We woke in the morning, after 5 hours sleep in 48 hours, jumped out of bed and ran to school. We had to register for our classes at 7am. The first thing we noticed was the stairs to the school. In the heat and half asleep they were a nightmare. We looked like we'd took a dip in a pool by the time we'd reached the top. We introduced ourselves, paid the outstanding balance then sat a little test to see what we knew. We both filled out our 'nombre'..... turns out we know nothing... slightly embarrassing! We handed the paper in and tried to laugh off the fact that it was blank. They told us our classes didn't start until 1pm all this week. (Woo hoo lie in plus get rid of this jet lag) They gave us a map of Montanita, pointed out the 'super'-market and a few key places then we headed back down the stairs into the town. The super market wasn't super. It reminded me of a hardware shop mixed with a messy cornershop. We walked out and bought some water at the shop around the corner. We were too tired to try and work out what to buy, food wise, so we went to the cleanest looking restaurant and bought breakfast. The pineapple juice was like pure sugar but the little fruit bowl starter was delightful. We'd ordered 'completo' so after the fruit came toast with scrambled egg and a rolled up price of ham. After we'd eat we went straight back to the cabanas to sleep.
When we woke we made the little journey back to school. Out of the cabanas, turn left down the sandy dirt track, left on the main road, past the iguana, over the bridge, straight down the main road (literally on the road because the pavement is sparse, if any, along this road) then finally we took a right turn up the stairs to our school on a hill. Again we were wet looking but so was everyone else who'd walked the steps so the unflattering wet patches on mine and Lees tops got ignored.
The teacher invited us in the class and we started with the basics. We had booked private classes so we could try and learn as much as possible. The first week covered numbers, alphabet, animals, days, months, seasons, salutations, the body.... We had a 2 hour class with one teacher then a 10 minute break then another 2 hour class with a different teacher. This happened all week. Lillyana was the fun teacher. She tried to make us remember through competitions. On Friday she pulled out snakes and ladders. To go up the ladder we had to name 5 things from a category of her choice. Because the teachers here speak very little English (they teach in Spanish and use pictures to explain) we decided Lilyanna had to name 5 things in English. If we landed on a snake we were saved if we answered correctly.
We spent the week catching up on our sleep, going school, some nights eating in a restaurant for tea, some nights eating noodle soup in the cabana. Every night was an early night though: jet-lag. We hadn't been effected by jet lag the whole time travelling, not as bad as this. We really wanted to learn so we tried to sleep it off as much as possible.
On Friday we decided to have a drink in the town. We went to a restaurant called Tiki limbo. We bought a jug of sangria, nachos and fajitas. It was perfecto! They have beds with tables over them.... It looks like a normal table and coach combo but when you sit down you have to cross your legs because there's nowhere for your legs to go. Comfort whilst you eat.
When we'd finished we walked down cocktail alley. It was about 9pm so the bars were just setting up. This place doesn't start swinging until 12pm so we went for a walk along the beach. Back in the town market stalls had opened. I bought a couple of matching dresses for Martha and Erin from a family sat at a stall. There was literally the whole family there. The mum was holding a new born baby, the dad was there, a couple more kids and an elderly lady who I'm presuming was the gran.
All along the streets hippies lay sheets on the floor and sold feather earrings, necklaces, bracelets and trinkets on them. It's a surfing town so people come here to surf then end up staying so they pay their rent through making and selling things.
The next morning we woke early, put our swim wear on and headed for the beach. The streets in Montañita don't have any names so the way to the beach is;
Turn left from the cabana, left on 'the main street', then right along 'the street next to the river' and the beach is in front of you.
It was so busy today. This weekend was the surf championships so the town and the beach were covered with people. We chilled out on the beach for a bit then went into the town. On Sunday we decided to stay around the pool and revise ready for class on Monday.