The ultimate weekend

This past weekend, a bunch of us gathered together for the third annual ultimate frisbee tournament at El Cuco, a remote beach out on the flat, eastern shores of the country. I'd actually been there with my dad and Vicki about a year ago. But with 30 volunteers taking over the resort, this experience couldn't have been more different.

It was my first year at the tournament, which as a west coaster up in the northern mountains was just too hard to reach. But with a rental car and a free schedule, nothing's impossible.

Way more volunteers turned out than I expected, all fired up to throw the disc around. It was a good chance to say goodbye to a few old friends who are on their way out and to the Peace Corps community as a whole, which I'll be officially leaving in a couple weeks.

At the tournament, body paint was a must.

As well as all forms of eccentric behavior.

For those not in the know, first possession in beach ultimate is decided by a team boat race. Both teams gather up and drop down on all fours, downing as much as they can without touching the frisbee. Great news if you're one of the first in line. Horrible news if you're the captain anchoring the team. Fun fact of the day: over four cans of beer fit in a frisbee. Not so fun fact: in the first moments, beer shoots up your nose, causing most people to only take a few sips and leaving the vast majority for the team captain. Ug.

My boy Greg rocking the joker/christmas tree look.

Fred, rocking the ultimate war paint beach fro duo.

Team Gang Green

Wild Man Karl, Zach and I get the bonfire going.

Brian, one of the weekend organizers, enjoying a little downtime by the fire.

Hagan, Peace Corps El Salvador's very own Mark Zuckerberg-esque computer genius.

There's nothing like a full-moon bonfire and a few pitchers of cuba libres and kalimotxos after a day at the beach.