Is This Really Fall Quarter?

We finally arrived in Puerto Escondido Saturday evening around 6.  It was a full 12 hour trip including the 1 hour lunch break and couple rest stops we made.  Doctora was hilarious. She came prepared with a communal puke bucket, latex gloves for the friend blessed with holding said communal puke bucket, air freshener for use by those sitting next to the bathroom, and antibacterial spray for cleaning up the seat after you "piddle." You think she's done this before? Haha. In any case, the road was way more curvy than I expected and the bus driver drove at least twice as fast as the most insane bus driver in the states would drive. I hardly ever get motion sickness but I'm glad I decided to take the Dramamine.  There were at least 4 or 5 in the group that actually did throw up.

For lunch we stopped at Playa Cangrejo. I can't really explain the excitement I felt when I saw the ocean for the first time in 7 weeks. The beach wasn't even that pretty but the fresh ocean breeze felt amazing.

Lunch at Playa Cangrejo

We all sat down at this little hut/restaurant thing on the beach. Some people ordered fish tacos or other yummy looking fish entrees. My host mom was nice enough to pack me a torta for lunch so I didn't have to spend any money, though even so, it was pretty tempting. Later, someone ordered a flan for dessert which was impossible to pass up. I ordered one for myself. So good.

After lunch, we had another 5 hours before we got to where we're staying.  The place we're at is called CasaMar. It's basically a complex of little mini condos and we're the only ones staying here for the next two weeks.

Pool Area at CasaMar

I'm sharing a room with Ally, Angela, and Erica who are all pretty cool. It's been a nice change of pace. Plus, the room we're in is awesome. We have 2 full beds and a twin, a bathroom with a huge shower so I can actually shave my legs, a little kitchenette with a stove, oven, and refrigerator, and a nice patio area where you can watch the sun rise or set, take your pick. The only downside to this place is that the internet really sucks. I wanted to upload photos for you guys but I think I'll have to wait until tomorrow or Thursday when I go to an internet cafe.

Sunday was our first day out exploring Puerto. We woke up at 9am for breakfast. Did I mention there are 2 women who cook for all of us everyday?  The food is delicious and also way more nutritious than the food our host family in Oaxaca prepares for us (though their food is also pretty delish). After breakfast, Nick, one of our program coordinators, stopped by and invited any of us that wanted to to accompany him to Playa Carrizalillo. In case you were wondering.. yes, it looks exactly like the picture I posted last week. It's absolutely gorgeous. Possibly better than Hawaii. I honestly can't believe I'm getting class credits to sit on the beach here. We spent about 4 or 5 hours there swimming, talking, and sitting under palm frond umbrellas drinking out of real coconuts before we had to meet back with everyone at CasaMar.

The Davis crowd at Playa Carrizalillo

When we got back, our entire group left almost immediately for Playa Zicatela which is the beach right in front of where we're staying. It's not quite as nice as Carrizalillo but it's much bigger (nearly 4 miles long), the waves are much bigger, and it's basically where all the surfers go to surf. We're not supposed to swim there because there are dangerous rip currents but the people from CasaMar threw us a nice little welcome party there. They brought taquitos and salad for lunch and gave us free surf lessons at the very end of the beach which is a little bit safer to swim in.

Surfing at Playa Zicatela

Needless to say, by the time I got back to the room on Sunday I was feeling pretty dead.

Yesterday, Monday, was another free day.  We were supposed to have class in the evening but Doctora canceled it. She said she wanted us to have another day to enjoy ourselves. I think she probably just wanted another day to enjoy with her hubby who's here visiting but what do I care--another day off for us! In the morning some of us decided to go on this turtle/dolphin watching tour. We never ended up seeing any dolphins but we saw LOTS of turtles and some manta rays, which I didn't know actually jump out of the water!

¡TORTUGA!

It was really neat to watch and I know Ally got some pictures of them so I'll have to get those from her later. I wish I could say everyone really enjoyed the tour but of the six of us that were on the boat, three were throwing up over the side for the majority of the trip, sometimes all at once. It actually became kind of humorous at times but thank goodness I don't get motion sickness! We got back around 2 for another delicious meal (shrimp spaghetti with pink sauce) and then while all my other roomies went to the beach for more surf lessons, I literally passed out in my bed for 3 hours. I guess I really needed it.

This morning a group of us woke up early to go running along the beach. I've never run barefoot before but I really really enjoyed it... right up until I got back and realized I had blisters on both of my big toes. Haha. No but really, it was great and I'm definitely planning on going again, maybe even tomorrow. Also, when we got down to the other side of the beach, we realized that's where all the surfers hang out so we stopped to watch for a bit. It was like straight out of a surfers' magazine. No joke. They were really carving it up out there. We came back for breakfast at 9 (french toast, fruit, yogurt, and coffee). Honestly, it doesn't get much better than that. Then after breakfast Michelle, Helen, Lisandra, and I went back to Playa Carrizalillo with the intention of getting some reading done. Surprise--in the 3 hours we spent there, I managed to read exactly 0.5 of an article. Pathetic. I did however work on my tan, cool off in the gorgeous blue/green water, and order myself a naranjada. A morning well spent if you ask me.

This afternoon we had a class activity on the beach.  I was really tired and not in the best mood when I left for it but it ended up being a lot of fun. It was a relay race with questions on the reading interspersed.  Each person was in charge of a different part of the race: running, potato sack-ing, cartwheeling, and blowing a bubble with bubble gum. I got to do the cartwheeling in my group. Then later tonight we had a lecture by Dr. Herrera Naranja on tropical diseases. Honestly, he kind of scared the crap out of me and I felt like he talked down to us a little too much but the topics he covered were interesting. 

Tomorrow morning we're doing our first brigade. It's our brigade on Dengue Fever and as I understand we're going to be breaking off into small groups and dispersing around certain villages to talk to the people about the disease. Except for having to wear long pants and trek through dry brush all morning in a million degree weather, I'm really looking forward to it. Hehe. Also, hopefully I'll be able to get to an Internet cafe and upload some pics tomorrow afternoon so stay tuned! ;)