Celebrating the Arrival of 2014 on the Beach

 Happy New Year everyone! We had a great time on the Punta Negra beach this new year. Marco and I headed out early the morning of the 31st and set up camp on the beach. I love the fact that beaches are free in Peru. No one has to pay a cent. You do have to pay for parking though. We had tons of space and we set up our tent which would house us for the night. We had ceviche brought right to us and we had ice cream as well. We also rented a chair and a large umbrella for the day for 12 soles. There is no way any of what we did would fly in my hometown. You can't even eat on the beach I think. Everything that is illegal on Lake Michigan beaches, we did it at Punta Negra. Beer, food, camping, campfire, and fireworks. It was awesome! The only downside was that the bathrooms (that charge 50 cents every time you enter) closed at 8pm and the beach filled up with people and tents. It was craziness. 

The day was great and while I didn't spend much time in the sun I still got a bit of color. I also caught up on some beach reading and watched Marco take multiple dips in the ocean. I wasn't feeling good enough to actually go in. I did wade a bit though. I am definitely a mountain baby. I love to swim but I prefer watching the ocean as opposed to swimming in it.

The view from our tent.

New Years is all about parting but Marco and I didn't drink much. We brought a cooler of beer and only drank one beer each. I wasn't feeling to well and later Marco didn't feel all that great either so we decided it would be better to ring in the new year with Coca Cola. It ended up being a great choice and the following day we felt great (after taking a 4 hour nap after getting home of course). The same couldn't be said for some of Marco's buddies who partied 'til the sun came up.

Who needs to dress up when you are on the beach?

Three classmates of Marco's came out and joined us with their wives and kids. We had BBQ for dinner and we enjoyed the fireworks from every angle. It is super dangerous but it is definitely exciting. We tried making a fire but it ended up smoking more than anything. I played with the kids a bit and at midnight we watched the craziness of fireworks being set off all around us. It was quite the experience but both Marco and I agree that next year we plan on ringing in the new year in Chosica at the army's club.

Fireworks looking towards Punta Hermosa Beach