Sunday Day 2. I got an early start and ran around town. It was a bright and sunny morning. Lots of people were walking to church, as I ran 4 miles. High humidity and I was a huge sweaty mess. But it felt great. 

We had a lovely breakfast at the hotel and met the rest of the crew, four folks who arrived after midnight. 

We packed up and got rolling on our long van ride to the beach, about 4 hours with a couple stops built in. Through the ride down we saw the jungly rain forest and the drier farmlands and the rivers and the beaches. We saw the industrial parks, residential neighborhoods and rural towns. Wayne and Wali the driver told us stories as we drove down. Some were quaint cultural stories; others were more Eco-Friendly, tree hugging-ish. 

We stopped at a huge river crossing and walked out to the mid-span and looked down. Crocodiles! The were laying on the muddy banks of the river. 15-20 crocodiles. Big and fat and huge sharp teeth. The bridge had a great overlook on the crocodiles. I got a fried plantain snack. It was delicious!  

We kept driving and driving. The van was hot and I was just dripping sweat in the third row of seats. 

We got down to our home base in Uvita, at the Hotel Bahia Azul and checked in. Then we sat down together for a late lunch. We eat all our meals together at the outdoor restaurant. Black beans, rice and chicken, and pasta salad. 

After lunch I dipped my feet into the small pool. We took a quick respite and then walked down to the National Park Beach. The walk was through rural neighborhoods and rainforests. We saw some birds and horses and rivers. At the beach, we had a blast playing in the waves. Our new friend Lauryn from So. Carolina was lots of fun. The water was warm and friendly. It was a beautiful sandy black beach, lined with palm trees and coconut trees. The sky was heavy with a mix is gray and puffy white clouds. Surfers and body boarders rode wave after wave. We played for about an hour then took a break. It started to drizzle as we walked back to the hotel. The cleaned up and met everyone for dinner. 

M says dinner was the best meal of her life. Salmon with cream sauce, plantain chips, and salad with vinegerette. After dinner, Wayne had us write out our expectations for the trip. We went around the table and shared. Most of us wanted to see some wildlife, learn about the culture and contribute back to the community. Wayne went over the agenda for the next few days. 

Then Ana came and led a dance class. We did the Meregue, Salsa, and xx. She also did a traditional dance with the big colorful dress. That was fun to dance with M. 

Our room AC was acting up, we ended up moving to the next room over. I took another shower and crawled into bed. Tomorrow starts early. I’m going to try and get up extra extra early and run along the beach.