Acclimation

Monday, August 24, 2009

Life in Puerto Escondido makes your heart beat a little slower. A typical day consists of three basic routines: eating, surfing, and napping. Since I don´t have a car, going anywhere takes time. Going to the Super Che, Mexico´s version of Walmart, is at least a half-day journey. Walking is my main mode of transport, but when the heat is really kickin, I hop on the pick-up, which is a truck with a blue tarp covering the bed that has benches built in. You have to get a running start when you literally hop on the pick-up because the driver doesn´t get out of second gear for you. However, for just $.30, you can get to the market and strike up a convo with some local families.

As Super Che is a wonderful place, I have been falling back on my hunter-gatherer skills for food. Spearfishing here is pretty reliable, and you can always catch red snapper and trigger fish at this little rocky beach down the way called Playa Coral. Then the neighborhood is lined with mango, lime, guayanaba, and avocado trees, so I jack fresh fruits and veggies when no one´s around. Something about being in Mexico makes me crave sweet stuff all the time, and these Mexicans, they know this. There is the most amazing assortment of delicious goodies here. They even sell little frosting packets to keep in your pockets. My numero uno is the most excellent Bubu Lubu, which is a marshmellow bar coated in strawberry jam, and then the whole thing is covered in chocolate. I try to have one after every meal.

I´ve got a little farm going back at my apartment. There´s Canella, the light brown puppy who was chilling with me at the beach, and since she was so cool, I lured her back to my apartment with a can of dog chow I bought at the mini-super. I kept her around for a few days, but had to hide her from the cleaning ladies. She ran off though, preferred a life on the streets I guess. Then there´s Don Julio de los Angeles and Maria Jose de Espirito Sancto, the demonic cats that stalk my terrace. I threw some fish to them one night, and now they pace around my front door and give me the death stare through the kitchen window. Maria J.d.E.S actually got in the apartment and tried to hide under my bed. She took a shoe to the head. Lastly, there´s Rocky Balboa, the baseball-sized spider that lives in the bathroom and guards the toilet.

I´ve made a lot of Mexican friends, got a tight little posse now. It started by meeting Julio the surf instructor, a five-foot mayan samarai with full arm sleeves of tatoos, gold-capped cannines, and a serious red vein running through his life eye. Despite his cheery disposition, he was been a great tour guide, showing me tons of sweet point breaks around the area and introducing me to all the beach lifeguards and lots of people around town. I tried Mescal (Mexico´s other national drink besides Tequilla) and it tastes like surgical tape. I don´t know why an entire nation would enjoy drinking something that tastes like a hospital.

I saw a man almost die in a car accident right in front of my face Friday. I ran over to see if he was ok, and saw him stuck inside his crushed VW Beetle, hunched over the dash board with blood streaming down his face. I was with some of my Mexican amigos, so we tried to pull him out. He was unconscious but still breathing. One of the guys knew the man, and said we had to run and tell his family. So we ran to their house, and while we were runnning, everyone was praying hail marys and crossing themselves over and over. I did an our father while everyone was at it. When we got to the house, the family had already found out and was on the way to the hospital. It´s a really small town.

I´m watching myself blend in more and more with the local population each day. My skin has gotten super dark...my teeth have never looked so white. Then I busted my nose on my board wiping out the other day, leaving a mean bump that looks kind of like the Mayan nose. The español is coming along. I enrolled in a Spanish class that meets for a few hours each week. It´s ok, but conjugating verbs outside in the heat of the day pretty much makes me want to scratch my eyes out. This week, I´m going to make some excursions to some of the towns around: Zipolite, Playa Angel, and Roca Blanca. I imagine it´s gonna be more water, more sun, and more afternoon siestas in the hammock.

*Update: A stream of pacific ocean came running out of my nose while I was sleeping, flushing out the massive bug and soaking my pillow. Yay to that.