Back in Playa.... AGAIN
Trip Start
Feb 10, 2008
1
7
29
Trip End
Aug 06, 2008
Playa Del Carmen,
Mexico
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Anyway, since my last entry I have become a fully-certified open water scuba diver, although I am not entirely sure what this means.... I think I can now go on any regular dive as long as I have an instructor with me, but I could be wrong. I actually only ended up doing 2 days of dives as opposed to 3, and on the last day I just had to take a multiple choice exam, which I got 92% in. I actually quite enjoyed it, which although a little sad, is probably because I havenīt really applied my brain properly for about 8 years. I also really loved the diving, and I think I will enjoy it even more when you donīt have to do all the annoying little underwater exercises that are a part of certification
Jordan´s cool van
. These include things like: Taking your mask off so that it fills with water, then putting it back on and clearing it by blowing through your nose and lifting the mask slightly; taking off all your scuba gear and then putting it back on again whilst kneeling 20 feet underwater; removing your own regulator (the thing that you breathe through) and replacing it with your instructorīs spare one etc etc. Thanks to exercises of this type I always end up getting saltwater in my eyes and nose, and every time I take my mask off after the dive my entire face seems to be covered in snot and my eyes resemble little raisins embedded in my face. Without fail. On the plus side we did see a cute little seahorse, which I must confess I thought were about 4 feet tall until about 4 years ago (thanks Little Mermaid.... )I finished my course early on Sunday, and as I had already booked another night in the hostel I had a whole day to kill on Cozumel. So I decided to go to the cinema to see No Country For Old Men; I thought it was pretty enjoyable and well made / acted etc etc, but by the end I felt as though it was all a bit pointless and redundant. It also kind of annoys me that for a movie to be critically acclaimed, there seems to be an unwritten rule that its ending must be a little ambiguous and / or abrupt. Whatīs wrong with tying up all the loose ends nice and tidily?
Anyway the movie finished at 6, and so I decided to go straight back and see a different one
Me and Jordan after our last dive together
. Now obviously I am renowned for my extreme masculinity and complete lack of feminity, so some of you may be surprised to hear that my second film of choice was P.S. I Love You. For those of you who donīt know, itīs about a woman whose husband dies at a young age, but who whilst still living had arranged for her to receive monthly letters from him after his death, basically teaching her to be happy again and to live her life without him. I felt like a bit of a loser as I was clearly the only single guy in the entire theatre, and whats more I struggled to keep my eyes remotely dry or my bottom lip remotely still throughout much of the 2 hours.... so keen to redress the balance, after the movie I went and bottled a load of locals to feel more manly.That night there was a fiesta in the Central Park, so I just chilled out there for the evening. One of the things that I realy love about (the authentic parts of) Mexico, is that people of all ages can always be seen hanging out and having fun together. This is especially true of their fiestas - at this particular one there was a live salsa band, and people from 3 years old to 75 years old were all dancing together and having a good time. It makes me sad to know that this kind of atmosphere would just never happen in England; anyone over the age of 30 attempting to dance would be pointed at and ridiculed, a bunch of lads would get tanked up and start on anyone and anything within a 6 feet radius of them, a local bum would vomit in the middle of the dancefloor, everyone would have to get hideously drunk just to pluck up the courage to dance, and anyone who took a photo of a child under the age of 16 would be branded a paedophile and arrested
A giant man with a small child at Cozumel´s fiesta
. But anyway I had a good evening, and I have some cool videos of an old dude busting out some grooves and putting all the youngīuns to shame, and an American guy dancing like a drunk, disabled newborn deer attempting to creep around quietly. So overall I had a good time on Cozumel, and it was nice just to chill out on my own for a few days. Yes I am a bit weird like that. But anyway, the next day I returned to the same hostel in Playa, where I have been for the last few days. Not really much to tell, as it has basically been exactly the same as last time. Although thereīs not all that much to do apart from go out or lie on the beach, I like it here because you meet so many people, from so many different places. I have met loads of Argentinians and Mexicans, and I am trying to practice my Spanish as much as possible. But itīs beginning to frustrate me that I can barely understand a word anyone says, despite being able to convey pretty much anything I want to say. This is mainly because so many people, Argentinians in particular, speak SO FAST. And if you ask them to speak more slowly, they do so for about 3 words before reverting to their usual rapid fire speech. One of the Argentinian women actually makes me lean back and tense up when she speaks to me, as I feel like she is attacking me with words. Iīve also met a Dutch girl from Amsterdam, who told me that Nighteveght means fag road or fag fighting depending on how you spell it - Mum and Dad can you please confirm this for me!? She also knew about Weesp, and said that I pronounced it very well which made me happy. Another character who I quite like is a Mexican named Eddie - he looks like a convict, and in fact I believe is actually a former convict, but he seems intelligent and is quite an interesting dude. However I can imagine that if you disrespected him in any way, he wouldnīt hesitate to drag you down an alley and make you his bitch for an hour or two
Video - Old dude in yellow shirt busting a groove
. Another intriguing soul is Andy the American - when he is drunk he literally canīt stay still, so even if he is just talking to you, he kind of half dances / half lopes around you, all the while keeping eye contact. Itīs quite disconcerting. He also did something the other night which makes me laugh every time I think about it, but is probably impossible to explain (though Iīm going to try). In the middle of dancing he suddenly stood bolt upright like a meercat does (but without the weird hands), and in time with the music began to twitch his head whilst cocked at a 45 degree angle, and bang an imaginary little cowbell with an imaginary stick, all the while looking into the distance with a facial expression that would suggest heīd just seen Jesus wander down the street. This lasted 15 seconds or so, and I am yet to query him as to his motivation for such a spectacle. There are a bunch of other people who I have met, but I canīt be bothered to go into all of them - I will post photos soon though hopefully.I feel as though I should mention that last night I challenged an Argentinian girl to an arm wrestle, and couldnīt beat her. In fact I could barely move her. And she was a skinny girl. With no muscle on her arms. I think I actually felt my penis retract into my body as, with my face red and contorted , I struggled to move her arm past a 2 degree angle as she literally taunted me
Leaving Cozumel....
. In my defence it was my left hand, she was left handed, the Argentinians were all ganging up on me, and she is clearly a cyborg. And anyway I then went on to beat a buff looking Argentinian guy with my right arm, so my pride was partly restored. I feel I should also mention that Argentinians always go on about the Falkland Islands... I donīt even know the history regarding them, but itīs pretty much the first thing they talk about when I tell them Iīm English... they really seem to hate us for it (whatever "it" actually is). I think I shall read about it now.What other little tidbits are worth telling.... last night I trod on a massive bit of broken glass on the dancefloor and bled everywhere, but it is fine now. I also met a girl who was half Norweigen and half Peruvian, which I thought was quite a cool mix. One thing that really annoys me about this place is the whole tipping culture - bar staff will flat out ignore you if they know you didnīt tip last time. And I donīt mean they will take a bit longer to serve you, I mean that even if you are the only person at the bar and you are shouting and waving at them, they act as if you donīt exist. I guess I can understand it from their point of view, as they are probably paid pittance and so need tips to make a living. But it still pisses me off that I have to pay $3 for a beer as well as $1 for a tip, just to ensure that the staff will actually acknowledge me
Back in Playa!
. We pretty much go to the same bar every night, Coco Maya, and there is this little midget who works there whose only job seems to be to dance. And the ladies love him. Iīm told he is like the Hugh Heffner of Playa Del Carmen, no joke. Who knew disabilities were so hot. I have been trying to tell some of the ladies about my blepharitis, but it doesnīt seem to get them going as much as being 2 foot tall does. Oh well.
I had originally planned to stay in Mexico for about 10 days, but I have now been here for about 24. I really need to get down to Belize and then Guatemala soon, as I am spending way over my daily budget, and am yet to really
do a lot of the things that motivated me to come to Central America in the first place. But I have had a fun time so far, and I feel like I deserved a few weeks of partying after those few months of what felt like non stop work.
Hope everyone is well
x
