That twinkle in my eyes is probably caffeine. I am in Antigua, the colonial ex-capital of Guatemala sipping a coffee or two or three. Rolled into Guatemala City at 6 in the morning and waited for my shuttle in a tired blur. Got to Antigua, took the first hotel that had a room available at 8:30am. Took a nap and walked around town, really great vibe. Ate at a great restaurant next door, very cheap. Then I did some errands, some laundry, some coffee drinkin´ and then went out that evening.
With the exception of MAYBE two nights, I´ve always had something important to do in the morning the next day: school, diving, rafting, hiking or most commonly, transit matters. In my 3 weeks here, I´ve slept in once. And that was out of necessity. So I made a command decision and decided to go out, have fun, and sleep in the next day. I went out to two clubs in Antigua, the Casbah and Sin Ventura. It was fun, I danced, met people from about 6 different countries, and met several cool Guatemalans who invited us to some after parties, really good time and just what I needed. I drank these things call "micheladas" which are basically Bloody Marys with beer and more lime in them. They were cool until some dumbass bartender tried to play "Embarrass The Gringo" and dump a tablespoon of Tabasco in my 2nd one. I didn´t give them the satisfaction of sweating even a little, but my lips looked like Angelina Jolie´s when I was finished drinking it.
Ironically, later that night/morning at the hotel, two fall down drunk Israelis were having this childish (and a bit gay-sounding) argument with each other in the hall that culminated in one of them breaking a window and the other passing out on a chair in the lobby. Cops were called and the boys disappeared. The best part was, they were arguing in Hebrew, but swearing in English. Superb.
Listening to: G-Love "Cold Beverage" (something from the bar?)
Everybody but Double J is completely oblivious to many of my travel "eccentricities". I´m a distracted individual, to say the least, and I need a keen sense of organization, or shit gets lost real soon. I don´t HAVE any such¨"sense", I just pretty much live in a constant state of "carabiner" all the time. I figure if I can just attach everything to me, I won´t lose it. So when I go out for the day on an "adventure" I pretty much look like the REI version of Mr. Potato Head. Batman ain´t got jack on MY utility belt. (HOLY CHAPSTICK HOLSTER, ROBIN). Yet, things DO get lost. Both my pairs of shades . . See Ya. One of my two bottle coolies. . .arriva derche. Any bottle water I have. . .flotsam at a net cafe. My other odd habit is jumping headfirst into scenarios and conversations that I´m not equipped for. A conversation with some benign Guatemalan Gangsta Wannabees (whom I´ll call "Guiggers") went South after I ran out of Spanish verbs. I regularly go into places where Spanish is necessary and I falter. But sometimes, you gotta take the plunge.
Why don´t I take a Spanish class or at least bring a dictionary? Some theories are:
1. I really am AFRAID to find out that all overwrought Spanish torch songs really ARE about accidentally killing your true love, or mom.
2. I like to fly by the seat of my pants. (and I´ve got the frequent flyer miles to prove this)
3. Accidentally ordering whipped cream on your T-Bone is funnier than shit, and you know I like a few yuks every once in a while.
But really, I think there´s a part of me that may relish being the "outsider", to see if I can get others to "orbit" ME instead of vice versa. Or. . .I´m just a dumb prick who does nothing but think about himself. (the usual)
I spent the whole day Sunday completely wired on Antiguan coffee, which turned out to be unwise. Made friends with the army of shoe shines in the Central Park. They spend all their profits on ice cream and internet gaming. No mierda, I´ll be checking my email and there´ll be a loud gaggle of these twerps playing Call To Duty against each other, all the while licking the Dreamsicle off their black, stained fingers. These boys drive a hard bargain and they work you like pros. Which, of course, they are. The clincher was when a 7 year old boy demanded I buy him a coffee. They know, man, even at THAT age.. .
The kitchen at the place I´m eating at is darker than my attic. Guess I´ll hope for the best, and mop up the rest. Even more alarming, someone just changed the Marimba CD in the little boom box to a Dave Matthews Band record. I´m a pay the check and walk away. . .backwards.
I´m getting tired of cold water showers, noisy hotels, and chickens. Time to upgrade when I get to Lago De Atitlan. I´ve decided to take the shuttle there this evening, making it the last major transit day of my trip. And that, is good news indeed.
And speaking of Great News: Congrats are in order for Joe and Brooke, on their way to a shared life together. Like I said, sometimes you gotta take the plunge. Mozoltov, Old Man. Here´s to life, and all of it´s beauty.
TT
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