Trying new things

The past 3 days I've spent my afternoons at Red Sands Beach. It's a beautiful beach carved out of the side of a mountain. You have to walk along a narrow path that follows the breaking waves in order to get there. The sand, which is more like pebbles and rocks, is a rusty red and the mountain walls that surround the beach are layers of

different types of rocks. The ocean is a deep, almost electric blue. It is unimaginably beautiful and what makes it even nicer is that clothing is optional. You can tell who's a local and who's a tourist because the majority of the locals don't wear anything. It's funny to watch families of tourists arrive, realize it's a nudest beach, and turn their kids around all in about 10 seconds. In a way, it's been extremely liberating and a new adventure.

Since none of us have cars and Hana is such a small town, we tend to hitch for a ride. I was skeptical at first and very cautious. There is a sense of ohana here and whether you know someone or not you seem to always be waving and saying hello. Most often with hitching people will pick you up if they have a truck. That way it's safe all around. Yesterday I was with Ana and the sweetest man picked us up. He's been living here for about 10 years with his family and loves it. We had such a nice ride with him.

This morning while Eric and I were cleaning the bathrooms in the Oasis (a building where recreational events are held) we found a giant spider hiding behind the door. It was a cane spider and it just sat there looking like it was going to pounce. Fortunately there aren't any poisonous spiders here so we got a container and set it free outside. The only thing I've had the most trouble getting used to are the cockroaches. I was making brekkie the other morning and there was a huge cockroach that crawled down the wall and then went through a tiny hole into the wall. They tend to infest in things that aren't sealed well or scraps of food that are lying around. We have to make sure not to leave any dirty dishes lying around especially over night.