Day 2 - Beachballs are people too

There is an interesting set up here. Our all inclusive even includes free taxi to and from the beach. This morning we walked the long way round to the beach, along roads flanked with grasslands dotted with cacti of all kinds. The semi arid flats give rise to mountains in the distance, some verdant with rainforest, others bare red earth. The beach was nice, but slightly crowded. The garbage in the most secluded places showed how tourism has taken its toll on this place. We wandered the red hills for 45 minutes or so, then checked out the strand. After reporting to the hotel for a meeting on what there is to do, we signed up for a few tours. It doesn’t appear as though we have much choice if we want to see wildlife and such, but that is okay, the guides will likely be solid with the organization of the tourist industry here. The streets and populated areas of the beach are remarkably clean, as the staff work hard on a daily basis to keep them that way, the garbage only accumulates in the hidden, less visited areas. The community of tourists that live in this huge compound numbers in the hundreds now, but we don’t see them except at meals because of the arrangement of the buildings. They are a comical demographic of middle to old aged folk, with the 40 and unders being mostly European. There is basically no one our age here, which is fine. We laugh at husbands fretting over children with insidious plumber’s butt - with no help from anyone else. Also the old ladies that look like leather purses are also entertainment. We’ve signed up for a “Jeep Safari” tomorrow, should be interesting. We were pomised cool walks and mangrove forests, seahorses, starfish, etc. Also We have signed up for a trip to La Asuncion, the island’s political capital, which houses much old architecture from the Spanish Colonial days, something best learned through an interpretive guide rather than guessing or books. Hopefully we’ll hit the interesting destinations on this trip, and then maybe revisit or hit some extras on the day we have our 1 day car rental. . .