Mid-Honeymoon Update

Well, so much to say. Tabacon was really worth it. We relaxed and enjoyed the beauty of the place. Neither of us had ever gotten room service before, so we got Mark some ice cream and that was fun. The food is really good. So far, Mark hasn´t been able to eat anything, so I am enjoying this stuff myself. The flavor is unique - some kind of blend of Europe, Spanish (but definately not Mexican) and a strong influence of the tropical environment. I have tried many new things.

The evening we arrived at Tabacon, I went out for steak San Carlito style while Mark laid in bed feeling terrible (this is a recurring theme, so far). We had a balcony at Tabacon, and I sat out there and wrote in a journal after dark and drank coffee. It was really pretty. The volcano actually errupts. I don´t know why this is a surprise from an active volcano, but basically, I wasn´t expecting to be able to hear it. It sounds like thunder. The jungle is a noisy place at night. Lots of creatures come out. It was really peaceful to hear the mix of frogs, crickets, birds, and whatever else was out there.

The next morning I went to the buffet, which was amazing! Enchiladas for breakfast! Fresh tropical fruit, cut or in a smoothie, cheeses, delicious pastries (I had one with some kind of coconut and fruit filling) palm leave wrapped tamales. Everything was terrific. I can´t describe. Anyway, I got some pictures. Mark felt good, no fever for a few minutes in the morning so we went for a short walk. He gets wiped out quick, so I walked him back to the room. Luckily we had this huge bath with water piped in from the hot springs, so he took lots of baths. (And thank heavens for cable television).

I went down to the springs. Talk about hot tubbing. They had thousands of little rivers connected by waterfalls with many different pools of varying hottnesses and mineral contents. I sat under a waterfall and let it hit my back (very powerful) for a while and then moved to a private, quiet place to read from The Di Vinci Code, which I have wanted to read for a while.

After a nap, we left and drove this crazy windy road up this huge hill and actually got to use our 4WD to get to our next hotel. It was at the top of a hill next to the volcano. The accommodations were sparse, but the view was wonderful and it had AC and a bath, so Mark survived (we had the laptop so he watched movies... no tv.) I went for a short walk and went to sleep for 12 hours. The combination of altitude and humidity is very tiring.

That brings us to this morning. Today was our longest drive from the volcano to the beach so we left early while Mark was feeling better and right after we ate. (I had fried plantain!) The roads are so filled with pot holes that it was hard to exceed 40 kph, which I think is like 20 mph. This went on for 5 hours. The scenery was basically savannah, like what you would expect to see in the desert in Africa. Those cool trees included.

We arrived at the Sugar Beach Hotel where we will be for the next three days around 3. I ate while Mark napped from the trip. I think his fever finally broke, because he was much, much better today. This hotel is really incredible. Infinity pool overlooking the beach, AC controlled by remote control, very nice menu (I had chicken nachos) and huge private balcony with two sets of sliding doors and our own hammock. I´ll spend a lot of time there.

Tonight we will drive in to town for medicines and supplies that we don´t want to get at the hotel and rest. Over the next three days we plan on lounging. Because Mark was sick and we missed our canopy tours through the jungle, if he gets feeling better, we will go on one here. There are a few rain forests nearby.

More to come...