Holy Mary Fisherman Blues

My last day in Flores was perfection. I met up with Stevie and Nick (Fleetwood Mac jokes abound) from Australia. We took a boat across the water, and hiked to the other side of the island to find a pristine beach all to ourselves. After jumping in the perfect water filled with swimming sardines, Nick proposed a challenge. Whoever could catch the first fish would receive free lunch. 

After trying to catch them with my hands and failing miserably, I resigned myself to sunning on the dock, incredibly entertained by the ingenuity that ensued. Stevie spent an hour weaving reeds together to create a net, which eventually failed as well. Nick attempted to trap them in Stevie's day bag. An hour or so later we were joined by three more people from the hostel who wanted in on the action. The result of the next hour was a small pool where we would let the fish come to us. Fail. 

Monday night I started what would be a 32-hour journey to Santiago. I was happy to find there was a mistake with my booking, and was upgraded to the first-class bus with fully reclining seats. I woke up in Guatemala City and headed to the airport, where I spent 8 hours waiting to board my flight. Two flights and a shuttle later, I arrived at my hostel in Santiago at 4:30 am. Below are my deepest thoughts and best experiences during the journey:

- Guatemala Airport - I was surprised to hear a man's voice as I entered the women's bathroom. Erupted into giggles when I realized a man was sitting on the toilet, pants around his ankles, in the women's restroom carrying on a gregarious conversation on his cell phone. He obviously had no idea he was in the wrong bathroom. 

- If Jeff Reed ever had sexual relations with a Latin American woman and wondered if she had a kid, the answer is yes. I saw a Guatemalan-female-child version of Reed's face at the Panama Airport. If you know Reed, close your eyes a minute and imagine it. Then giggle because you just saw a little girl with Reed's face.

- I got lost in a bottle of Burberry London perfume in the duty-free shop. I felt sorry for whoever had to sit by me on the plane because I doused myself in the luxury of it, and just kept taking long whiffs  of myself the rest of the day. Thinking of you Tash. 

- I am really bad at solitaire on my iPod, only winning maybe once every 100 times I play.

- The further south I get the less I stand out as a foreigner (upon first glance anyway).

- I still desperately want to be fluent in Spanish.

- Panama is hotter than Guatemala.

- Planes overdo it with A/C.

Now in Santiago, the theme for this week is back to budgets. South America is generally way more expensive than Guatemala, and it's time to start watching my money more closely so I don't have to come home in two months. What makes budgets hard are all the craft markets with beautifully hand-made everything that I want to buy. 

I'm happy to be in a large city again with big city energy. Yesterday was a great day spent wandering. Below were the "cultural experiences" I had. 

- I sat down in front of a church and watched a woman bathe herself (fully clothed) and her dog in a small trickling fountain. The dog was not amused. 

- I bought a kilo of cherries for $.50. I had no idea how much a kilo of cherries would be. I'll be eating cherries for days. 

- Crossing the street at a busy intersection, I tripped, and was laid out in the middle of the road. Laughing to myself, I got back up to find a skinned bloody knee. I'm fine, just a little ego bruise.

- A Chilean doctoral student stopped me to ask for a donation to her college fund. If I ever go to grad school I'm going to panhandle strangers on the street to pay my tuition. She told me to "listen to my heart", which was a bad move on her part. My heart said not to give her any money.

- I hiked 6 km to overlook the panoramic views of Santiago with my homegirl The Virgin Mary. 

My Chilean friend Dominique, who I met in New York, has set me up with her family here. I spoke with her Aunt Patricia yesterday, and today at 1pm their chauffeur will pick me up at the hostel to meet them for lunch. How luxurious does that sound? I am exited at the chance to practice some Spanish and learn a bit about Chile from a local perspective.

natural weaving

fishing with Nick's input

the beginning of the small pool

the final welcome death pool

boat ride view back to Flores

bath time

San Francisco Cathedral

graffiti in bohemian Barrio Bellavista

wax prayers for the Virgin Mary

Mary just watching over the city