San Pedro is weird. It is kind of like a ghost town right now, too. I had heard that it was “party central,” but the place is surprisingly quiet. I guess the global recession has hit tourism pretty hard.
We have, however, met some extremely odd foreigners.
Yesterday we were hanging out in the cafe “D’Noz,” and noticed a large man with a long goatee, a hippie-style shirt and bright yellow pants hanging around a big crowd of dread-locked drunks. He appeared to be their spiritual leader, or something.
He came and sat down with us, and informed us that he was making his way down to South America in a camper van. They had started with three, but now had eighteen travelers in the camper.
We asked him what his favourite part of the trip was so far, and he said doing mushrooms and sneaking into Palenque. “That night changed my life,” he said.
“How so?” we asked.
“Well, I’ll tell you this much,” he answered. “I wasn’t wearing clothes like this before hand!”
Until recently, apparently, Captain Chin-beard (as we called him) had been in the U.S. military. Looks like the “gringo trail” in Latin America does strange things to some.
Or take another character: one of the waiters at the Israeli hostel. Rail thin and prone to wearing spandex short-shorts, this man wears his fedora whether it is hot and sunny or pouring rain. While we were lounging on the docks this morning, we saw him walk by with a Golden Retriever puppy strapped to his back.
Like a lot of Guatemala, this is yet another place where oddballs and drifters from all over the world stop and live for awhile. It seems, though, that San Pedro attracts the strangest of all.
Speaking of dogs, San Pedro is filled with the largest and most varied assortment of dogs imaginable. There are some sweet ones lounging in Buddha Bar (Jen seems to be in love with one) and some very smelly ones roaming the streets. We’ve nicknamed our favourite “teater” for the, ahem, large amount of breastfeeding she must have done in her life.
While visiting San Juan la Laguna, a beautiful town close to San Pedro, we encountered a particularly angry mongrel. He followed us into a shop, growling menacingly. We backed away slowly, and then he bared his sharp teeth, snarled, and ran towards us. Shrieking, the three of us ran through the back door and slammed it behind us. We then found ourselves in a family courtyard, and the Mayan family laughed at (not with) us, and went back to chase the dog away.
I think I have had my fill of San Pedro. I don’t think it’s my style, but I’m glad to have visited one of the most notorious gringo paradises in Central America.
Comments 1
Somehow it makes sense to me that a former captain would do mushrooms, grow a goatee, and drive around in a van with 17 other people. After spending a long time in a strictly disciplined way of life, he suddenly realized he has all that freedom and had to do SOMETHING to prove that it actually exists.
I think that’s the reason many Israelis go to India or Tailand or South America after their military service, when the treasures of urban Europe lie just around the corner. They want to feel free, so they get away from anything that might remind them their service.
It’s funny you mention dogs all around. Canada is very tamed for animals running around – all you ever really see is ducks and groundhogs and rackoons and squirls, which only come in few colours and shapes. Dogs are not let astray here, and I hardly see cats around the street. I noticed how different it is from Israel, where you have street cats all around the place. I grew up with street cats when I was in first grade, that’s the reason why I love them so much, they were my childhood friends.
I need to get a bunny.
Keep having fun, tell Jen I said hi.
Posted 23 Jun 2009 at 7:08 am ¶Post a Comment