back by popular demand

Today we went to the beach. There were these fantastic bicycles everywhere! I really wanted to steal one but figured it'd be hard to bring back to Cuenca, not to mention New Jersey. But I still want one. Take note, Christmas gift-givers!

The beach that we went to was in this fishing town and it was pretty run down. Apparently the beach had gotten really polluted so people stopped coming and lots of businesses closed because of it. Lucky for us, however, they just reopened the beach recently so we got to enjoy clean sand and wonderfully warm water without any crowds at all! Although a crew of camera men did follow us around because they were doing a story on how the beach had just reopened and all that. I thought it was kind of creepy and didn't like being filmed as I swam in the ocean or walked out in my bathing suit. Bleh.

BUT! One of the advantages was that there were several buildings for sale and I have a weakness for rundown buildings that are for sale. I just want to buy them and fix them up, but without taking away from their inherent charm. Maybe one day I will have enough money to buy houses all over the world and make them beautiful again... Or just live in them for a while and enjoy the atmosphere in random cities for a few months to a year at a time. You know, wherever my heart leads me.
After swimming my friend Nigel and I relaxed in some beachside hammocks and read our respective books. It reminded me of the Hammock Hut in Costa Rica.
Apparently the area we drove through on our way to the coast is home to the largest banana plantation in the world. There were banana stands all the way home. They completed me.
There were also stretches of cocoa beans along the side of the road drying out. They put them there because the asphalt conducts heat so they dry faster. Clever, but probably not very sanitary... But awesome things are usually not very sanitary—you know, tattoos, piercings, salchipapas, and cocao beans. It's all there together.