Monterrico is a town on the coast of the Atlantic coast with black sand. That is as much as I knew before I decided to head over there for the weekend immediately following the conclusion of the San Mateo construction project. I had images of hammocks, beaches, pools and a general of aura of relaxation, calm, peace and tranquility in my mind. I booked ahead since I knew that it was a very popular destination and I attempted to pack suitably, only to find out that my swimwear had disappeared since I had used it in Semuc Champey.
Getting into the shuttle bus to take me there, within the first 5 minutes I realised I forgot my flip flops. And my camera. But I had everything else I might need. Besides that the drive was fairly standard, 3 hours in total. The closer you got to the coast, the flatter the land became and palm trees started to appear. The bus driver seemed in a bad mood and dropped everybody off at the center of town with a stern warning that he would everybody up at the same place he dropped us off today and not at our hotels. I started walking towards the corner of the street on which I was, when I was approached by a Guatemalan who after asking where I was staying, sped off on a motorcycle in the direction of the hotel. It was very hard to get lost in Monterrico so I quickly found my hotel and was showed my room. Within 2 minutes the Guatemalan approached me again, telling me about the different tours that he was able ot offer, explaining he was employed by INGUAT(Guatemalan governmental tourism organisation). I listened to him but demurred from giving him an answer. He then asked when he should return to hear my final answer. This was somewhat shocking to me but I give a time and bade him farewell.
The day was Saturday and I only had about 32 hours in Monterrico so I immediately went to the beach and dipped my feet in the sea. It was warm and despite its turbulence felt welcoming and enticing. The sand was also extremely warm and I realised that a little shopping was in order. Thankfully this was easy to arrange. Walking down the central street, several little outdoor stands catered to all things- beach. The place I chose even had a small changing room, flimsy but sufficient. Emerging out of my room with my new purchases I was already fully in tune with the beach vibe, shorts with a loosely hanging, unbuttoned shirt, flip flops also purchased at the same place, letting me feel the wind and the heat fo the sand below me.
The customary sensation was building in my stomach- tugging and pulling at me, demanding satisfaction;vhunger. I was craving some seafood which is what a beachtown would specialise in. Walking down the streets I realised how similar this part of the country was to some of the beaches I frequented in Cyprus. The same dirt roads populated by cars without any regard for pedestrian safety. The same bars, restaurants scattered alongside the beachfront, made of simple materials, wood, thatched roofs, plastic chairs, tables. The beaches have volleyball pitches as well as soccer pitches. The same sense of sweltering heat is also present, the absence of a cool wind, all conspiring to bog down your movements and to ground you in a hammock. The one interesting difference is that there are no wavebreakers present at any point along this particular part of Guatemala's coastline. Whereas in Cyprus a huge mass of rocks placed strategically far out at sea results in a peaceful and tranquil sea, in Monterrico the waves were enormous and unpredictable as is the Atlantic in general as I was to found out later.
Eventually I settled on a fish of the day meal at my hostel 'El Delfin'. It was a whole fish and I can safely safe that it was the best fish I have eaten so far in Guatemala. The hostel itself also had a pool, a bar, restaurant, limited wi-fi, ping-pong table, used books stand and free water refills for guests. I had heard interesting things about Hawaii, how it contained a bioreserve for protected turtles and how it was one of the recommended activities while in the area. The bus stop was next to the only bank in town, a strange place for people to be loitering. On the way I stopped at the local 'supermarket', a low rise building the size of a medium tienda in Antigua, poorly stocked to boot. I still bought an icecream since the heat unrelenting in its ferocity and intensity despite the makings of a tropical storm above.
I arrived at Hawaii with it already having started to rain. This did not deter me from receiving a tour of the park. Turtle eggs implanted into the sand, parrots with bitten of nails imitating human laughter, a rabbit very fond of lettuce, fish, crocodiles all called the park home. After that I ran into the warm sea seeking escape from the chilly rain. The sea was stormy and I battled with the sea in the same way that I did when I was a kid. In the sea, devoid of gravity, the human body feels graceful and mobile and flexible like nowhere else which is what I exploited. Jumping over the waves, standing strong over the waves, ducking under the waves, allowing myself to be dragged by the waves. My favourite was to run up to an incoming wave and attempt to jump over it. Inevitably the waves would strike my feet grounding me back to reality and to the water. It was after one of these attempts that I lost my glasses. There were 2 waves in quick succession one knocking me down to sea level, unhinging my glasses from my face, the second striking my face, grabbing my glasses and finally sweeping them from the desperately futile efforts of my hands to grab them. I could only blindly clutch at water having felt the glasses brush up against my hands as they slipped away.
Stumbling around I was able to eventually make my back to my hostel and a new pair of glasses. I then decided to have dinner somewhere different. Johhny's place was one of the most popular spots in town so for 10 dollars I had fish and chips, orange juice, several scoops of vanilla ice cream, several shots of alcohol, all of the finest taste and quality. It is thus overall quite possible to live, eat fine food all for the price of 20 dollars a day. I think that is a big part of why Monterrico is so popular with Guatemalans as nowhere else is the ratio of tourists to locals as equal as here. Other common destinations for tourists such as Semuc, Tikal remain off-limits to locals just because of the sheer cost. In a way asking for recommendations from various people, I perversely end up fulfilling their dreams of visiting one place or another without second thought. I closed the night with 'Red Square', a thriller set just before the August coup in the Soviet Union circa 1991, just as capitalism was starting to seize the commanding heights of the economy.
My bus the next morning was leaving at 4pm so I spent the day up to that point the way it should be on a beach. Lying in a hammock under the shade alternated with sun tanning and swimming in the pool. Total and complete relaxation was what defined this trip.
