We got up early and had breakfast at the café opposite the hotel to combat the alcoholic hangover from last night. We walked along the deserted white sandy beach and went for a reviving morning splash in the surf and a jog along the shoreline.
We got some watered-down juice from a small restaurant with a refrigerator attached to a palm tree and went on to investigate the nearby waterfall. There are three waterfalls close together along the Montezuma River. The waterfall closest to town is the largest. It is about 80 feet tall. Although it is strongly suggested that you do not jump from the top of the lower waterfall (we did), there is a nice pool for swimming at the base.
This involved a clamber along the rocky course of the Montezuma River. We soon came to a small canyon in a scenic jungle setting where water cascaded down about a hundred-foot drop (80 feet) into a deep rock pool.
We sat in the shade and swam in the beautifully cool fresh water. Other tourists swam and sunbathed, with most of the girls topless. On our way back to town we stopped at a minor waterfall to wash off the sweat. It is an idyllic setting in the jungle with the rocky river with hot sun and blue skies overhead.
Howler monkeys gave terrifying shrieks from the woodland and small lizards scurried away from our path. Huge, coloured butterflies and dragonflies flittered around us. Soon the sun got too hot and we retired to our hotel to sit in the shade.
We were able to change up to a spacious room with two beds and we only ventured out to drink cold Coca Cola in the café opposite. We chatted to Chris, the huge Alaskan, about Central American rip-offs and con tricks.
In the afternoon we dozed and read our books. Later there was a nice evening breeze and we sat at the back of the hotel while the light of the day faded away. We ate supper at Chico’s Bar which consisted of an excellent fish meal with an endless supply of rice and red beans.
We went on to meet two Americans, Fred and Rick, in the Montezuma Hotel Bar, cheerfully helping them to eat their rubbery conch. We had a couple of beers and then went out into the moonlight to sit on the beach chatting while the surf crashed onto the shore.
Chris reminded us of the Central American and Mexican proclivity for pouring pop (soft drinks) into plastic bags to take away, the glass bottles being too valuable to give away. He said he was tempted to go into a store with a condom and ask for a litre of Coca Cola in it!
The nearby bar got rowdier and rowdier with locals yelling and singing while a Californian fellow with long hair played the guitar (there’s always one!). Firecrackers also added to the general melee of sound.
We sat on our porch with Rick relating some banal strung-out stories until midnight when we bid farewell to Fred and Rick and went to bed.
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