Buritaca

I started today with an early morning run to beat the heat. When I got back, there was a lizard stuck to the wall in my room. I asked the hostel host if she had a net for me to catch it. A minute later, her husband showed up, calmly walked in, grabbed it, and took it outside. I should have known better than to ask for a net.

I packed my things and flagged down a local bus heading in the direction of another coastal town called Buritaca. It is situated at a massive estuary where the Buritaca river flows into the ocean. In the bus, people were carrying all sorts of things from surf boards to actual chickens. It sounded like a farm in there. After the bus dropped me off at my stop, it was about a mile walk toward the coast before reaching the town itself. Unfortunately, I took the wrong way to get there and sludged through a mile of mud on a tiny road. There were literally only two options for roads, and I chose wrong. But, along the way, it was cool to see the banana trees and how the local farmers harvest the fruit. I saw the look on some of their faces while they watched this very obvious tourist in a bright neon bathing suit trek the road.

I reached a bridge overlooking the river – it was massive. You could also rent kayaks to go up the river. But, beware of crocs.

After walking the river bank, I retraced my steps a bit and headed in the direction of the actual town and beach. I finally met up with the main road, which was a relief. There were many shops and restaurants with music playing. Also, I saw quite a lot of billiards halls. I guess this is THE game here. I found a restaurant and ordered whatever the waiter recommended with a coconut lemonade. which ended up being an entire fried fish. Head, tail, fins, and all.

After lunch, I walked the beach and enjoyed the sand and breeze. A storm was coming in soon so I decided to pack up and head back early. Just as I got off the bus, it started to pour. Like POUR. It sounded like a hurricane. Overall though, good day. Tomorrow will continue to explore the coastal towns and other nature activities.