After a 7 3/4 hour trip from Antigua to Monterrico to El Rosario, 13.8 kilometers south, I arrived at my "hotel". My daughter says I may be the first to ever stay here. About 8 rooms in a two story stuccoed block structure, four on each floor. 50Q a night for a room roughly the size of a jail cell, no windows, two beds, door that almost shuts...but on the end facing the ocean from which comes a cooling breeze. As HOT as it is, I've been in winter in Oregon, it's a very welcome breeze of around 10 to 12 mph. It fades a bit at night when it is most wanted but still enough to cool a bit. The walkway/veranda on the second floor is case concrete as are the floors....no barrier or fence for the 12' fall should I tumble off the porch while peeing over the side. The bathrooms...more or less...are a fair walk away. Bucket of water by the heads to flush. Showers, complete with monster toads, just next door. Thatched roof of course.

I turned in a 8:30 last night after the long travel day. Got a shuttle from Antigua to Monterrico which was several hours. Beater shuttle comparatively but we got here. Saw a volcano blow off smoke, stopped twice for bano and fuel breaks.....needed a bit more often at 64 and more grateful than the 3 young, hip Spaniards also in the shuttle. It was a diesel Mitsubishi IIRC. The new Toyota diesels vans are fabulous, five speed gearboxes, nice seating, etc.

After waiting an hour and a half or more for the next shuttle, it came and was only five of us on it.......for a coupla blocks. By the time we got out of there, there were sixteen on board, three on the roof, one standing in the open slider door. A good haul.

I awoke at around midnight, turned on my flashlight for visit to the veranda. Auggggggh! I hate cockroaches! Killed about 7 of them, the dead, one got away...the quick. Most were 3/4" or so, one bruiser at about 1 1/4". Took my shoe, whack, whack, sounded like a drum in here. Woke up the two guys sleeping in hammocks under the thatched roof next door. Finally cooled off about 2 a.m. and a good sleep after.

Damn it's hot today. Helped my daughter release 23 baby Olive Ridley turtles into the sea from her tortugario where the eggs they can buy from the local sellers or find on their own are planted until they hatch. Cuter'n bugs ears they wiggle down the beach, catch a wave until they are only small dark blobs of heads swimming like crazy out to sea. Statistically, their survival is slim but at least they got to hatch and try unlike the many which eggs are effectively stolen and sold openly. Once again, the quick and the dead.