La Playa Cofresí

This weekend we took refuge from the heat at the beach. From Santiago, we hopped on a bus to Puerta Plata, a beach town on the north coast (the ride took just over an hour, and we splurged on the comfy bus). Once there, we ate some delicious veggie pizza at a gargantuan open-air pizza joint that was right on the Malecón (the sea breezes were enjoyed).
Then, a very helpful man helped us find the gua gua (a local little bus/van) to the Playa Cofresí, a quiet hamlet 5 km west of Puerta Plata (he charged us the small price of una cervecita, or beer, for his help). The beach is named after a Puerto Rican pirate who ravaged the coast...we unfortunately saw no pirates this time. The beach was small, and on one end there were two enormous all-inclusive resorts (where we "borrowed" some chairs for a few minutes until we realized that everyone had wristbands on except us, and that some guards were walking our way, and then we scrambled). On the other end was Ocean World, where we declined to go and swim with the sharks. In between the two is this nice little beach.
Where we enjoyed this view all day from a little bar.
The all-inclusive culture is interesting. We were the only "gringos" who were really outside the resort, and we got a fair amount of attention. Maybe it was our day-glow white skin? (We're really flying through that sunscreen!) We talked a lot about the comfort we find in being surrounded by family, community, and familiarity. We appreciate being home so much, when we're able. And we grow so much when we're not home, too.
But, it wasn't all seriousness. We mostly talked about how good really cold Presidente is. YUM!