Salema = Sal y Mar

Ah, lovely Salema! We have to pay homage again to Rick Steves, who's guidebooks and web site gave us the idea of coming here. After our intense urban travels in the course of our 6 month adventure, what a pleasure to arrive in Salema, where ambitions evaporate into the pleasures of simply living.

Yes, the Altantic was nippy - we swam every day anyway (and compared to Puget Sound, it was tropical). Days were hot and sunny, nights much cooler; Jose Maria brought his lap top so we could watch DVD's together in our cozy apartment with the marvelous view. Our Dutch neighbors shared stories and cold beer with us, and we helped watch their little boy, who loved to scare us by leaning over the low wall, blissfully unaware of the steep drop to the yard below.

Linus discovered the rocks just beyond the sunbathing beach, and we spent the adventurous afternoon of his sixteenth birthday scaling them. While the tide was out we enjoyed discovering life in the emerald pools it left behind. For dinner, Linus chose the Greek cafe, and because 16 is the legal drinking age, he toasted his milestone with a glass of Baileys Irish Cream. After the movie that evening, I opened our door to take one last look at the bright stars, and found one of our chairs decked out in toilet paper like a vagabond throne. On the seat were 2 beers and a note for "King Linus", from our neighbors, wishing him a fine birthday. Linus had the wisdom to leave them for another day (he's not very fond of beer anyway).