beach | The Hooksett Globetrotters

We are at a beach town in Thailand, with beaches and cliffs that are as beautiful as they are pristine. But instead of just enjoying the beach, I did something that I never did before; I went rock climbing. I liked it so much, I did it twice. I really liked it because it’s a good physical challenge. climbed on this cliff overlooking the ocean, and it could tower over the tallest tsunami, could dwarf the Burj Khalifa, nay EVEREST!!!The tallest climb that I did was about 90 feet, and another that was 80, but most of them at least 60 feet. The first couple ones were easy, lots of good handholds, but then my guide Sarut started giving me more difficult ones. There was one that I really liked, with a giant stalactite that I climbed around, and then I climbed up into an area with a couple bushes growing on the side of the cliff. There was another where I climbed over an overhang, and then one with handholds just big enough for my fingertips.

The one that was 80 feet tall was much harder than the 90-foot one. It was my fifth climb of the day and halfway up, exhaustion set in. I got so tired, I could barely hold on any longer, and told my belayer, Sarut, that I wanted to give up. He asked me if I was sure, and then I said no. He gave me a boost by pulling the rope, and it helped me get to a place with better handholds. About ten feet from the top, I felt like I was going to be , and again told him that I wanted to give up. He asked if I was sure, and again I told him no. He gave me another tug, and then I started climbing again until I reached the top. The view was breathtaking, although I couldn’t look down, out of fear of my glasses falling, or me seeing how high up I actually was!

In the place we are staying in Puerto Viejo, there are two little kittens. Their names are Cyber and Space, they are brother and sister, and both are ardorable. Cyber is a ginger male, that is slightly larger than Space, and is playful and fun. Space is a teensy little tortoiseshell, that is sleepy and sweet. They both enjoy exploring and playing with each other, and they often play in the bushes, and it is unusual for them to stray too far from the common space.

I like the kittens because they can fit in my hands, and they fall asleep in my lap. Sometimes when I am watching something on my iPad they will chew on my headphones, (Which isn’t great) climb up on me to head butt me, or nip at my fingers when I wiggle them in front of them. I also like just looking at their tiny faces, and giving them kisses, or nuzzling them. I think it is cute that sometimes when I try to play with them, instead of nipping me, they start licking my finger, or when I scratch the side of their throat, and they seem to just close their eyes and go to sleep within seconds.

The kittens, however, are not the only animals here. There are also five dogs, and they are everywhere. At any given moment, there are at least two dogs in sight, and they often come to sit under the table that you sit at. They are all big, the smallest one being a black lab, and they wander away from the home, often walking with us to the corner store down the street. Two of the dogs are the brothers of a dog at the pizzeria next door; everyone’s related here they say. One day when we were in moneteverede, we saw the same dog at the bakery we went to every day when we were in town, four kilometers away. It was the same in Drake Bay. The animals here ar pretty lucky because it’s all very free range.