Gringos on the beach

I'd have thought that our family would've had enough collective sun after our Canadian summer, and our first week abroad. WRONG! With amusement we've been watching others walk by with wicked burns. (“First day at the beach, Gringo?”) It's not like we haven't applied sun screen, worn hats, or not sat in the shade, but the sun caught up with us yesterday. Yesterday was magic. This peninsula that feels like an island, is magical. Beautiful. Breathtaking. Stunning. Tropical. Where else can you walk a few minutes from your A/C room (ocean vista, ground floor, steps from the pool- our upgraded holiday-part -of-the -trip concession) to the most perfect sandy beach to do a little bouldering then take an ocean swim to cool down? The water is warm, the sand is made of broken down coral and the view is amazing. Hawkers are not allowed on this beach, so peace is everywhere. Caves lurk nearby, begging to be explored. Our burn, we realized, was due to taking a hot scrambly detour enroute to the beach. We scrambled up the closest jutting mountain formation to the viewpoint, then around and down into the secret lagoon. Almost to the lagoon, because halfway down the path became a slimy 2 metre drop, with a dubious rope to trust your whole body weight to. We probably would have attempted ONE- but we could also see another just past it. Swimming in the lagoon (picture muddy looking water, not TV lagoon blue) was not for us, but the sweaty hike was to blame for our sunscreen washing off. The humidity here creates so much body moisture, sweat beads constantly, welling to the surface of the skin, akin to the hot yoga room. It will be impossible to keep sun screen on.We are now the ones walking around with sunburns, the newest lot of "Gringos" on the beach.