A Troop of Howler Monkeys at the Beach
Feeling refreshed after a good nights sleep (Hotel Giada has comfortable beds), a mid morning walk on the beach is rewarded by a close encounter with a small tribe of howler monkeys. They give their location away by wildly swinging in branches, and we notice them from 100 feet away while walking on the shoreline.
read more closeWe walk under the tree and find five adults and two babies. The females are eating while the males area napping in branches a little higher up. The juveniles are curious. They scamper down, glance at us and then hurry themselves back up the tree, to the safer branches. How cute!
Rain clouds are already threatening the horizon and the blue sky quickly fades. Our sunny day disappears before our eyes and we run back to the dry safety of the hotel, arriving just before it really pours.
The hotel restaurant's pizza is good.
It appears that the rain is here to stay for a while -- suits me fine. I have a headache. Days like today I'm glad we have a nice air-conditioned room with TV.
The rain passes shortly after dark. One of the only hoppin bars in town is the La Gondola. It appears small from the front, but when you walk in, you see that there is a large room in the back with dartboards, a pool table and a ping-pong table, all available for play free of charge. A mix of salsa and other dance music vibrates from the speakers in the front of the bar and encourages people to dance. This part of the bar is hoppin, the back is mellower and less crowded. Several friendly games of pool and darts pass the humid evening away nicely.