Friday the 13th might be considered unlucky in some circles but from where I'm standing today...it doesn't get much better and I'm feeling pretty darn lucky!
This morning after helping Lynda launch herself in a sea kayak and then taking a dip in the calm and surprisingly warm waters of the Gulf, I spent another stressful hour hanging in the hammock finishing off yet another "easy read" book. I've now officially lost count on how many books I've read this trip and that is how I know that I am truly 'living' and not 'vacationing' in Mexico.
Last night was a wild one with some crazy winds blowing in off the Gulf. From our vantage point right on the water's edge we had front row seats for the duration of the storm which provided us a reminder of just how powerful Mother Nature can be! I thought for sure that the water might be cooler this morning because it was sure churned up last night and from the look of the beach this morning everything that had been laying on the bottom was deposited up at the high tide mark. But no....the water was warm and beautiful......sigh......
At one point late this morning I sat up in my hammock (that is strung under a palapa on the beach) and looked around. There was not another person in sight. Lynda's hammock was empty, there was no one at the house, the dogs were gone....I wondered for a second if I was dreaming....but no...it was real and I was the only one for as far as the eye could see in any direction. That fact prompted me to see just how far I could walk along the waters edge before seeing anyone and believe it or not, I had to turn around without seeing anyone at all as I'd gone that far and knew I would still have to walk back! Even all the way back, I never saw a soul, I didn't hear a dog bark, or see anyone at any of the houses I passed. There weren't even any little fishing boats out on the horizon in the Gulf-it was almost a little eerie. I just walked and walked along the shore wading in and out of the water as the tide washed up again and again.
The beach here is really beautiful with soft white sand and gentle waves. The water this morning was such a beautiful colour. The sky was blue blue blue and there were almost no clouds so no shadows on the surface of the water. As a result (from my vantage chest deep in the water) the colour of the Gulf was mottled with a purply blue and sea foam green. It was absolutely exquisite! It was like looking out over a gorgeous piece of silk that was blowing in the breeze and that had a custom silk screening artist's masterpiece upon it.
The beach here also has sections (about 15-20 feet long) at the waters edge where thousands of little shells gather. In fact...shells literally litter the beach here! Shells of all shapes and sizes. But what I really want to tell you about is the music that comes from those pockets of shells. With each wave that washes up onto the shore those little shells are shifted just enough to cause them to roll over one another creating the most beautiful sound. It is kind of like wind chimes only these are water chimes and the gentle crash of each wave is like the beat of a drum keeping time for the music that is made by the thousands of little shells colliding with their neighbours.
Speaking of music...one of the other guests here at "our little house" has just started playing some music and it sounds fantastic! Haven't had any music for quite a while and am really enjoying the strains of this very folksy/bluesy sound as I sit here in the warm breezes typing away.
Yesterday, Lynda and I walked into town (about 15-20 mins along the beach) and took the opportunity to explore Celestun a little more thoroughly than we had when we arrived. We wandered up and down the streets of this very tiny town and in the process managed to work up quite a sweat! It was a warm one and mid-day to boot! By the time we located the little BBQ chicken place we wanted to visit for lunch we were ready to sit for a spell, catch our breath, and cool off with a cold Fanta (orange pop) as the proprietors finished opening up for the afternoon. The chicken had just come off the grill (fire roasted) and it was DELICIOUS!!! Sorry to all the grocery stores at home but...those BBQ chickens can't compare to this fresh fire roasted stuff!
While we were in town Lynda made friends with a truck filled with military guys and so when I came out of the farmacia (picking up nail polish remover to get rid of the remnants of the polish I got in Africa!!) I was met with one soldier taking a photo of Lynda with her new friends (with her camera). Not to be outdone, I jumped in too and so we both have pictures to remember those boys by. LOL!
It's hard to believe that it's Friday already and that we'll be hitting the road again on Sunday as we've still got a lot of ground to cover. It is also hard to believe that the end of this adventure is just a couple of weeks away now. Somehow the time seems to go more quickly the nearer to the end you are. When we started out in January, April seemed like forever away and now that we're nearing the middle of March, April is just around the corner! No complaints though...we recognize just how lucky we are to be able to be on this adventure at all.
Tonight we've decided we're going to go all out and hit the city for dinner. (LOL - you'd laugh too if you'd seen Celestun - it is definitely NOT a city!) We've eaten all of our meals (with the exception of chicken for lunch yesterday) right here at our guest house as we have access to an outdoor kitchen. It's been a real treat to have a fridge and to be able to have the option of cooking or to just have a bowl of cereal in the morning.
Till next time....
L & L
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