Dear Travel Diary, Wednesday, January 29th was a day of fun and new adventures on Ometepe. One of the lovely families we have met had made a very kind offering to have our little Z accompany them to a dance event at El Pital, the “chocolate paradise” where lots of events happen and you can sit by the lake at tables and couches and swing chairs, sipping on fancy smoothies and eating yummy things.
Now, dancing is something that’s really important to me. I’ve never taken a formal dance class (aside from belly dance very recently), and I don’t consider myself a “dancer” in the sense that I know what I’m doing and have all these learned moves. But I love to dance, and find that I need it as a part of what makes me happy and satisfied in life. Having started to attend Dance Temple on Salt Spring Island over the last year has been an incredibly soul-soothing activity that I wish I had taken up invites to sooner. Being able to go to a place where there is no judgement, you’re encouraged to move in any way that feels right for you, no pressure to talk (no talking allowed on the floor at Dance Temple) and no creepy pick-up attempts by random people out at the usual bar scene where most of the dancing I’ve experienced in my life has been – it’s so beautiful. Truly a freeing experience in self-expression open acceptance that I wish for everyone.
So I had imagined I would probably want to dance at least a little while when we dropped Z off, to move my body and see what this dance was like. An hour and a half later, I was dripping with sweat and full of happiness. Better than I could have imagined, this took Dance Temple to a whole new level of fun and playfulness, with half the 20 or so participants being children, skipping and spinning and running through hoops, dancing with scarves, and being alive in the space. It was an absolute pleasure to see Z stepping into this kind of experience, where she was encouraged to be herself, to move in her own ways, to not hold back for fear of judgement or criticism from others. This 6th-grade stage of life has come with a lot of outer ideas about impressing people and not doing things that will make you the target of cruel critiques, or cast you out of a posse, and I don’t like it. Watching her transform from hesitant and unsure how she should move, to trusting her body and impulses and simply having fun with others, it filled me with such intense happiness and gratitude for the experience.
I danced and danced and smiled huge smiles.
After the dancing we jumping into the lake with Z’s friends and some others for a dip. So refreshing, and the perfect top-off to the dance.
Z being safe and welcome to stay with the family who had invited her, us parents snuck away for lunch on our own. We walked to Cafe mi Casita, a restaurant out of a home nearby with three tables and chairs. A group of young children were deep in imaginary play on the rocks close to us, with their toys and paper planes and the hardiest giggles that reminded me of Z’s exuberant laughter when she was a toddler.
There was no menu, but a meal of the day that was told to us (feeling very happy about how our Spanish keeps improving), which we accepted and then devoured. It was a huge serving of gallo pinto, salad, fried bananas, and a vegetable omelet, all of which was delicious. I was full for the rest of the day and then some. I would highly recommend making a stop for a meal at this place.
To finish off the adventuring part of the day, we made a scooter ride out to find a house near Merida that we had just rented for the two weeks at the end of our trip. We were glad we had driven out to check out the place beforehand, as part way there the road turned from paved to very rocky and bumpy and somewhat unpleasant on the scooter. Which would be fine if we had a car or ATV, or wanted to stay close to home for the time. The area felt nice, very residential with farmlands and restaurants and little shops around, but with our decision to remain on Ometepe for the final two weeks of our time away largely because of Z’s desire to see her new friends, this was just a little too far out and difficult to imagine getting to and from, and having her friends travel to and from.
Until next time. I still have lots to catch up on from the last few days. I’ll get there. In the meantime, if you’d like to see some videos that I share as we go, you can check out my photography Instagram account where I share bits and pieces to my stories and reels. If you know me personally (or want to send me a message to introduce yourself and you’re a real person who doesn’t seem creepy) and request access to my private account, I share more there. I also plan to post the nicer, camera photos on my photography website blog once I finish editing a few more.