El Mina (by Leandra)

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It was a long journey with a happy ending that took us to the most beautiful place ever. Ironically called Coconut Grove Beach Resort and situated between a fishing village of 20,000 inhabitants and the Gulf of New Guinea (the other side of the Atlantic Ocean). Driving through El Mina, you’d never think you’d end up in paradise, but there we were, nestled in our own little paradise, flanked by poverty and the ocean, old slave castles and delicious red wine. We needed this place. We needed to sit under cloudy skies and look at the ocean from the pool before eating incredible red snapper (without head or tail) with papaya salsa and salted steamed vegetables. We were spoiled for two days. Had hot showers and (almost) constant power, too much air conditioning and no “group meetings.” So you can imagine the feeling of climbing back on the bus to travel five hours to what has been described as “much less luxury” than even the university chalets we resided in for the past three weeks. But we’ve grown used to such “deprivation,” so El Mina was extra-sheer privilege-and we all knew it as we spent our second and last morning eating our incredible continental breakfast looking at the ocean, relishing our final moments in paradise, knowing that in three days, luxury will be ours for as long as we want to stay in the comforts of our homes in the land of plenty. Because even when we don’t have plenty, we have more than most. Even when it’s not paradise, it’s food and shelter and warm clothes and education…and love. Mostly love.

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