Lying on my bed in the dark, I'm listening to the whir of the ceiling fans overhead. Slowly motivating myself to get out of bed I do my best to quietly grab my surfboard and apply sunscreen. Sneaking out of the room, I narrowly miss stepping on the owner's Labrador in the hallway. He doesn't move much more than a sloth. The cool pavement comforts him from the relentless heat. I don't blame him. For me, sleeping with a sheet is even too hot.
It's currently 5:30am and stepping outside onto the patio, I savor what will be the coolest air of the day. Also unlike the rest of the day, it's the quietest. By 8am, the only street in Santa Teresa is filled with ATVs and Enduros narrowly missing pedestrians as they weave around potholes.
Sliding the heavy iron gate open, I stroll down the street at dusk and step off onto the dirt path heading down to the beach. Behind me a howler monkey barks in the distance like someone gasping for air. Spotting a hermit crab on the ground, I realize the ground is full of them. It sounds like Fall leaves blowing in the wind as the hermit crabs scuttle through the leaf litter.
As dusk fades away, the silhouetted palm trees on the beach begin to develop their green hues. The ocean smooth as glass reflects shades of pinks and light blues from the sunrise. Pelicans skim the ocean surface in search of fish.
Jumping into the water cools me off briefly, but at eighty four degrees Fahrenheit, it isn't very refreshing. But I lie to myself and pretend that it is refreshing because it's the coldest I'm going to be for the next twenty four hours.
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