Having decided to pass another week here at the beach, yesterday was a day of running around dealing with things for our eventual return to Canada.  There was a box stored in David, we took another run at getting my plate (no joy), shopping for necessities now that we have to cook, and a visit here and there.

David is an hour and a half in good traffic, and the earlier the better for that, so we ended up in David by 10 AM, had some breakfast, and were out of there by noon.  David is still the sweltering hot box it always was, so knowing the shortcuts and whereabouts of things really paid off this time.

By the time all the running around was done (water, gas, shampoo, toilet paper, celery… ) it was 4:30.  We unloaded the car, got things into the fridge, and headed to the sea.  I don’t think I’ve been that uncomfortable since I was rolling around under the car in the afternoons at the Pension.  The swim was a blessing.

Life at the beach is romantic, nostalgic, and a long sought after dream for many, so don’t get me wrong here… I like what we’re doing.  There are, as always, little facets of life that don’t get accounted for when blowing up the bubble in your imagination, so here’s a short account of the actual reality.

The mornings are absolutely wonderful.  There is usually an offshore breeze that is relatively cool, and you can drink your coffee in a hammock.  Things begin to heat up around 10.  By then the wind has turned onshore, but it’s not the wind heating things up, it’s the sun .

Then you look for shade and a breeze.  An ever present reality here are the bugs.  There are sand flies and mosquitoes to annoy, and flying beetles as a curiosity.  These can be avoided for the most part, with some experience.

Sand flies LOVE your ankles, hang out in the leaves, close to the ground with shade, and take little chunks of meat out of you.

Sand flies are so small, when you catch one in the act, you can’t kill it enough because, unless ignored completely for 10 minutes, they itch like crazy.  You learn to rake away leaves from under your hammock, which is in the shade of course, and to do so quickly or while wearing socks pulled right up.  Sooo coool looking.  White folks….

I now understand the Kuna women completely.  Why do they get to have all the fun?

Once that is set up, usually closer to the beach where the breeze is stronger, it’s quite comfortable for the majority of the day.  By noon the sand is on fire!  Moving too an fro, you either walk to where you are going along a path of shade, or wear flip flops.

On the beach, you are comfortable if you are wet.  This is looking back to the beach house.

Snail trails all over…  The beach makes it’s own abstract art.  Just needs a little more color.

Getting out, you can walk all over where the sand is wet, and the breeze keeps you cool as long as you want to be out.  Your head is always exposed, though, and needs to be considered, because you don’t feel it until later.

Leaving the beach, you need to run like mad over the dry sand to a spot of shade and then dig your feet a bit.  The strength of the sun is amazing!  Then, showering off the salt is helpful.  You don’t feel sticky then.

An interesting note here is that there is no “water” here, it’s all from wells.  A well, placed less than 100 ft from the high tide mark will produce water, and plenty of it, free from salt.  It has a taste, so they run a simple filter, but is good enough for coffee, which is to say you still should boil it.

Until the late afternoon, you can migrate back and forth from the hammock to the sea.  This is when I do my reading, which is taking quite a while.  Lee loaned me Naomi Klines’ “The Shock Doctrine”, and at 600+ pages it’s taking a little while.

A lot changes in the hour before sunset, which is at 6:30ish here.  Depending on where the tide is, it’s a great time to be on the beach.  If it’s out, it’s a soccer field, if it’s in, throwing a stick with the dogs next door is great entertainment.

The sun fades off quickly, and you can stay out as long as you feel like it.

Swimming, unless you get out past the break, is intermittent here, as the waves are relentless, and out past the break you can’t touch bottom, so there’s that.  Confident swimmers will become accustomed to the wash current here, which depends entirely upon the wind direction that day.  Sometimes there is none, other times it can be strong.  It’s never dangerous, but can be unnerving, so keeping a reference point on the beach can be important.

For a few hours after sundown,  you are better off indoors.  This is the bugs “heyday”, so breeze or not, they’re hungry, and you’re meat.   The house is hot, so you can shower and locate yourself under a fan for comfort, and you need a breeze because there are little “noseeums” here that fly right through the screens.

By 8:30, it begins to cool off, the bugs have had their fill, and you can return to the deck and catch a breeze.  As long as you don’t move around too much, the bugs don’t find you, but if they do, you have to go back in for a few minutes.  By 10 it’s much better, and improves outside until the morning comes around again.

There you have it, the reality of life at the beach, pimples an all.  I’m not putting it down, just laying it out.  It has it’s pleasures, it has it’s annoyances.

If I were a Billyonaire, I would not even consider it without A/C, as that just changes sooooo many things for the better.  There is also corrosion to think of, which is a force to be reckoned with.  Basic appliances are best.  NOTHING electronic lasts here in the constant wash of salt air, which can be seen hanging in the evening twilight.

Ole’ TwoGunz is covered with a film, sneering at me, begging for a wash (which gets done in the morning, wearing long pants and a shirt).

I repaired the vacuum here (as a learning experience, to pass the time, and allow Cass to suck up some ants in a cupboard), which just took a squeeze with pliers on all the contact terminals to get it going.  The microwave here is NFG because the salt air corroded the touchpad, which is a sealed unit… so what does that tell you?  Every contact that can corrode, will.  Period.

This is another thing A/C would serve to protect, but then you are dependent upon power supply, which we know can be intermittent.  The Billyonaire would build off grid with solar back up, but then that is just another set of electronics to be maintained….