Puerto Escondido!

Puerto Escondido is basically the love of my LIFE. I couldn't really tell you exactly what has happened every day, as they all kindof run together now, but this is the basis of my week: laying on the beach, swimming in the ocean, eating quesadillas, drinking on the beach, sunbathing, eating quesadillas, making new friends. Its absolutely beautiful all the time, our hotel is right on the beach and I can see the ocean from where I'm sitting right now... This beach has the 3rd best surf in the world, there are surf competitions here but unfortunately for the single girls of the group, not right now. And though the days do seem to run together, here are a few memories that stick out in my mind:

1. Our bus ride was 9.5 hours; we left at 11 pm and rode all night. I tried to sleep, but the road was so curvy that my head kept wipping around all the time and waking me up, so basically NO SLEEP for an entire night. we got into Puerto Escondido around 8:30, took a taxi to our hotel, dropped our stuff off and went to find some breakfast at one of the many thatched-roof huts on the side of the beach.

2. A guy walks up to us at sunset one evening and asks us if we would like to go on a boat tour the next morning, and we say our favorite catch phrase here, "Why not?" So the next morning we wake up with the sun and ride in the back of a truck to this beach, where we meet Jesus and Julio, our guides for the next few hours as we ride around on the ocean in a boat, looking at dolphins, sea turtles, and stingrays. Then the drop us off at a beautiful beach, where we get to chill for a few hours and of course drink margaritas and eat quesadillas. They came to pick us up a few hours later.

3. We have decided that the cheese here has some sort of crack in it, as the only thing we all CRAVE are quesadillas. There hasn't been one day where I haven't had them!

4. One restaurant gave us chips and salsa for an appetizer, and we all gasped when the waitress up them on the table in front of us... since we've been in Mexico, no one has served us chips and salsa. This basically made our entire day.

5. Sitting on the beach with everyone, holding a beer, and staring up at the stars, realizing that I haven't seen the southern half of the sky before. The big dipper was upside down and the North Star was almost on the horizon. It really makes me realize how far away I actually am from home.

6. Beau making fun of Abby and I, because we were talking about our Senior Projects. "I baked a cake!" Abby said. "I made a quilt!" I added. "Wow, nice to meet you Betsy and Marge." Beau snorted.

7. It is not possible for 8 girls to live together and spend almost every moment together and for there to not be girl drama. Impossible. ANNOYING.

8. Our many friends we've made: The surfer boys we met on the first day who asked us to hold their stuff while the surfed... "Hi, I'm Golden." You suuuure are buddy. "More like crispy burnt." Linnaea said when they walked away. The Guys Downstairs, who lived below us for the first part of the week and who we liked to go hang out with. Jesus and Julio, our boat guides, who invited us to a bar on monday night. We continue to see Julio everywhere, which is becoming a bit awkward as we tried to set up Linnaea with him and they didn't really work out (She decided that he probably dates all the tourist girls and likes to keep a tally of them). Tom the New Zealander, who likes to hit on me and Olivia, especially Olivia, because I've made it clear about the whole, "I have an American boyfriend" thing. He definitely gave Olivia a kiss or two on her hand, and likes to make jokes that you usually make with people you know better and not girls you just met. Eric and friends, boys from New York who didn't think they'd get burnt from the sun because they went tanning before they came. Riiiiight, nice try boys. The best part about these boys though was the fact that we got to give them advice about Mexico, as if we were locals! We recommended places to go, what bus to take, told them that yeah don't drink the water but you can probably still brush your teeth with it, and gave them the best news they had ever heard, "The peso is 13 to a dollar, not 7, morons."

8. Tonight a little boy came up to us and tried to sell us muffins, and because he was so adorable, we bought some. "You look like movie stars," he said later, coming back to our table. "Awwww!" we exclaim. "Want a muffin?" Erm. No. We already hopped on that boat and we're not falling for your cuteness again. "No, but you have really good english!" We tell him, hoping that'll console him.

9. The decisions we have to make here are SO difficult... What dress should I buy? Which drink should I get? Should I get crepes or an omelet for breakfast? Should we go to this beach or that one? Should I tan or go swimming? Do I want to sit in a hammock or a chair? Do I want dessert? Our arguments are as equally hard... I think that tequila goes better with mango. Well I think RUM goes better, etc. We've got some life-changing decisions to make here, as well as monumental arguments to discuss. It feels great not to think about anything other than food, drinks, and beaches. I know that that can't last FOREVER, but for now it's perfect.

Seriously this is probably one of the best vacation I've ever been on, its so different with girlfriends than with your family. I'm definitely coming back here someday and would recommend it to ANYONE. Its absolutely my favorite part of Mexico so far, and we are all dreading returning to Oaxaca, where we actually have to go to school and do homework and listen to lectures and speak spanish all the time and THINK. Not saying that this won't be, you know, beneficial to our education... but this right now is the perfect break from everything.