When we arrived there was no one in the pool and only one person sitting by the pool reading. Once we staked out our chairs we hopped in and found the water to be slightly chilly but in no time it was quite comfortable. As we swam in laps around the massive landscaped pool area we discovered a massive grasshopper in the water. A carefully placed poke with a stick revealed it was still alive to I took an ashtray that has been rinsed out by the rain from the seating area and scooped him out of the water. I would conservatively say this grasshopper was six inches long.
Having started a trend Francene and I found a stick and used it to rescue may insects. Mostly bees and ants but there was the occasional small beetle struggling in the chlorinated water praying for escape. I should backtrack a little, Francene and I left a note for Evi that we were going down to the pool, and after we completed our tenth lap we started to wonder if she was still sleeping. As the morning was getting on we decided to go back to our room and check in on her.
When we arrived back it was ten thirty and there was still no sign of Evi but within a few minutes she emerged. She had to get up at two o'clock in the morning yesterday to head to the airport for her flight and we had no idea when we went to bed at midnight that she had been up for twenty-two hours. I think she deserved her late morning. None of us had eaten and Francene had been pressured to attend a meeting about the state of the time share industry this morning and the trap had been baited with the promise of a free meal.
So we went to the meeting where we were checked in and then escorted to another building. Here we were met by another gentleman who proceeded to take our information, well Francene's information really, after which he escorted us to the breakfast buffet. We had a nice meal and afterward started the pitch.
Although the tried to disguise it we were roped into a sales meeting. We were shown the timeshare units and then came the price. It started at almost $180,000 for four week, then it was pared down to $70,000 for a week in a room not unlike the one we are staying in right now. He continued to offer incentives until the price was whittled down to $20,000. No, we still weren't interested. Then we were passed to another guy who quickly became annoyed with us and walked off. After that yet another guy to check to see if we have been offered all the incentives. Yes, and we still weren't interested. Then they tell us we need to check out and we meet with yet another gentleman, this time employed by the owners of the development and not the marketing company. He offered to make the sale with the marketing company's share cut out, that meant half the last price offered. Still not interesting. He finally called over another woman who basically offered us the deal for what she said was free. We know better than that and we still weren't interested. Okay, they took no for an answer, finally.
Then the sent us back to the lobby of their sales office to collect our gifts. So we stood in line for half an hour commiserating with all the other people tricked in to attending. Some had been there for almost five hours so our two hours looked like nothing in the end. Eventually they gave us five hundred pesos of credit at the resort, ten percent off all our food purchases, and a week stay at any one of their resorts over the next eighteen months. Plus a free breakfast. This was my first time share sale pitch and although it wasn't worthwhile the incentives are actually decent and saying no isn't nearly as hard as some people make it sound.
All during our pitch as they moved us around I wandered off or stopped to take pictures. A pretty flower, a backlit leaf, an anole, a gecko, an iguana, a spider, some ants, I was like a child and I was constantly having to catch up. Not that I cared, the pitch wasn't focused on me and I got some great pictures.
By this time it was early afternoon so we decided to wander. Eventually we found our way to the beach and soon we were collecting shells, coral, rocks, all kinds of great ocean debris. It wasn't long before our hands were full and we decided to go back to the room to admire our new treasures. So we headed back to our room on the other side of the massive two hundred acre resort.
We relaxed in the air conditioning, caught up on emails, chatted and had a generally pleasant afternoon. As the sky started to darken we decided to find dinner at one of the on site restaurant. First Francene and Evi indulged me by stopping off at the beach again for a few pictures. It was a beautiful evening and I got even more fun pictures. We even ignored the barrier at the pier and took some photos there was well.
Once my fix has been satisfied we found a bustling little restaurant for dinner. The food was better than I expected and in no time we were heading back to our room for an early night. Tomorrow we're going to be getting up before the sun rises so I think it is time for a quick shower and a good night's sleep.
Canon 1D X, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
16mm, f2.8, 25 sec @ 400 ISO
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