I think the area I found last night probably is the little cluster recommended by the receptionist. Loads of bars/clubs all shut. It doesn't seem that off to want lunch at this time but everywhere seems deserted. I have come into some restaurant on the offchance and they say they are open, but the place is deserted.
18:05. Having a slack surf back at the hostel. Had serious phone difficulties but managed to get hold of Zheyla in the end, I am meeting her at midday tomorrow.
It's absolutely pissing it down.
I am just slacking now, I will try to make plans (book hostels etc) to visit somewhere nearbly (eg Chichen Itza) in the next hour or two, then may pop out for a few quiet beers if it's not raining.
It was spitting earlier but I came back here to see if I had any e-mail and didn't leave as I was being slack. I wasn't forced home by the rain
20:40. Have come out to the little cluster of bars near the hostel. At La Taberna. The staff almost won't allow me to speak Spanish and there's something about the atmosphere that saps my ability to even do so.
Popped into a grocery store earlier, they accept a dollar at MXN11 and this bar accepts it at MXN12.
Booked a hotel at Chichen Itza for Thu-Sat nights inclusive.
MXN43 for a probably half litre of draught beer here. That seems a bit pricey. I suppose, being cheap, since you can (and I did) go to the bar to get served, there is no need to tip, which makes it a bit cheaper than it seems.
It was weird talking to Zheyla on the phone earlier. She speaks good English but it was a bit like talking to her sister. A stupid thought kept flickering at the back of my mind that they were playing a trick on me and I was actually talking to Zuhamy. I don't know if they do have similar voices or if it's just that I'm not used to hearing English spoken with a Mexican accent (a kind of audio version of my brief "every other woman looks like Zuhamy" experience on my first visit here in 2006).
They really could do with more beer mats here. I am sick of resting my beer on a soggy paper napkin.
21:20. Just about finished my second beer. I think I'll leave, this bar is neither particularly matey (not that I am particularly anxious to meet anyone) nor particularly pleasant.
21:25. OK, down the road at Las Jarras sport bar. Rather dead but in a passable way. The dollar fetches MXN13.50 here! I could swear that's above spot. I wish I'd brought one of my spare twenty dollar bills now. Maybe the beer is overpriced to compensate, I hope not. Of course, if so I wish even more I had brought my dollars. But the place seems fairly quiet and I suspect the small number of customers are locals, so I might hope the prices in pesos are fair.
There seems to be a sort of mariachi bar down the road, I avoided it as it looked a little hokey. But I can hear the odd burst of trumpet over the football commentary.
I seem to be struggling to remember they drive on the right here when crossing the road. This is odd, I am not drunk nor fresh out of the UK, but there you go.
Got what looks like a large beer, maybe even a litre tho I am far from sure. I think I may be overestimating. No idea what the price is as it's waitress service. No problem though
I am sat in the middle of the moderately large terrace and in some odd way it feels uncomfortable. Yet it's not as though I think moving would help. I think it's that it's quiet enough that I don't feel like I'm in a crowd but with enough people that it feels awkward to have stuff going on behind my back. All the tables near the edges are taken or (most common) too near someone else for me to feel comfortable sitting there when it's not rammed and any table goes. (It would be almost like sitting next to someone on the train if they were the only person in an otherwise empty carriage.)
I think this must be a half litre. I do miss ordering a beer and knowing how much I've got. I guess if you're a local you may get to recognise the sizes of glasses.
The hotel at CI is apparently a 10 min walk from the nearest entrance. So if I can get up early I can get there on foot before the place gets busy and with minimal taxi or bus crap to face. I just hope I can get there OK. I gather there are hourly buses from here taking 4.5h. Plus one express first class bus taking 2.5h but which rather craply leaves at 4:30pm. This is based on my 2006ish guide book. I suspect I will just go to the bus terminal post checkout on Wednesday and get the first second class bus going. I'd rather arrive during daylight if possible so waiting for the express bus seems a bad idea. I assume I can take my suitcase on the second class bus, if not I may change my mind.
22:30. Karaoke is starting. I have no plan to sing. I can't see it working as there are maybe 10-20 customers but we shall see. It might be diverting anyway. I can't be out too late as I need to meet Z at midday, on the other hand there is no point going home too early as I just won't get to sleep anyway.
Oh, the hotel she is living at is amazingly forward thinking enough to have GPS coords on their web site. I put them on my receiver earlier and (I couldn't fire it up indoors) this bar is 770m from there. I don't know how far I am from my hostel and whether the distances cancel, but that should mean I can walk over there fairly easily. (She said it was nearish to my hostel, but I would not have cared to trust myself to navigate there via map, not that I have one I can put in my pocket anyway.)
22:50. Major shortage of staff now I want another beer.
23:00. Yes, it was about 10 mins. I went to the bar myself. The waitress was sat at the table behind me, she popped up to collect my empty glass when I returned. I am not generally one to accuse people of slackness but that seems a bit off. Have a chat by all means but there are limits.
23:25. Just been to the bog. I hate it when I get confused by push/pull signs on doors and do the wrong thing. FFS, I should be able to master these basic elements of the language... I mean, even going beyond that, surely I should *remember* I pushed to go in so I should pull to come out. Oh well.
23:45. While I have a list of things I might like to see and places I might like to visit (from that Project Gutenberg book on Mexico), I am thinking my vague plan from here will be to make my way overland to Guanajuato, taking in as much cool stuff as I can. I would like to revisit Guanajuato, I have fond memories of it as my first visit to Mexico, and it's just far enough away that it probably offers prospects of seeing cool or at least obscure stuff on the way. If I get there with loads of time to spare I can do something else, but I think it would be a good goal to add some structure to 'where exactly am I going next', by imposing a vague direction.
I would like to go to Cuernavaca, which is pretty much on the way, but I have an idea it is not conveniently on the bus routes. We shall see. Similarly I would very much like to revisit Guadalajara (or at least Tlaquepaque, I have much fonder memories of El Parian than central Guadalajara) but that may be a little off the track I am proposing. We shall see. I do think a vague drift towards Guanajuato is a promising idea.
Randomly harping back to my problems getting in touch with Zheyla earlier, and also (probably sharing a cause) my problems calling Claudia in Mexico City, the phone situation here seems complex. I may be overlooking something but I do think a foreign visitor to the UK, given a UK number to call, would be able to call that number successfully from a payphone. Wikipedia and Zuhamy and some guy I met in the street imply there are some wierd prefixes to be used here.
Weird Spanish language cover of "I only want to be with you" playing now. Inferring from the music, I can't understand the words that well. But what I can understand is plausibly a translation.
00:20. I don't feel that drunk but my thoughts are flowing freely and I have a nasty (in multiple senses) suspicion it is alcohol lubricating them. I seem to be drinking a lot more quickly lately as well. It seems a bit alcoholic that this happens (the flowing thoughts, tho I suppose drinking quickly may be related). Oh well. I do plan to change my lifestyle once I am back home (Julie London's version of "There'll be some changes made" will probably be my unofficial anthem - because her version includes the "change my whole psychology" verse, at least as far as my youtube knowledge of the song goes. It annoys me I can't remember the other singer who is associated with the song. I know on youtube Frank De Vol's orchestra provides the tune, but I cannot remember the singer's name right now. And she is so famous I should.)
It annoyed me enough I spent fuck knows how much looking at wikipedia on my phone. And the Wikipedia article is a stub. Sigh. Still bugging me. I can see pictures of the singer on the youtube video stream singing into one of those big fat 1930s microphones but the name eludes me.
00:40. OK. I've hit the point where I feel drunk. Albeit I can still type so I'm not that far gone. I will have one more and that's probably not wise, but being wise isn't always wise. :-) While I suspect I am taking him out of context, I can't resist quoting Alfred Adler - "The chief danger in life is that you may take too many precautions". I really should actuallly read some of his writings rather than just quote him second hand. The guy sounds like he had something to teach me.
Man, I hope that is an Alfred Adler quote and I am not that fucked and have got confused. My mind is my best feature, so I would hate it to be wrong. :-) I am still smarting from my "There'll be some changes made" uncertainty.
I am suddenly struck with apprehension about my laundry. I wish I had demanded a receipt. I suspect it will be OK but all the same it is shit. I don't for a minute think the hostel is out to rip me off but I have this horrible vision of losing most of my clothes due to miscomunication. It feels like without a receipt the clothes will disappear without trace. Especially since I said I would collect them at 3pm ish tomorrow but I will be out of the hostel before midday to meet Z. I guess I will ask when I leave but it seems so shit having to go to reception sans receipt and say "I left some clothes here yesterday to be washed, do you have them?".
Really, I am sure it will be fine. It's not like the hostel would have a serious incentive to steal my clothes. The resale value must be close to zero. I guess I just have (puke) "major trust issues". And if worst comes to worst, it isn't the end of the world. Although in the short term it would be annoying as I doubt Chichen Itza is replete with department stores where I might purchase replacements.
As a random yet true observation, even when I am stone cold sober turning the aircon on back at the hostel is an effort, requiring perching myself on one of the two beds in the room. I hope I don't break my neck turning it on tonight. :-)
I wish I could get the bill now but I am sure I won't get any attention til my glass is empty. I guess I have to hope - not that it really matters - I won't seem as drunk as I feel.
01:15. Just got the bill. The waitress shone a portable light on it in a way I can't help feeling was a bit objectionable. Nonetheless, it appears my seven beers come to MXN144, which seems very cheap. Paid with my last 500 as a matter of convenience. Yeah, just got change and seems plausible. I have a nasty feeling I am too drunk to be reasonable but sod it. The change seemed slightly short but have left 20 and if they don't like it fuck them.
"Piano Man" just came on. I will stay for this and if they don't like it fuck them. The singer has no clue but kudos for trying to sing in English.
01:30. Writing this in the street. That was amazingly cheap the more I think about it. Have walked past loads of open bars. Not that I left because of closing times. I am seriously tempted to have one more. I do need to be up to eet Z but nonetheless. I am struggling. I may well have one more. As per above, I am not wise.
Ok, call me a twat, because it's official. Back at Chikito's, as one of the nearer bars. Tried to get a michelada cubana but they seem not to do it. Some second waiter just came up and seemed to be offering me the three beer deal but even though I have irrationally (if not unexpectedly) sobered up I am not that unwise.
My beer comes with lime (cool) and salt on the rim (less cool). Oh well, I can live with that and I did order a michelada. I think I downgraded from a michelada cubana to a michelada.
Oh, and a straw. Now that is odd. I assume it's for stirring, otherwise the salt on the rim would be irrelevant.
This is clearly dumb as I could have stayed at the earlier bar. Oh well. I already knew I was an idiot. I just hope I get up OK tomorrow morning, well, today morning now.
It is odd that I felt so drunk earlier and now feel less so. But such is life and I don't think it's the first time.
01:45. I have passed that initial stage of really feeling drunk. Am vaguely tempted to stay here but I am now typing very slowly. Definitely a good idea to go home given I have plans for tomorrow. Drunkenness is a funny thing. I know I am drunk now but the feeling is less intense than it was before. Ah well, we live and learn, and I probably won't live long regardless.
01:55. Just asked for the bill. Just got it. MXN38. Shit. Oh well. I am in that state of mind where I wake up and realise I am home and it's OK and I am not still out. Yet I am not That is an exaggeration but it vaguely conveys the feeling.
Man, that was/is ridiculously expensive given I had seven (SEVEN) beers for 150ish. Sod it. Will leave now and really all I want is to be in my bed. (Don't get me wrong, I'm not off my face. But enough to aspire to sleep.)
I do have a suspicion I could have had three beers for the price of that one, the 'card' on the table implied it was 43 for 3. But sod it, too late to worry about that now, and although logically I should have ordered three and left the last two I doubt it would have worked like that.
I do feel like a drunk idiot now (I am writing this in the street on the way home) but sod it. It is what it is. At least I'm not puking my guts up.
02:10. Just got 'home'. It's all cool. I should hate myself less. :-) I've been drunk all over Latin America so why should it suddenly be a bad thing? :-)
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