We reached Maderas and were greeted by Benedict, our excitable German friend from the night before. After some wandering and shell collecting, we moved down the beach to a more private spot. Along the way, Heather spotted a beautiful tortoise beetle struggling in the sand. We found an empty aspirin bottle for him and named him Baxter, our little gentleman.
The sand boiled with tiny hermit crabs on our way back down the beach. They were difficult to see unless you looked for them. We also saw three dead sea snakes; bright yellow and black, a distinct warning to potential predators, competitors and prey about their deadly venom.
On the ride home, Heather and I were seated across from a distinctly unpleasant American girl with too big a mouth and too small a brain. There was also a team of Asian-American students from UPenn in the van, who talked excitedly of applying to graduate schools and taking post-grad exams. I exist somewhere between these two extremes, I thought, observing the stark contrast between the pretentious liberalite American-style ingrate and the button-up conservative future venture capitalists. Trying my best not to be noticed, I enjoyed the view from the window. We finally arrived back at the flat after around a half and hour, sandy and exhausted from the hot sun.
The evening was much the same as usual; a fun, funny, fuzzy blur of songs, Japanese, Spanish, and drinks.
*Editors note: Two nights ago marked the invention of the double-cross thumb war, in which two participants engage in thumb war-style combat with all of their hands.
