Today we headed over to Casa del Mundo, a well known hotel on the lake, only accessible by boat. It is built up onto the side of the mountain, lots of little trails, steps, leading to rooms scattered up the side of the mountain. There are lots of hammocks, nooks to relax in, places to swim, perfect place for a quiet family getaway. It’s a magical place that makes you feel like the rest of the world doesn’t exist.
Paul and I bought some snacks, went to the used bookstore and picked up a new supply of paperbacks, and we headed toward the boat.
When we got there the girls swam, I found myself a sweet hammock. Kier settled into a comfy lounge chair with a couple of books, which she plowed through in quick order. That girl can power read.
Since we got the last two available rooms in the place, our rooms were the furthest apart they could possibly be. The girls had a room way up at the top of the mountain, in a cluster of three rooms and a bathroom and shower. Madi liked it because it felt like a mini dorm. Paul and I were right down by the lake in this tiny room that looked like a treehouse. It was very quaint. Enough room for the bed and a chair. But the one whole side was windows so you could see across the lake. At night you could see all the other little villaged sparkling on the edge of the water. Amazing.
After swimming we went up and had a leisurely lunch and ordered dinner for later. At this hotel there are two choices of meals for supper, and you have to pre-order it at 2pm. We ordered three entrees that seemed a bit more kid friendly and two chicken curry dishes, which was the main option.
For the afternoon we sat by the water, relaxing. One of those perfect moments in life. Family together, everyone content, good conversation with the girls, lots of laughing. Madi and Cali were playing hide n seek with their two friends who we picked up in Santa Cruz. The best hide and seek location ever! Countless nooks, crannies, paths. They were occupied for hours.
At 6:30 everyone who was staying at the hotel had supper together. A man came around knocking on all the doors saying supper is ready. There is one table for everyone, lit only with tall slim candles. What the one table does, is forces people to interact and get to know each other. Paul got to know some people from Toronto. The kids were thrilled. A cat joining us for supper was icing on the cake for Madi. For a while the cat was sitting on Paul’s lap, perhaps the first and last time that has ever happened. Then the cat sat with Madi for the rest of the meal, as if she was one of the guests. The cat is the only pet at the hotel. Later Paul and I realized why it was eerily silent, no chorus of stray dogs howling in the night.
Paul and I walked around a bit after supper. Many of the walkways aren’t lit, so we were shuffling around a bit. The view was spectacular. The moon, as Cali described it, looked like an orange marble hanging about the mountains. She was right, it did look like a cloudy marble. The glow it cast spread across the lake made me want to hold my breath to stop time (ya, I know that doesn’t work).
We took the girls up to their room to tuck them in. There was one of those fast, flat spider in their bathroom that we used to see in Haiti. The only way to kill them, if you were intent on doing so, was to throw a shoe very accurately from across the room. Trying to swat them up close rarely works. This one was too quick for us and darted off to make more huge flat spiders.
Once in the room the girls were going to watch a movie on Kier’s ipod while Cali slept. They had a quaint outdoor lounge with couches. Madi went down with her pitcher to get good water to brush their teeth with. The girls liked that.
After they were all tucked in, Paul and I went down and sat by the water and the magnificent orange marble. There was not a single power boat on the lake, but we did see a one-manned canoe silently go by and disappear somewhere on the shore close to us.
From our bed you could see all around the lake, little groups of sparking lights, the different towns. The only downside to our room was that the closest bathroom was waaaayyyy up the mountain. Good thing I have a strong bladder. Paul, on the other hand has a tiny girly bladder. He had to hike up the mountain twice in the middle of the night to go to the restroom.
There are days that are imprinted in my mind of amazing family memories for me. This will be one of those days I’ll never forget.