Today we leave Ataco, after not eating a taco .... & head to El Palmarcito & a beach famous for it's metallic black volcanic sand. That was not a typo. Black Sand!!
As Aussies, we loooooove the beach & can not wait to see it. El Palmarcito is also famous for the surf, I'd love to give it another go, but I'm not a strong or confident swimmer, so it's a strong maybe.
We leave Ataco in the morning & drove for a few hours. The mini van taking us between destinations is full of our luggage & people. It's a rather boring journey & we are all excitedly waiting to arrive & see the beach & our new resort accommodation.
About 30 minutes before our arrival, the sky opens up & it starts pouring down with rain.
The rain is rather persistent & it's still raining very heavily when we arrive at Atami Beach Resort.
Our plans for going straight to the beach are stalled, but after about an hour the rain slow's down & eventually stops.
As Aussies, we loooooove the beach & can not wait to see it. El Palmarcito is also famous for the surf, I'd love to give it another go, but I'm not a strong or confident swimmer, so it's a strong maybe.
We leave Ataco in the morning & drove for a few hours. The mini van taking us between destinations is full of our luggage & people. It's a rather boring journey & we are all excitedly waiting to arrive & see the beach & our new resort accommodation.
About 30 minutes before our arrival, the sky opens up & it starts pouring down with rain.
The rain is rather persistent & it's still raining very heavily when we arrive at Atami Beach Resort.
Our plans for going straight to the beach are stalled, but after about an hour the rain slow's down & eventually stops.
Atami is quite nice & is set on the cliff side, offering spectacular views of 2 beach's. There is 3 pools, a water slide that is actually a good 30 seconds of sliding fun, rock pools built into the cliff & access to both beach's. We are in basic accommodation with girls & boys being split up.
When we got to the beach, it was amazing! I was equal parts excited & sceptical about how beautiful it would be. Being from Australia & having been to Whitehaven many times, I'm very critical of beaches. But this beach won a spot in my heart & comes highly recommended.
The sand is metallic colours of black, very dark grey, silver & dark blue. The sand is powder fine & very soft & did I mention it glitters ?!
The little cove that is nestled in next to the cliff is very picturesque with palm trees & coconuts. Little beach shack restaurants, surf boards, boats & relaxed music.
At the other end of the cove is another cliff, making this beach feel very private. Sitting on top of the cliffs are bright coloured painted houses, contrasting with the surrounding green trees, blue sky & black sand.
Pictures seriously don't do it justice!
The little cove that is nestled in next to the cliff is very picturesque with palm trees & coconuts. Little beach shack restaurants, surf boards, boats & relaxed music.
At the other end of the cove is another cliff, making this beach feel very private. Sitting on top of the cliffs are bright coloured painted houses, contrasting with the surrounding green trees, blue sky & black sand.
Pictures seriously don't do it justice!
I walk down the beach with Ronnie, Hugo, Hannah & Birte, till we get to Ronnie's favourite beach shack. We order coconuts with rum in them & sit back to admire the view & dig our toes in the sand.
Once we get back to the resort, Hannah, Dolly & I go check out the water slide.
It's super fun & we giggle like children while appraising each other's very different techniques.
Finally, we relax in the pool for awhile before getting ready to go out for a group dinner down on the beach at the place Ronnie took us earlier today.
The specialty is seafood, of course.
We all are ready & assembled at reception just after dark. Unfortunately the resorts beach access is closed after dark & we have to make our way down to the restaurant via the road. This is not really a problem except for the fact that there is a massive dog fight going on outside the property between 4 dogs. 2 of them are locked around each other's throats & plan to fight till the death.
2 of the dogs are owned by people who were out walking them & some locals in nearby houses run out to help, when they hear the ruckus.
They are big dogs & the noise is horrendous, not to mention the people nearby that are screaming. The people are successful in separating the dogs after lots of effort & risk on the owners part.
1 dog in particular is going to be very sore in the morning.
It takes about 10 minutes to get to the restaurant & once seated we are served some local rum, courtesy of Ronnie & our food starts coming out. The food is amazing of course & the atmosphere next to the beach was perfect. Once dinner is finished the Spanish dance tunes start playing & a bonfire on the beach is lit.
This combined with more rum & the contagious dance fever, propels this party well into the night.
It's close to 3am when the last 8 of us stumble back to the resort, have a quick dip in the pool & then collapse into our beds!
- Alli
It's super fun & we giggle like children while appraising each other's very different techniques.
Finally, we relax in the pool for awhile before getting ready to go out for a group dinner down on the beach at the place Ronnie took us earlier today.
The specialty is seafood, of course.
We all are ready & assembled at reception just after dark. Unfortunately the resorts beach access is closed after dark & we have to make our way down to the restaurant via the road. This is not really a problem except for the fact that there is a massive dog fight going on outside the property between 4 dogs. 2 of them are locked around each other's throats & plan to fight till the death.
2 of the dogs are owned by people who were out walking them & some locals in nearby houses run out to help, when they hear the ruckus.
They are big dogs & the noise is horrendous, not to mention the people nearby that are screaming. The people are successful in separating the dogs after lots of effort & risk on the owners part.
1 dog in particular is going to be very sore in the morning.
It takes about 10 minutes to get to the restaurant & once seated we are served some local rum, courtesy of Ronnie & our food starts coming out. The food is amazing of course & the atmosphere next to the beach was perfect. Once dinner is finished the Spanish dance tunes start playing & a bonfire on the beach is lit.
This combined with more rum & the contagious dance fever, propels this party well into the night.
It's close to 3am when the last 8 of us stumble back to the resort, have a quick dip in the pool & then collapse into our beds!
- Alli
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