Sharon, Lou and Skippyjon Jones Visit El Salvador - Part II

Happy Thanksgiving! Now, taking you back about a month...

Saturday late morning (October 28th) we were on our way to Barra de Santiago (one hour and 45 min drive) and more than ready for some rest and relaxation (after a couple of late nights for Rich and loud noise for us with the Baktun dance production). On our journey there we enjoyed looking at the sites, sounds and people. I'm sure it was nice for my parents to get out of the city and see a bit more of El Salvador.

Our destination was La Cocotera eco-resort http://www.lacocoteraresort.com/ situated on a peninsula with the Pacific ocean on one side and an estuary with mangroves on the other side. The property is a slice of the peninsula with two bungalows facing the beach on one side and one bungalow facing the estuary. The only way to get around when you get to this part of the peninsula is to drive on the beach (during low tide and with a 4WD) or to go by boat on the estuarary side. We barely made it on a little portion of the beach with our vehicle which we thought was AWD....but Rich was able to maneuver us in once we all got out. :)

The place was paradise - a small resort (only 6 rooms total) with a nice dining area next to a perfect sized pool for Cole with ionized water. Cole was in the pool nearly all of the time, especially since for the first day and a half he made a friend, Eli (7-8 years old), who spoke English (yeah for Cole) and was as happy about the pool and playing as Cole. We had bungalows ~ beautiful rooms where Cole and Skippyjon had their own bed ~ on the ocean side and it was glorious to sit in the room and hear the sound of the ocean and look out onto the water. The food was healthy and delicious ~ almost a bit too much (nothing like a rich tasty dessert).

During our time at La Cocotera - we chilled and enjoyed drinks (fresh juices, coconut water, beer, etc...) by the pool and swam in the wonderful ionized pool water --- Cole was in there morning and afternoon and sometimes early evening! Even grandma got into the pool and she is not a fan of water --- so it must have been perfect and of course there is the factor of her grandson....

We walked along the beach --- a non-rocky, flat black beach that goes on and on...and boogie-boarded in the waves. This is near to the same place that we came in early September and rented a beach house with another family (I didn't write about it in my blog) - and that time we took Chloe with us and had a great time with her - I was missing not having her on the beach with us and playing in the waves. The second evening we were there we were invited over by some friends - Lisa, a psychologist of the school, and Danny, her husband who is also a psychologist, former board member of the school and has done work with Peace Corps Volunteers, to have a drink at their beach house a few houses down from the resort. AND as it turns out he also manages the resort - a friend of his from the States came to visit and wanted to start an eco-resort that is run environmentally friendly (solar energy, local purchases, local foods...), socially conscious and involved (local school, micro-loans, adult-education) and contributes to wildlife conservation (sea turtles and re-entry of the scarlet macaw) ---- so he started it just doors away. Life is funny and small world.

My parents were very excited about getting out into an estuary and seeing the bird-life. We went out on a boat in the late morning one day and took a tour around - seeing some bird life (probably better to go earlier in the morning) and also local fisherman out in their canoes and other floating devices to catch crab and fish. It was a good way to get out into the estuary and see the peninsula from a different perspective.

We also released sea turtles - one per person. They raise them and when they are big enough release them out into the ocean. My understanding is that the locals will dig up the turtle eggs and sell them in the markets (and I have seen them sold in markets - in one of my first posts I have a picture of a woman selling turtle eggs). La Cocotera will find them first and/or buy them from the locals and then bury them in a safe, secure place in the sand until they hatch and then raise them there. As my mom put it - it is a little bit sad to see these small turtles make their way to the ocean with such odds against them, but at least they have a chance.

The only real down side to our stay and it was a huge one (especially for Rich) is that the last night (our second night) we were there Rich got really ill (later diagnosed as Salmonella) and was up nearly the entire night. In the morning it was evident he was very dehydrated and with his EMT training he knew he was not in a good place and needed some fast action. Luckily Danny and Lisa were there and we called upon them to help us find a local clinic and get Rich an IV. For me, it was a bit of an epic trip getting there (again, we thought it was AWD and Danny thought it was 4WD so my beach driving skills were put to the test while Rich was already at the clinic)...but a few hours later Rich was rehydrated and doing better and we made our way home. The treatment was free and we made a donation to the clinic. It certainly brought back the feel of Peace Corps days and probably also helped us to feel more okay than the average person about going to a local clinic.

Cutting our trip a bit short (from an overnight stay in the mountains at a coffee plantation) we had a scenic drive back along the coast and rested at home with mom's homemade spaghetti and meatballs. Home sweet home! We made the very most of the rest of their trip with a visit to the nearby volcano and parque El Boqueron and more lovely times around home and San Salvador. We look forward to their Next Visit ~ and thank Grandma and Grandpa for visiting us in our New Home!