along Lake Arenal, and sometimes you can catch glimpses of Volcan Arenal at the other end of the lake.  The views are lovely, as is the jungle and steep hillsides that the road winds through.  We'd had a LOT of rain lately, and I had heard that the road had been closed recently for mudslides.  We saw many small slides that had been cleared.  Then we came across a couple of large slides that were mostly cleared, that we could pass.  Then we crossed an impressive slide that had turned the road into a muddy river.  There was a backhoe working to clear the road, but I was able to sneak past with only a brief moment of panic that we were going to get stuck.  Thank you 4WD.  Then we came to a spot with several trucks parked and workers relaxing for lunch.  One worker waved energetically, as in “go back”.   It turned out that we could not go any further.  The road was officially closed due to two large slides that we were not able to see around a curve ahead in the road.  This was only about 10km from Nuevo Arenal.  So we drove back and called to cancel our appointment in La Fortuna.  

Road to La Fortuna, normally a nice 2-lane road.

Road or waterfall?

Yikes!

We planned to go to the beach the next day, so it occurred to me that we could try to get Madeleine an appointment in Liberia that would be right on our way to the beach.  The prospect of trying to get to La Fortuna in the next week or two was not inviting.  We are at the height of the rainy season right now, so I did not think the road was going to improve any time soon, and closures would probably be very common until things start to dry out in December.  After some comical miscommunication with the dentist over the phone, we were able to pick up a new order sheet from her and get an appointment in Liberia for Friday morning.  We got an early start and made the 1.5 hour drive to Liberia with no mudslides to slow us down.  We did try to take our regular shortcut that bypasses Tilaran, goes up and over a ridge past many wind turbines and saves about 20 minutes.  But a short way up the craggy road, there was a large truck stuck and we could not pass.  So we backed down (thanks again 4WD) and took the longer paved route through Tilaran. 

The directions I got over the phone from the woman at the radiologic center did not seem to match the directions from the dentist that were printed at the bottom of the order sheet.  We had plenty of time, and we spent it driving around Liberia looking for the hospital that was supposed to be easy to find and the center that was supposed to be across the street from the hospital.  After failing to find the hospital, we came across the MaxiPali store that the woman at the radiologic center had used as a landmark in the directions she gave me.  So this time, we followed her directions.  When  we got to the point where the center was meant to be, it looked at first like a residential street and I assumed we were in the wrong place.  Eagle-eyed Madeleine fortunately spotted the small sign for the center as we drove past.  We had found it, and were even 15 minutes early.  Amazing!  The appointment was quick and easy and only cost $80 for panoramic X-ray, photos and dental molds.

We found it: el centro radiologico

After that we headed for Playa Hermosa to spend a night at Hotel El Velero where had stayed back in March.  We enjoyed the beach and the hotel’s pool very much.  We must have spent hours bobbing around in the warm surf.  So lovely!

Hotel El Velero

Snow cone cart - a fixture at Playa Hermosa

Snow cones include sweetened condensed milk, powdered milk, lots of flavored syrup
and of course ice.  Mucho azucar!!

Kebabs are also a Playa Hermosa fixture.  Yum.

Sully's beach art