Apr 15 2007
Beach Interlude
Seven or eight days into our trip to claim our boat, nerves and attitudes were frayed all around, and Marc suggested that what we needed was some time off the boat. So we headed to a local beach to marinade for a few hours. It was well over 80 degrees, closer to 90, and the beach we chose was known for being both a local beach (read, not tourist), and very good for children. So off we went.
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Marc took the photos. This also happens to be an excellent shot of his thoroughly sunburned feet. |
| First thing I did was swim out, at Jason’s insistence. Bless his heart, the man knows me well, and he knows that salt water makes me sane. I swam until I was tired, and I still only managed to find about 6′ of depth. I was sorta mad I’d forgotten to bring a mask, because I could tell there were fabulous things down there that I just couldn’t focus on.Motherhood has done wonderful things for my personal buoyancy (::snort::), and eventually I just flipped over and floated, suspended, in the gloriously warm ocean. It felt like home. |  |
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The really excellent thing about travelling with children is that they smash through boundaries. Kids don’t see the difference between “tourista” and “local”, and once they’re playing together, you can safely interact as Parents. Kids are the greatest little icebreakers ever.Kestrel was really outgoing, flinging himself into groups of other kids. I suppose when you’re that age, it’s not like there’s a language barrier or anything; it’s all just playin’. Rowan hung back a little more, but before long, charmed the pants off of everyone in range. Several people pointed out the blonde hair and blue eyes, so the novelty value really played in Rowan’s favor. |
| The boys were absolutely enthralled with this guy. Note the iguana he’s holding; he’d just swooped that up from the beach where it was scaring some young girls. |  |
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Kestrel had a great time. |
| And Rowan flung himself around like a born guppy. |  |
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We’d all five pretty much unwound completely, when we noticed that all the locals were packing up and leaving. With great haste. We finally looked up instead of down, to see this weather system moving in… we got a free, torrential freshwater rinse from our swim in the ocean. And even though it looks really intimidating, it was still 85 degrees or so, and it felt fantastic. |
I realized, on the drive home, that I was more relaxed than I’d been in probably over a year. There’s something about just soaking in the sea and playing with the kids that can unlock even the most pernicious of stress-related kinks. Ahhhhhh.