Caribbean charm in Cahuita

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Day 200: The Caribbean Coast

Arriving at Cahuita's brand spanking new bus terminal mid-afternoon, I walked in the direction of the beach looking for somewhere to stay, ending up at a lodge that's only about ten metres from the sea. On the downside, nothing seems to work in my room. The electric cable going to the shower to provide hot water looks like it caught fire a while ago, the fan is thick with rust and dust, the plug socket is hanging out of the wall, and the toilet flush doesn't work. All of this is easily compensated for by the fact that I have the room to myself with a double bed and I can hear the sound of the sea with my door shut. I'm slightly annoyed that I seem to be rather sunburnt. I think doxycycline increases your skin's photosensitivity. Either that, or my suncream isn't the factor thirty it claims to be! Never mind, I'm sure I can cope with spending tomorrow in a hammock under a shady palm!

Rather tired, I walked into town (about fifty metres) for an early dinner. Not eating fish or meat means that I do miss out on a lot of the traditional creole cooking, so I settled for vegetables, rice and beans, before retreating to my little room, to be lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves outside.

Day 201: Taking it slow

Still a bit frazzled from yesterday, I made an effort to stay out of the sun today. Activities were therefore limited to visiting one of the local cafes for fruit pancakes, and then later cheese omlettes, sleeping in a hammock under a palm tree, and sitting on my balcony, reading, drinking fresh pineapple juice and watching the world go by. It really is a tough life.

It was another scorcher of a day, and I was quite grateful for the occasional gentle sea breeze. Opening hours in town seem to be more of a rough gestimate than actually corresponding to a timetable. I think it all depends on how the proprieters feel on the day! I was going to get my laundry done, but the washing machine in the town's laundrette was broken, and since the town's washing machine repair man isn't feeling very well today, I'll have to wait a little while!

There aren't too many tourists around it being low season and all, and what with having a room to myself, I didn't meet too many foreigners, but I did get to chat to a few friendly locals around town. Although everyone speaks Spanish, it being the Caribbean coast, a significant number of people here speak English too, as well as a kind of fusion language, which seems to be a cross between the two with a few other words thrown in for good measure to complicate things further! I think I'll stick to english and spanish!

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