A Little Piece of Heaven on Earth

Day 3: Jan. 11, 2010

Well, this was day 2 of working with the kids and families of the Ceibas neighborhood.  Little Yency, the de Soto's daughter, has taken a liking to me and has been teaching me lots of Spanish.  Por ejemplo, yo se colombia (sp?) y tobogan y ambreso (swing, slide, and hug).  She dragged me all over the playground showing me lots of things and what they were in Spanish and that was fun for both of us.

Yency ---->

Today, I'm not so sure the kids were REALLY listening during the stories, and I felt like I was doing a lot more kid wrangling and management type things...so I guess the excitement and the newness factor has worn off already.  Regardless, they definitely still got lots of love and attention.  I was able to invite some more of the teenage girls to Tuesday and Weds. afternoon events planned especially for the young ladies of the neighborhood.  They indicated that there were interested in attending, and I was hopeful they would.  I really do want to know them all.

After finishing with the kids in the morning, we set off toward La Playa Blanca (The White Beach) for a few hours of sun and relaxation since we didn't have any afternoon activities planned, we decided to go to the beach and have lunch there.  La Playa Blanca is probably the most beautiful beach I have ever been on in my entire life, and is truly a little piece of heaven on earth!  You've probably seen it in a calendar somewhere...at least it sure looks like one of those beaches in the calendars.  A row of palm trees lines a white sandy beach, the water is crystal blue, the beach is quiet and secluded, and it's decorated with rustic fishing boats, rocks, and driftwood...not that many seashells actually mostly just rocks due to volcanic activity.  Everyone here is a beach bum, including the cows!!!  It was a delightful little afternoon retreat.  There was a family that lived in a house right on the beach, and Marcos asked them about preparing lunch for us for a fee and the woman residing there was much obliged and she cooked us all a big meal of fish (including head, eyeballs, and all!  but some were more like fillets and I opted for one of those...I already don't like fish and I'd rather not try to eat one that's still looking at me.) rice, and salad.  It was delicious!  And I watched Herberto take an opportunity to witness to this woman...he never misses a beat!

La Playa Blanca!!!

The Beach Bum Cows!!! (There's actually three of them but the third one was down by a little stream getting a drink.)

Bienvenidos a la Playa Blanca!

After a few hours in the sun we went back to the hotel to get cleaned up and ready for the evening's activities.  The evening went well, similar to the first night, stories, movie, and I believe this was the night Rosemary shared her testimony, which was beautiful and powerful.  The children of course wanted lots of photos and treats again, and they were delightful as usual.

(L - R) Keilor, me, and Yency

CIAO!