Yesterday and today we had a couple of very nice beach days, although today was colder – cloudy and a bit windy.  We’re getting more and more comfortable with communicating and doing ok in our spanglish.  We are also getting onto a more traditional schedule here – dinner 9 pm (if we eat one), European style breakfast (9 a.m) and lunch.  I’ve been waking the boys up at 9 for breakfast, then doing school until about 1 or 2, then off to the beach/lunch/etc.  It’s a good schedule as the hostel is quiet in the a.m. as everyone leaves.  Our car paperwork is finalized and we meet with the official parties tomorrow so we’ll be moving to a house about 100 KM away in the afternoon.  The picture below is of our hostel/house where we are staying on the hill – very near the presidential palace.  It’s the tan/green one.    This house is part of a series of 7 houses that were built for one family in 1918 – European merchant family – each house for each son.  Only five houses remain – the brown/white one next door is incredibly nice (private) – with hand crafted wood finished interior.

We were at the beach yesterday when up comes this crazy dog (a stray).  He was crazy for feathers – started digging holes and then burying them in the sand.  The boys would dig one out when he wasn’t looking and show it to him – he’d get the feather, starting digging back in the same spot and re-bury it.  (keep reading for more and pics…)

He destroyed our sand castle but it was great fun.  Hayden met a local dude on the beach and they were conversing in Spanish – good for his spanish skills.

Entertainers:  There are these cool beach entertainers that also come by.  There are these guys with drums on their backs, symbols tied to their feet and they do this amazing drumming session.  They go around town, spin around in circles all while playing the drums – it’s very cool.  Their feet control the high-hat symbol mounted on the drum – and they keep perfect rhythm with the other players.  They are also playing the drum on their back – not on the front – hitting the sides with longer sticks.  It’s pretty neat.  There was also a Chinese dragon thing happening on the boardwalk.