New Year's Day, Margarita Island, Day 157

It’s New Year’s Day – Happy New Year Everyone!

Today Christi, Kelvin, Ashley, and I finally indulge in the classic Caribbean beach experience. Remarkably all the trash and used fireworks from last night has been removed by the time we arrive (mid-morning). It’s also Kelvin and Ashley’s last full day; tomorrow they head back to San Francisco. In truth, Playa El Agua is much more how I imagined the beaches of Ipenema and Copacabana to be: there are restaurants and bars virtually on the sand, while everyone and their mother appears to have deckchairs for rent. The scallop-shaped beach is not as wide as in Rio and neither is the sand as white, but it is a very pleasant beach nonetheless – and very long. We walk past hundreds of sun-seekers parasurfing, swimming, sunbathing, and playing games. The swimsuits, especially for the women, are even tinier than those we saw in Rio, although Christi thinks the bodies inside them are not as good! There certainly is a lot of flab and cellulite on display and much less emphasis on the body as a temple. And here the games are truly for fun, not competitive and certainly not for exercise. We eventually find a spot away from the crowds and while Ashley and Kelvin splash in the waves and Christi reads, I photograph life on the beach.

Later we switch around: Kelvin and Ashley look after the bags and play backgammon while Christi and I go swimming. Then it’s time to explore the beach (the headland is even similar to Rio with another luxury beach the other side) and grab some yummy snacks from the local vendors. Eventually the four of us settle down to some daft card game called Shithead (or a variation on it). Either way I lose repeatedly. Christi and I tire of beach life very quickly, however, so we gather up our bags and go for a late lunch at a local fish restaurant called El Pacifico. Sadly, the food is poor, but not nearly as poor as our waiter and we leave with more than one bad taste in our mouths.

Back at the chalet Ashley and Kelvin pack and organize a taxi to the airport for 6 am the following morning. We celebrate the end of our vacation together with a home-cooked pasta meal out of a can. The meal attracts plenty of interest from the insect population if not the human contingent.