The slow-down plan has gone into full effect – rather than chasing all over the island I’ve decided to settle down in Sosua and enjoy the beach life. This plan comes with significant advantages – prior to this evening I had never eaten surf and turf, but that was rectified tonight in a very, very good way. Happiness factor: 9.8.
The day’s other notable event was the advent of the beach filter. Much like someone who lives next to train tracks will eventually learn to sleep through the nightly ruckus, I seem to have developed some sort of portly-geriatrics-in-small-swimwear filter that has served me well and makes the beach experience much more pleasant. With this new-found ability to mostly ignore distractions on the beach, what remains is a generally-impressive display of the human form, although I’m still unable to avoid a shock whenever a guy in a banana hammock strolls past – I’m very, very hopeful that the necessary filter for that scenario will engage as soon as possible. In addition to people-watching, the day’s beach trip also provided a chance to get some sun and do some snorkeling. Two hours after starting out I returned sandy, whiteish-red, and without having seen a single fish, but between the bikinis, the soft sand, the crashing waves, and the great weather I wouldn’t really change much. The whale trip starts in five days, and until then there will be much napping, sunning, swimming, eating, and otherwise enjoying the latitude.