(Originally written October 2019)
Earlier in the morning, Derek had connected with a towns-member who invited us to an exhibition of Bomba that was being held in the streets.
We took in the hearty rhythms and bold, graceful movements of the dancers. One dance in particular, “children were not allowed to do it because of how emotional it is.” I felt the beat of the drum, foot stomps, and passion deep in my soul; I was intimately moved by the spirit of the dance. “The musicians follow the lead of the dancer… she bows to them when she is finished.”
I walked away with a sense of power and resilience that is hard to explain. I felt connected to the heartbeat of the sound as it reverberated within me; the intensity and confidence in her movements.
We stopped at a beach where the sand burned my feet before we headed back to the kiosko and enjoyed a delicious meal of freshly caught fish and tostones – cilantro sauce on deck. I enjoyed fresh coconut water… con rum!
On the way back to OSJ, we passed by a beach, Vacia Taleja, and one of the other travelers and I exchanged numbers and planned to go back later in the evening – we both wanted to get in a couple of hours at the beach before the end of our respective trips. Again, I was dropped off last. “I’ll send you some info about a great place to go dance… Take care, fam!” Derek said before he drove off. It was a beautiful day where I truly felt connected to the culture. As detailed as this retelling is, it doesn’t compare to the information and hospitality that Derek shared on this excursion – it was more than I could have asked for, and once again I was overwhelmed with gratitude.
Around 4:30 I called an Uber and picked up the other traveler. The driver blasted back and forth between Lauryn Hill, Post Malone and reggaeton. I buckled my seatbelt as he sped along the slick highway – he seemed like someone who liked to drift for fun in his sports car, haha. “We might not get reception at the beach, can you just come back in two hours?” I asked. He gave me his whatsapp number instead and told me to call him.
We spent a couple of hours wading in the water as the sun set, reading our books. The sand reminded me of powdered gold – it was so soft. Momentarily, we chatted about our goals and the impact of capitalism on our professions. I took a stroll along the beach, passing families enjoying their Sunday evening.
As soon as the sun set, the mosquitoes appeared out of thin air. We had been warned that would happen, but we couldn’t have anticipated the way they swarmed our bodies – I’m pretty sure we even got bit on our faces! I called the Uber driver and it turns out he never left! “We’re along the road where you dropped us off.” As we waited for him to arrive, we soon saw a car reversing down the wrong side of the road. “Is that…?” Yes, yes it was. We burst out laughing. This guy…
Since I couldn’t “call the Uber” to take us home, we needed to pay him in cash. I was locked out of my Venmo (smh), so I spent most of the car ride home trying to figure out how to pay this man. There was a lot of traffic coming back into town that evening, some event or parade, so we couldn’t get close to the apartment. I left something of mine in his car (kinda like hold a valuable to make sure I come back), and I went to go get his monies, honey!
Afterwards, I changed clothes for the third time that day, strolled down the street and got some fries and the strongest mojito I’ve ever had in my life from a little pizza joint, and then turned in for the night.
This tour was $68; I spent about $15 for lunch, $45 each way for the Uber and $10 for dinner. It was one of my favorite days of the entire trip.