Vamos a la playa!!!

So, today was the long-awaited beach day. Although those in the back of Jeff's truck might argue that the ride there was the most exciting part.

We drove over hugely bumpy rocks and rivers, and, despite the advice from several road signs suggesting no one drive on the path, trusted Jeff's driving skills.  We took a couple breaks along the way, and during one of the stops to learn about the forest, we finally managed to come across a whole group of howler monkeys! Sounding like loud, rough barks of dogs, the monkeys called back and forth to each other over our heads while slowly moving along by swinging branch to branch. The car Dr. Wood was riding in also received a special gift from these monkeys- a lovely fecal surprise on his windshield.

On our way to the beach we stopped by some mangroves and learned about the different plants there. Then, we finally made it to the beach and played in the waves (and scared Ms. Inselberger by going way too deep into the ocean). After lunch, Eladio taught us how to surf. It was awesome, but it was very difficult to stand up on the surf board quickly.

After dinner, we watched the sunset on the beach where we came across an interesting phenomenon in the sand. When all the flashlights were finally shut off, we spotted tons of glowing, firefly-like spots spread all through the sand. These were natural, glowing algae.  Watching these wash in through the tides and through the sand was a great way to wrap up the night on the beach.

Our fun day in the sun came to an end. The return home in the truck was a lot shorter (unlike spending an hour to drive five miles to get there). We looked up into the sky and saw the sky lit up with beautiful arrangements of stars, and heard some beautiful music too (Carlson made up a great song about a towel living at ACG). We also saw some of the greatest sun burns man has ever witnessed.

Cowabunga from Emily, Megan, and Hannah