Ok, so I really haven't done much here. And that's good. After hauling around the backpack for a morning and into a bumpy boat, I could feel my back acting up again. If you don't know, I have a slipped disc in my back. Every so often, I feel like a hunched over 90 year old lady. But I insist on being a "backpacker", you know.. so I take that risk of throwing out my back now and then. It would actually be pretty impossible to come to a place like this with a bag on wheels, I don't even know how you would haul it over cobblestones and dirt roads. After I arrived at the Iguana, I thought some good old fashioned exercise, a walk up a steep hill in the hot afternoon to the little village, would loosen up my back. wrong, wrong, wrong. When I got back I couldn't even stand up straight so I found a masseuse. I know, I know. I get a LOT of massages on vacation. But for once I feel like I had a legitimate excuse. A hippieish 50 something year old expat guy pounded and loosened me up at the hotel next door for $40, which is a fortune here, but I was in pain. I told him to hurt me, and he did. And now I can walk again!! I do have a supply of advil and in a pinch there's always good old gallo. So I'll be OK.
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
I like it waaaay better than San Pedro here. Everyone eats dinner together at big tables and there isn't that annoying stoner crowd at this place. No dirty hair smell. And I was happy to see that I was not the oldest person here, there were plenty of people in their 30s and 40s, though mostly 20s. At dinner everyone talked about how much they've travelled, where they have been, comparing places, etc. I met some nice teachers from the USA that now teach in Honduras. And a free spirited English couple about my age that travel for months and months at a time. This may be the worst analogy I've ever made, but you know how the Roloff family goes to the LPA conventions, and they are happy because they can binge on hanging out with other Little People? That's how I am in places like this. Other people that are obsessed with travelling, even more so than I am, and that's a lot. Like how a geek goes to a Star Wars convention? You know what I'm talking about? They blah blah blah about Star Wars? I could talk about travel and cooking all day long, and I often do, to the chagrin of my coworkers. Well, maybe not to their CHAGRIN, but I am a little strange sometimes. And that's OK! Yeah, don't get me started on the food talk either..
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
So at dinner last night I noticed a couple of disturbingly large spiders on the wall. I thought of my dark wood/ straw room open to the air. A lady who was staying at the hotel next door found a scorpion IN HER BED last night and got stung. Say what? A SCOPRION? But everyone was OK with this, because scoprions here aren't deadly. Oh, that makes me feel so much better. The english couple showed me a photo of a tarantula they found outside their room at Tikal. EGH. So when I went to bed last night, I did a thorough 5/10 minute scorpion and spider check. They let you borrow oil lamps here, so I read in my straw room to the glow of an oil lamp and actually slept more than I have this entire trip. I thought the straw room might go up in flames from the oil lamp but apparently it's OK. Again, I wanted to go to Central America.... I cannot NOT expect to see some insects! It is so beautiful and lush here. There is a banana tree growing outside my treehouse/hotel/room/whatever you call it. Sorry again for the no photos. In an hour I have another 3 hour spanish lesson. They have them by the day here, and I want to get in all the practice I can. Elizabeth and Trisha, I might hit you up for some lessons when I get home. I'll feed you. Just teach me.
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!! XOXO
keep the comments coming, I enjoy every single one!
6 comments:
So you come home with big ass spiders you can call your very own? could be worse...you could come home w/ constant AB. So, I hope the Roloff family doesn't get wind of your blog b/c they may be slightly offended although i found it quite funny. Hope you have a great New Years. Must run I'm very busy downloading cheesy 90s music onto my ipod!!!
oil lamp in a straw room? yeah, only when travelling would that be an "eh, its cool" kind of thing right? I know what you mean about being surrounded by other hobos, I mean nomadic souls. its like you don't have to explain anything they GET it whereas your loved ones kind of lovingly try to understand your desire to wander...community is awesome wherever you find it.
missing the photos, but glad to have your words on this overcase, cloudy winter day on the east coast.
stay safe & keep on keepin' us posted!
lessons in return for food? OF COURSE! btw, the chili was awesome - my brother and i had it last weekend ;)
Happy New Year's! It would be so fun for us to all be together on New Year's - but it's hard to imagine. Last night I got texts from Paris, Australia and all over the States...I kinda feel like we're all together all over the world :)
Happy New Year! The mariachi were great - they played all of our requests and the food was great. I think our table scared away some neighbors because we made up a story about this woman getting proposed to and we kind of kept staring at them.... Oh well! Have no idea how I stayed up until after 4, but oh well :-)
The smoking ban started at 12:01. I can now call 311 and report people and bars. That's going to be super fun and make me super popular ;-)
It sounds like you are still having a good time. Watch out for strange bugs and animals. Keep writing - I will need something to visit at work this week.
Kate, when you say the mariachi band played all your requests... what on earth did you request? The only mariachi songs I can think of are "la cucaracha" and "mexican hat dance". My requests would end there..
And funchilde, I love the word "hobos" haha. Yeah, everyone here is a total hobo!
Trisha glad you liked the chili, I think it was a good batch.
HiMay, when are you coming to Chicago?
Sara - I was with Araceli who grew up on Mariachi. We were trying to equate what it would be like in America and came up with perhaps country music, but even that was a stretch. So our table kept requesting songs - I actually knew some of them when they'd get going.
Post a Comment