A new day. After finally falling asleep somehow, I knocked the heck out. The body knows what it needs. And this bed was COMFY oh my goodness. Seriously thought about extending my stay just to sleep another night in that bed.
I think I woke up around 8:30am, which was a bit later than I would have preferred. My flight home would leave at 4:30pm, so with airport shenanigans and all, I had a short day ahead of me. I looked up some things to do and headed out. I walked outside to the Malecon and bam the Valodores were at it again. I sat and watched, still thinking this is a treat to see (it was always sooo elusive in Joyabaj). Although it was much more of a performance here, it's hard to deny that the ocean background makes the whole experience pretty incredible.
After that I was on my way to a chocolate shop for a little breakfast(?). I passed by the cathedral where I bought a few souvenirs and then passed by another shop where I bought the rest of my souvenirs. The prices were hiked up for sure, but they were two ladies my age running the place and it's covid times and I have a job and lots of pesos that I needed to get rid of before the end of the day. I think I got some nice things :) I finally found the chocolate shop where I ordered a hot chocolate (shocking) and a warm brownie. Both were super good, although I'm not sure any hot chocolate will ever compare with Spain's. I thought I'd eat this lil breakfast at the beach, but on the way I encountered a stream with lots of trees and wildlife, so I paused there for my snack. It was really lovely. Not as beachy as the rest of the "nature" around town. There were even a few bridges (I later found out there was an island here). It was a cute little island but definitely overrun for tourist money gain. Oh well. Fun to walk through.
I had officially crossed into the Romantic District. Before, I was in Centro the entire time. The Romantic District was definitely more catered to tourists with lots of vendors and the beach full of lawn chairs and tables. Every single water-side building was either a restaurant, hotel, or combo of both. It made me very glad I got an Airbnb in Centro so that I could avoid all this tourist mess. Centro is for sure still very touristy, but you at least see locals enjoying themselves there as well.
I walked along the Playa de Los Muertos pier - a very modern sail-boat-esque pier that serves many boats and their tourist/fishing activities. It was super nice and provided a good spot to sit and drink my now drinkable hot chocolate.
Oh I forgot to mention that my flight to LAX was delayed. By 2 hours. Bye bye connecting flight. I had to rebook onto an earlier flight, cutting my day even shorter. I wish I lived in LA so this delay would've been a welcome mistake. Oh well. While at the pier I finally had enough time and service to book an earlier flight through SFO. Once I got that all sorted out, I realized I had time for my last activity and that was it. I wanted a marg on the beach.
I had done some research and found some places to go, but some were just too touristy. I finally got to one thought that served margaritas and food. perfect.
2025-02-13