Jewel in the Rough

Well, I have been hanging out here in San Pedro for an entire week now. The place is famous for growing its population through attracting travellers who just never leave, but I think that I will gather the strength to leave soon. I might be back though, it seems like a nice place where I could get a job, either teaching English or working in a bar, if my money gets low.

 So, a little bit about the feel of San Pedro: when you walk down the street you are constantly assaulted by girls and old women asking “¿Quieres paaaan?¿Quieres paaaan?” They will ask you if you want bread even if you walked by 2 minutes before and said no. They will you if you want bread if you walk down the street eating chips. They will ask you if you want bread if you walk down the street eating the bread you just bought from THEM! There are also a couple older women who will come into restaurants and ask if you want bread while you are eating your dinner. Apparently these tactics work however illogical they seem.

Most of the women and girls in the town wear the traditional costume, and they look striking as they walk around the town with huge baskets of bread or other things to sell balanced on their heads. Overall though, the feel of the place is a little like a college town. There are tons of travellers here taking a week or two of Spanish, a lot of partying, and quiet people of the town who put up with it because it brings in the revenue.

 San Marcos, to which I took a day trip, is the spiritual detox retreat for San Pedro. It is very quiet, with several theraputic centers that offer yoga, massage, and meditation. It was very tranquilo, as they say here, but the yoga instructor wasn’t there the day that I tried to take a class, so I ended up taking yoga in San Pedro. It wasn’t as calming, with the smell of cooking and the street noises coming in, but I did get to look of over the lake.

 Today is Rosh Hashana, so most of the travellers are going to have dinner at Zoola, an Israeli run restaurant. I was sort of invited, but I think that there will be a lot of people speaking in Hebrew, so I don’t know if I will pay the 60Q just to eat dinner and not understand anyone. I have had a lot of fun meeting people, but I kind of just want to have a nice quiet discussion about books or something. The problem with meeting travellers is who always end up having the same conversation: where are you from, how long are you travelling, where have you been, etc.

 Check out my new photos on Snapfish. Unfortunately I haven´t figured out how to give them individual labels yet, but you will get an idea of the scene.