When Vacation is Both Doing and Doing Nothing

Vacation has a funny way of reminding us to slow down, that we don't have to do everything. I didn't remember this until after I had tried to do everything yesterday. This morning, I'm sitting here in the sun on the porch and staring at the ocean, reminding myself of what I didn't remember a day ago.

Yesterday we did little lounging and lots of hiking. We went to the Bosque Estatal de Guanica, the bio reserve about 15 minutes away for a few hikes. I love when a hike gives you a view as a reward. We first took the hour long hike to Mirador El Vigia, which took us along the beautiful wooded forest with an eclectic mix of trees. We could hear the geikos scurrying in the undergrowth as we walked, which kept us laughing at their startled behavior. The butterflies were everywhere, of all colors, and they never stood still long enough for us to capture them on film. Birds flew around and hawks above us. It was a hot day, but the breeze kept us cool. Then, we were at the Mirador and what a view. Nothing but hills covered in forests and a cloud dappled blue sky.

We walked back via the Camino Las Granadas, which gave us a nice path but no new view. Back at the car park, we strolled to the balcony with the ocean view. The turquoise seemed to call us, so off we drove to the seaside path. We traversed down a windy beach road that had us passing beach after beach, families and couples and school kids all out for the afternoon. We parked and strolled along the path to the mangroves. It was a beautiful stroll along the water, and we stopped again and again to take photos of the water, the vegetation, and the shore. Soon our stomachs told us that it was time to turn back. We never made it to the mangroves, but it was a beautiful hour long walk.

Back at the house, it was a late lunch full of good food and a little time for relaxation before jetting out to drive to see the sunset. If we would have listened to ourselves, we would have stayed here and rested. Alas, hindsight.

We drove the hour to Boqueron, watching the sun get lower and lower. The road took us through Lajas, causing us to miss the poorly posted turn. We traveled through town and country roads, arriving just as the sun was setting. I hurried the beach guard along, assuring him that I was happy to pay him $4.86 to park but could he please hurry up. It was one of my less calm moments! So, in we drove and instead of just paring and hopping out to catch it, I drove in search of the spot that seemed right, only to find ourselves at a dead end in an inlet where we couldn't see the sun setting. So, after a few "at least I'll get a shot or two of the sky" photos, we hopped in the car and drove the hour back home.

We settled into our exhausted bodies, ate dinner, and crashed early. For me, the day ended on the futon under the fan, yawning to Todd on the phone, and letting an Adam Sandler movie put me to sleep. Vacation, sometimes you need to give in to the urge to do nothing, especially after 2 1/2 hours of hiking!