the last of the beach

A few random notes from the last few days at the beach before we closed up the house and left town.

The day before departure, the coconut harvester showed up with his machete and his dog.  Fernando had arranged for him to come and harvest all the fruit from the tree in the back and the ones in the lot next door.  He went into the back, took off his flip flops and shimmied up the tree, his mcshete dangling from  a long rope around is waist.

He disappeared into the overhanging fronds, then hauls the knife up and started hacking off great clusters of coconuts.  He tied them to the rope and gently lowered them to the ground where Fernando untied them.  He hauled the rope back up, cut more, lowered them, etc.  Here was about half the harvest.

What he cut from the palms in the adjacent lot was about three times this number, although the nuts aren't as large or as juicy; the tree in the back gets regular irrigation.  The others just have to survive on their own.  Total was probably around 100 nuts total. Fernando loaded them into his truck and took them down to the puesto to use in the bar.

For my last beach lunch, this beautiful, sweet and juicy melon.

Two hours later I found myself here, in this super-sterile and colorless airport.  Cruel and unusual, I'd say.

This was one of my fellow travelers.

Three and a half hours later we were in Los Angeles, and a few hours later we were home in bed.  Long day but good to be back anyway.  Woke in the night, heard no surf, had NO idea where I was or how I got here.  Now, after a week, I'm almost (almost) resigned to the fact that I have to wait  8 months until I get back.  Fortunately, a lot will be happening in that time.  First big event:  Em's graduation next month.  Already packing.