THIS is Jan. 5!!

---

Hmmm still working out the blogging woes!!! Last night we went to a fabulous Mexican Restaurant, Coco's! It was very busy, the atmosphere was wonderful and the food amazing! After a long day with sun, sand, and surf, we hit the sack early.

The morning dawned hot and sunny. We met with our wonderful hostess Karin at 8:30 as she was going to drop us off at the beginning of a trail so we could hike to a small beach and then further on to Buenvista Beach which is a neighbouring beach. We hiked through the sweltering jungle along a trail that was lined with spider webs big enough to capture a small child! The trail was well marked and we eventually came to a set of concrete stairs that took us down to a very tiny and beautiful beach. We drank in the beauty and then made our way back up the stairs. We contiinued on but decided to follow a different trail instead of heading back to the road. We climbed and climbed until we reached the precipice overlooking Buenavista. It was glorious! Once we headed back down the trail we made it to the beach where Curtis piggybacked me over a small river. He was being a true gentleman since our 10km hike the day before in flip flops did a number on my feet! Bandaids are definitely in fashion! We gazed out in the ocean as several locals fished in the surf. The pelicans hovered close by, waiting to see if they could get to the fish first. We wandered down the deserted beach to the Tortuga Conservation Area. This is the place where people volunteer to help many endangered species of sea turtles lay their eggs in a safe environment and later ensure the new hatchlings make it to the water without being unceremoniously eaten by predators. The sun was sweltering (we didn't bring water - geez have we ever hiked before?). We then headed back and Curtis waded into the water to take more bird pictures, even though the sign said, "Crocodillos"! On our way out we saw a huge iguana who was safely camouflaged in a tree. We wandered back down the dusty road and just before we reached the supermarket we came upon 5 howler monkeys - 2 females, 2 babies and one grumpy male! When we reached the supermarket we promptly bought cold water, rum and coke, and beer (in no particular order). We walked back home, showered and hit the beach for sun and surf. Thinking about Casa Esmeralda for dinner but the possibilities are endless!

---