Islet de Pinel... finally!

Jan 7
Since we didn't get to Pinel yesterday we thought today would be a good day. The day started the same with a beach walk and croissants for Paula and I met Steve again who mentioned that Tuesday night is the management wine and cheese party at Papagayo. Back at the condo Paula and I finished a brunch, rounded up the snorkel gear (actually still in the car from the day before) and headed off to the Pinel Ferry.

The ferry runs every half hour and is nothing more than a little open boat with a bunch of benches in it. It's $10/pp and about a 5-7 minute ride. Once on the island we decided to take a hike around the trails and look for a good spot to snorkel. We did enjoy the hike (although wish we’d taken something besides flip-flops) and got some great views including Tintamarre Island where we're supposed to go on Thursday. We didn't see any spots calm enough for Paula to try so we just ended up back at the main beach and decided to have some lunch at one of the restaurants there, Le Karibuni. Everything on the menu looked good but Paula ordered the ceviche and I the grilled Mahi Mahi. Both were very good and the atmosphere was special as well! For starters, our table was a wooden picnic table in the sand under a palm tree. Entertainment was all the finches flying around and the odd rooster wandering by! Not sure what's with all the chickens and goats on the island but you see them frequently. After our waiter brought our food we saw him jump in a boat and bugger off. Strangely nobody came to check on us or bring us more drinks until he returned about the time we were done eating. The food was great but the service was pretty poor actually. Because we had headed over so late there wasn't much time left before the last ferry headed back at 5 pm so we took a very brief walk along the beach back to the ferry dock and headed home. That makes the second day in a row we headed out with the snorkel gear only to return with it unused. Pinel is an interesting island and I would certainly return again some time if the opportunity presented itself. We cleaned ourselves up back at the condo and started the walk down to Papagayo for the wine and cheese meet and greet at 6 o'clock. First thing we see John and Nancy (a couple we’d met previously) and John takes us around to show us the wine and cheese. We got a couple of glasses of red wine and since John was full at his table we headed over to Steve and Donna at the bar. They had some art and jewelry displays which we went and perused. We found a couple of pieces of jewelry from one woman and made plans to meet up with her again Friday to pay for them.
Later I met another couple who were from Saskatoon and who had just celebrated their 40th anniversary. I chatted with them a while before they left and then returned to Paula who was still with Steve and Donna. We had another drink or two then walked home along the beach.