Day 15: Thursday, May 26, 2005
12:50 pm
I got the 7 am bus to Cobaro, and took a taxi (¢2900) to Montezuma about 7 muddy kilometers away. I'm staying at Hotel Montezuma with own room and bath for $22. Tomorrow, I'll splurge further on a $55 room at a nicer place right up the street, porch and room with view of Pacific Ocean.
I got a new bandana as I left the old one in Santa Theresa. I headed out on the beach to see Playa Grande . A guy named Jay in Santa Theresa said it was amazing. What I thought was a 20 minute hike became an hour. I left around 11 am, so it's the hottest part of an already fucking hot day. Along the hike, there was climbing around rocks and little shade. Later, I'd find out there was a shaded jungle trail you can take, faster , cooler, about 40 minutes. I didn't bring much water. My gauge says 96.5°F in shade. I feel the burn on my face to match my bright red back. Along the hike, I hooked up with two Canadians, don't know their names yet. The beaches are nice, however Playa Cocles in Puerto Viejo and Santa Theresa are much better I think. There are nude sunbathers/swimmers. I guess you can go all nude on such an empty beach.
I burn, too easily. My bum is the one place that's safe from the sun. Still, it'd be cool to go skinny dipping here if I was with a girl. The Canadians aren't quite up for that.
I'd love a taxi back. At the least I've got to let some time and sun pass before the hike back. Tonight I'm looking forward to some (live) house music at a local bar around 10 -11 pm, and some drinks.
Tomorrow, it'd be cool to go horseback riding, in the jungle I think, to a waterfall. I'm not sure if I'll make it to the 2 big waterfalls, the one you can jump off, I'm chilling on that to see if I can hook up with another person or two. It's bloody hot, ahh a bit of a breeze.
1 pm, hot, too hot to concentrate. Es muy caliente. Montezuma is like NYC compared to Santa Theresa . I like both types of places though, good and bad things about each other. A lot more tourists in Montezuma, no surfing. Santa Theresa was the opposite.
Last night at camp, a local black dog hanging around our cabinas ran onto the beach at sunset and barked at a local. The local whacked him on the head with the back edge of a machete. The poor dog had about a 1 -2 inch gash on his head. It wasn't bleeding a lot, however. I couldn't help but worry for the little guy, feel compassion for the dog that was not a serious threat to the man, and as Buddhism has taught me, feel compassion for the man that he used violence out of fear and annoyance. I have it in my heart to forgive them both.
I see clouds coming in. Please help me clouds!
Last Updated on December 3, 2018 by Dave Lee
Dave is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Go Backpacking and Feastio. He’s been to 66 countries and lived in Colombia and Peru. Read the full story of how he became a travel blogger.