Puerto Rico - Day Six

I'd read about the coquis and even listened to them on the internet, but they are so much better in person (or in frog?) - I believe there are a few different species, and when they croak they say, "Cookie!" So in the evenings when I'm walking around and the frogs are all singing, I think about Cookie. I'll have to remember to tell him when I get home.

A comical thing just happened. Well, let me back up a little. I'm driving again today, up and down and around. I had been looking for this beach that I had randomly picked out on the map, but after I'd driven back and forth and hadn't found it (but I did find a tiny sandy island with a little house on it!) I decided that I didn't care after all and changed my goal to seeing the lighthouse. And I did see the lighthouse. And the beach there was so incredible. The water was just breathtaking. I feel like I keep using the same adjectives over and over, but it is just almost shocking, almost dizzying when you come upon something so beautiful. Okay.

So I put my stuff kind of under this tree. There weren't any palms there, it was brushy with a few little trees so I lucked out to get this spot under this tree, I thought. And this tree had a perfect place on it to sit and eat my apple, which was great. I though. So I sat on the branch for a couple of minutes eating my apple and then I got up to grab my sunglasses and I glanced back and the whole bottom trunk part of the tree was completely covered in tiny black ants and I was like, ohhhhhh shit. And I took off for the water but trying to act normal, you know to not draw attention to myself but I wanted to get in the water FAST and wash off my ass. And there were rocks and I was falling but trying to get in the water. I don't know if there were ants on me or how many. It was just creepy crawlie. And funny. And awkward.
The other day driving I saw some scary industrialized farming - great big fields and great big tractors. I saw a tractor absolutely dowsing a corn field with spray. And I saw Monsanto signs. Maybe we could just give the whole state of North Dakota to Monsanto, and all the people could leave, and Monsanto could just do whatever they want there. And in exchange, they can leave every place else alone.

Apparently one person can't go to the beach alone. It doesn't happen. And so one single person on a beach attracts friendly people. Like a magnet. So there were these two old men watching me at the beach, kind of keeping an eye on me. I could tell it was bothering them that I didn't have anyone to talk to. And then, sure enough, out they swam, to talk to me. They were really cute, maybe late-60's. The guy from Puerto Rico told me that his son was a drummer in Menudo. The guy from Peru was talking about a friend of his who takes nudist cruises and plays tennis in the nude, and that he might try it once just to see what it's like.