12/14 La Placita to Maruata 55km & 12/15 Rest day in Maruata

Warm, hilly, only 25km to beach stop for food, swimming and sun. I snorkeled but did not see any fish. Hilly and sunny to Maruata, total 55km. Great views along the way. New regional hospital in the tiny village of
Maruata. Most primitive overnight stop yet, but a real experience as well. Palapas with thatched roofs, no plumbing in rooms, 300p.  Wandered the great beaches and rock formations. A bit of tequila before dinner since tomorrow is a rest day.  Owners wife just had 5th child a couple days ago, so food was prepared by daughter.  Good fresh seafood, a bit overcooked.  Gregorio is the proud papa and somewhat lazy proprietor, oldest son Ruholio gets the 'call' for most things.  Grandparents live next door.  Even outdoor plumbing is very primitive, first place on this trip that provides mosquito nets, some grumbling since we are staying two nights.

On the rest day a small group of us hired a fisherman via Gregorio to take us to a remote beach.  Dragging the boat across the sand and into the water took quite a bit of effort by several fisherman and bikers while Gregorio looked on.  Many interesting water birds.  On the way to the beach we boated through a tunnel and stopped at a rocky formation where we could snorkel from the boat.  Warm clear, rocky, waves and many fish.  At the beach we snorkeled and saw alot more fish.  Basil attempted to catch dinner with his rubber powered spear.  After the boat outing we went in search of lunch and internet and settled for snacks at the small store.  There we met two bikers who had obviously been on the road for awhile.  They were a young couple from Quebec who started in Feb., down the east coast of USA across the south, into Mexico and down to Panama and the other nearby countries.  Now they were going up the west coast and back across Canada to Quebec.  16,000km (10,000mi) so far.  Camping and accepting the generosity of locals was their standard overnight accommodations.  In the evening we were back at Gregorios place for dinner, where a second tequila tasting event had starting due to the difficulty of tomorrows ride?!?  I did not participate but somehow was seen to be the motivating force.  Still not sure how that happened.