Instead of breathlessly enumerating all the different things we saw today, let me tell you a story from our rest and recreation.

After our light morning snack, Gus told us about an “infinity pool”, or a pool with invisible borders that seemed to make it part of the sea view. Gus, Charlie (was it Charlie?), Dr. Tejido and I decided to go to the club house to check out the pool before lunch. They offered to send the vehicle. We thought the walk might help us develop a healthy appetite in time for lunch, so we confidently headed in the direction of the main entrance.

The uphill climb worried Dr. Tejido, though, and he returned to the beach club after a short while. Gus, Charlie and I continued – intrepid explorers setting out to check if the facilities were suitable for the other faculty!

We made our way along Punta Fuego Avenue while chatting about the beautiful houses we passed and speculating about the social sins committed in order to accumulate such wealth. We even debated the wisdom of having the R and R at such a ritzy place, as a lot of teachers might decide to quit and join the industry seeing the fruits of other people’s labors. They were somewhat puzzled that I hadn’t gone into the industry, but I explained to them that I really enjoy teaching and we commiserated our mutual pecuniary possibilities.

The walk was longer than we expected, although signs here and there encouraged us to continue. We joked about having to reassess the feasibility of our venture, but we continued walking – probably because the conversation was fun and probably also because we’d gotten that far already.

When we were halfway to the main entrance gate, Gus remembered that he had maps of Punta Fuego. He brought out a copy and handed it to me. I quickly scanned it and realized we were going in the wrong direction. In fact, the club and the entrance gate were at opposite ends of the complex. At first, the other two were incredulous, but I pointed it out on the map and we resigned ourselves to the idea of walking back. Oh, boy, how we ribbed Gus about getting lost! =)

We still managed to check out the main club before lunch, thanks to a lift from another in our party. All said, the conversation was well worth the walk.