4:50 am I awake to a chilling sound, not the chirping birds I heard yesterday, but one that sounded like a gutteral screeching scream. I wasn’t exactly sure what I heard, but it caused me to sit up and listen close. Then I heard it again. This time a little closer than the first. My memory now awakened, I knew it was the same sound I heard five years ago, on my last visit to this country. Howler monkeys, billowing their terrifying call as they travel their domain early in the morning. I nudged Sean, to wake him so he can hear them too. It continued another four or five times  about a minute apart getting a little further in the distance each time.  Then again about thirty minutes later, it started again. Maybe it was a different tribe than the first.  This causes me to Google howler monkeys to learn more about them. Yes, at 5 o’clock in the morning. I read for a while then drifted back to sleep, until 7:00 when Sean greeted me on the porch with a delicious cup of coffee. By 2 in the afternoon, I checked off all of the items on my to do list. Which included not much of anything. As I write this, I am covered in sunscreen stretched out in a lounge chair under a palm tree, I just spent two hours devouring a book I brought with me from the Live Oak public library. The pedometer on my phone says I have taken a total of 56 steps today, that number doesn’t include the three times I dipped in the pool.

Our internet service was pretty sketchy today, but I was able to book a photo session back on Tybee for later this month, and a wedding later this year. This confirms what Sean and I have been discussing for a couple years now. We can begin to plan on scooting further south during the cold winter months. As long as we have internet, we can continue to market our businesses, and book weddings and photo sessions for the warm weather seasons. Since all three girls will be in cyber school next year, they can continue to do their school work from anywhere in the world. Now we just need to find someone who needs a house sitter during the same months that we can get away. Don’t laugh, stranger things have happened!

After waking up from my own nap, I found this little guy sleeping in our room, exhibiting a true cat nap!

By 3:00 we meandered down to a restaurant on the beach called “El Be” . The ambiance was relaxing and lazy. There were signs everywhere that said things like: “be happy” “be true” “be fun” “be courageous” “be lazy” and just “be”. Our servers were all extremly pleasant and I loved the vibe there. Sean ordered fish tacos and I had a salad that was perfecto. It was a bed of spinach with pistachios, corn and slices of white cheese. I have never had that combination before, but I took a picture so I could remember to make it again when we’re home.

Later we decided to register for surf lessons which will be tomorrow at 6am. Then we went to another beach front restaurant for happy hour. Reclining in two lounge chairs we watched others play on the beach. I wish I could say I sipped my two for one frozen mojitos. But I didn’t, I slurped them down like a kid at 7-11 on free slurpee day. We stayed there till an hour after sunset. The sky remained a coral orange that shimmered off the water for at least thirty minutes after sundown.

We stopped at the market on the way back to our villa picking up eggs and nacho fixins. Tonight I made hard boiled eggs for a quick breakfast in the morning, as well as a large pitcher of iced tea. I have not seen regular iced tea in any restaurants, and I like a little afternoon caffeine, so I just made my own.

We will call it an early night, since our surf lesson is just after sunrise. Our neighbor, Jack, told us that we will probably see some howler monkeys in the morning, but warned us that they do throw their poo at people, and have good aim. I am not wanting to write about that experience! Let’s hope for the best!