Ocotal Beach

I left my wonderful eight-dollar hotel room early this morning to catch a six o'clock bus that would begin my journey to Playas del Coco. I've spent a lot of time juggling around the itinerary for my last three days in my head and until yesterday I really hadn't come up with anything solid. I finally decided I'd head to Playas del Coco, famous for it's scuba diving, for the first of the three days and I'd spend the last two days at Playas del Tamarindo learning to surf. After yet another long jouney by hand-me-down busses from the United States, I finally reached Playas del Coco at one o'clock this afternoon. The idea was to do one or two afternoon dives and then head down to Tamarindo, but since I arrived so late the earliest I'll be able to dive is tomorrow. Diving tomorrow is fine, it just means that I'll spend one less day at Tamarindo. The thing that really disappointed me though was that I would effectively have to chalk this day up as another one burned in transit.

It stinks to have only three weeks to travel and to have to burn a few of those days just to move around in a country. I usually try to do at least one thing that's worth while on my transit days so that I don't feel like the entire day is wasted. In Coban I went to the coffee plantation, in Copan I went to the bird park, and before leaving Roatan I went to the local butterfly garden.

I had to make a serious effort today to find anything remotely worthwhile to do. After booking a diving trip for tomorrow I asked one of the staff at Rich Coast Divers what there is to do in Playas del Coco except for dive. The guy got a blank look and said, “Ummmm... dive”. Coco is great and I'm glad I'm here, but the beach is nothing to speak of. I'd just as soon hang out on the beach at Utah Lake as I would on the beach at Coco. The guy at the dive shop did mention one other thing to do though. He said that two miles south of Coco is another beach covered in volcanic sand and rock called Ocotal beach. With my options limited to the garbage-can-brown sand of Coco or the mysterious volcanic formations at Ocotal, I chose Ococtal.

While in India I visited a black sand beach on the southern coast that was absolutely spectacular. I remembered how amazing that beach was, but only with hesitation. I figured that no beach so close to Coco could have too much to offer and I didn't want to get my hopes up for something that would likely turn out to be sub-par. When I got to Ocotal the beach was about what I expected, but I walked along the shore anyway for the sake of doing something besides just walking back to Coco.

As I walked towards the south end of the beach I noticed a small outcrop of volcanic rock stretching out into the ocean. Having nothing else to do, I kept walking as the sand met the lava rock and followed the shoreline around to a spot where the rocks jutted into the sea, forming a tiny peninsula. As the sun lowered past it's late afternoon position I pulled the lens cap off my camera and started taking pictures.

At first the rocky peninsula didn't strike me as a very impressive place, but as I started looking for photo opportunities I discovered more natural beauty. My first discovery was a small rocky overhang that caused waves to crash in unique patterns as they came into the shore. After a few pictures I noticed pools of calm water that provided perfect reflections of the cloudy sky. Next came experimentation with different textures. I tried to capture the rough ocean in some shots and the calm pools in others. Occasionally I would frame both the pools and the ocean in the same shot. The wet lava rocks were another opportunity to experiment with textures. I found one rock with two orange mineral formations growing on it that provided a colorful contrast to the dark brown surrounding them. After two hours of snapping pictures and wandering around the edges of the peninsula, Ocotal beach had become a completely magical place.Working to discover natural beauty in a place when it otherwise would not be there is a completely new concept to me. I used to think that beauty is either there or it isn't. Now I wonder how many places like Ocotal Beach I passed up without realizing how amazing those places really are. There are some places that anyone could see the beauty in. Take Semuc Champey for example. A blind man could see the natural beauty at Semuc Champey. Places like that are great because they're so incredible and inspiring. At the same time though, when it takes work to see the real beauty in a place it's easier to appreciate the beauty that is there. Also, after learning to enjoy a place like Ocotal Beach, places like Semuc Champey become that much better.

I love the flood of new thoughts and ideas that comes with traveling to a new place. When I travel, and especially when I travel in exotic places, I'm exposed to so many new cultures and people and places that it's impossible not feel a little creative inspiration. There's opportunities every day for new things to write about, new ways to take photographs, and new ways to experience a culture. After going so many places that contrast so differently with each other I feel like I have such a better understanding of the world and where I fit in. Of course I hope to have more opportunities to travel and to continue to be exposed to inspiring new thoughts and ideas, but even if I don't have opportunities for travel in the future, at least I'll always be able to better recognize what is worthwhile and inspiring about everyday life.