On October 29 our family marked our first full year in South America.
Then, in early December, we marked the anniversary of our team being complete in-country!
Being a celebratory kind of occasion, we decided that all 20 of us (and 4 extras, in the shape of visiting Grandparents) would do something special together: make a day-trip to Isla Gorriti (Gorriti Island), just off the coast of Punta del Este and Maldonado, in the wide Atlantic mouth of the Rio de la Plata.
We met at the pier in Punta del Este, purchased our tickets for passage on the shuttle boat, and climbed aboard.
The boat was full with the two-member crew, a young couple out for a day trip, and our 24, with all our picnic gear of coolers, baskets, beach umbrellas, lawn chairs, and all the other paraphernalia needed for the day.
The water was calm on the way across, and the children and adults alike enjoyed taking in the beautiful morning view of the coastline which is our home, as well as looking ahead to the island where we would spend the day.
Stepping off the boat and walking onto the island felt a little bit surreal, and not just because we had to regain our land-legs. Everything about this island seemed bigger than life:
There were the over-sized palms, so large they made My Girl look like a doll.
And pile after heaping pile of mussel shells along the pathway, waiting for visitors to crush them into powder.
But maybe it was just that I was having trouble believing we were really here, where the colours were so vibrant, the sky so clear, finally having a day completely away from responsibilities and commitments. In the 13 1/2 months of living here, our family has really only had three or four days away from everything - some of those being half-days, just going to the beach, two being day-trips to see some local sights. This day away with the team was one we were going to savour from start to finish!
It didn't take long for us to walk to the other side of the island and stake our portion of the beach. It isn't quite summer yet, so the tourist season hasn't begun, and thus we had the beach practically to ourselves, with occasional couples and small groups finding their own places as the hourly shuttle boat brought them across.
Once we had our place, it was a matter of mere minutes before the shape of the day began to reveal itself:
Some settled in to shady places, natural or man-made, where they could enjoy the view.
Others planted themselves in full sun, ready to run, play, swim, and sweat!
Just before noon we started unpacking the picnic lunches each family had packed. Ham and cheese rolls with fresh tomatoes, fried chicken, potato salad, broccoli salad, cinnamon rolls, chocolate cake, a variety of fruits, just to name a portion of what was offered. The tables, blankets, and plates were laden with good things!
(Not many pictures of picnic time - we were too busy enjoying the flavours and chasing away a stray dog that wanted my chicken bones!)
Lunch was followed by some heading off to explore, others enjoying the quiet of the beach.
Our family went exploring together with two team-mates. Right away my Dear Man decided to pour out the energy, and used the shell piles as hurdles, sprinting down the entire path. (His motto: If you're not sweating, you're not having fun.)
As we continued on our way to find the battlement ruins we'd been told about, we walked through this lovely arched pathway. I'm sure Anne Shirley would have been able to think of a most fitting name for this!
And then, exploring the stone battlement remains.
We had a leisurely walk back to our picnic site, gathering shells, admiring the view. Okay, maybe for some the walk wasn't as leisurely as for others. See that little speck on the sand in the distance? That's Brown-Eyed Boy, racing ahead in search of adventure.
The return shuttles ran every hour on the quarter hour, and by the time we were finished exploring it was 25 minutes until the second-last sailing. Some decided to catch that departure, but our family chose not to rush, and to enjoy the peace and beauty for a little bit longer. We had plenty of time to pack up, continue visiting, walk to the dock on the other side of the island, and even managed to catch a few more pictures.
The water was much rougher on the way home, making it difficult to board and causing several of us to be quite soggy by the time we tied onto the pier at Punta del Este. The sun was still doing its thing, though, it being not even 4:45pm, and we dried quickly.
On the drive from Punta del Este, which is east of Maldonado to our home which is on the far west side of Maldonado, our car started overheating. We had planned to stop at the grocery store on the way home and buy a tub of ice cream (a once-in-a-while treat here, because it's so expensive) and play a game together, but now we weren't even going to make it home. Ed noticed the overheating in time to get us pulled over, and we walked a block to a gas station, bought icecream bars (an even rarer treat!), walked another block and ate our ice cream on the beach while the car cooled down.
From our little perch on a bit of a boardwalk we were able to look out across at the Island where we'd spent the day. Everything comes full circle!
(Did you notice Brown-Eyed Boy in the foreground with his ice cream sandwich?)
What a wonderful day we had, celebrating with our team, our family. Celebrating a year here, a year together, a year of beginning to belong in this new land. Thank You, Lord!
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And the car? It went into the shop on the following Monday, and so far we still don't have it back - maybe mañana.
