Diving today was extra fun because in addition to noticing - all by myself - all the cool little things of the sea (a cute little drum fish, a crab hidden very deep into some coral head, 10 lobsters nested tightly all together under a hedge), I got to DRIVE LA LANCHA (a speed boat) from the dive. It is the most exhilarating sensation! It is so easy! Well, when the real captain is standing right next to you and you are certain that if you do something wrong, he will surely avert crisis in a split second. Push both engine levers down to the maximum and dodge the waves and other boats! I stood there at the wheel - still shivering from the dive, trying to avoid the boat traffic, careful not to splash the 7 passengers in "my" care. All of this without an actual thought in my head. Senselessly happy.
I should quit trying new things though, because - a big surprise - now I want a boat! Or at least a captain's license:).
In the evening, I was invited to watch Super Bowl at the villa Aldora (the hotel where I stayed last time). Wanted to bring dessert and beer to the table. The former was not a problem to find, but I totally forgot that in Cozumel they stop selling liquor after 3PM on Sundays in the attempt to curfew the alcoholism that is as bad here as it is in Russia. Not sure how several hours of beer purchase deprivation is helpful though. In Russia we gave up and sell alcohol 24/7 to anybody who's tall enough to reach the counter.
The party was very nice. Food was delicious, the first (and last) beer I had since I came here hit me right in the head, the crowd was diverse, friendly and interesting, and TV - what a relief - was silent! I guess they didn't want to hear all the comments in Spanish. But I was very happy about it: I don't understand one rule about American football, so for me it's painful enough to sit through the 5 hours of the game, let alone being bothered by the continuous loud sounds. So it was perfect: to substitute the commentary, guests were just discussing the game amongst themselves and sharing various unrelated stories. I was in charge of keeping track of betting sheets. It wasn't a difficult job to do, so I also kept track of random stories floating around the room.
Sapphire Mines of Montana: There's a whole family at the party from Montana - Bruce and Debbie have been married for 40 years (!!!), and are here with their 2 daughters (out of 4 children) and their husbands. Erica - one of the daughters - tells us that one of their favorite things to do with their children is to go up to one of the mines and buy 5 buckets of mining dirt that they
sell there for $5 each. Then you go home and spend the entire afternoon sifting through the dirt looking for various sapphires. And it's never in vain. Once they found a 10-carat one. There's a special sifting technique that some family members are more proficient at, so they have more luck. Of course, those are just rough stones, and after you find them, you have to send them to get fired. The firing takes a long time - 6-7 months - because it's done in... China! The upside is that it costs only $200 a bunch. Sapphires can be blue (duh), yellow, and pink. Sapphire is my favorite stone, and I find the story fascinating. As fascinating as Bruce and Debbie staying together for 40 years, and being genuinely happy. You can sense their love toward each other in their sarcastic remarks, in their constant laughter, and subtle glances and touches that they exchange once every so often. Inspiring...
Bus or Beer Stop in Minnesota: Apparently, in some parts of Minnesota bus stops also double as bars due to unpredictable schedules of inter-state public transportation. Sherwood was telling us that once he had to wait for a bus over there for a couple of days - it got delayed again and again because of unfavorable weather conditions. I bet, the bar bus stops come in quite handy for such lengthy lay-overs.
Movie Role for a Climbing Rope: Ryan from Canada tells us that he was in an independent movie once. He was into mountain climbing at the moment, and overheard a conversation that the movie director had with his climbing coach: the movie required a rope for a little while, but they didn't want to buy it, they just wanted to borrow it for a while (the movie being independent low-budget and all). However, for some reason it was impossible to arrange. Until Ryan stepped in and offered his climbing rope in exchange for a role in the rope scene. The agreement was quickly sealed. Ryan climbed up to the ceiling of some building, managed to dodge a couple of bullets coming at him from various angles, and successfully got down on the floor utilizing the said rope. Unfortunately, only to have his throad slit at the end of the scene. And unfortunately the film never made it to distribution, so Ryan doesn't even have a DVD to prove that he has some movie star potential.
At the very beginning of Super Bowl we all had a project to detect the Green Flash effect during the sunset. I ended up taking 20 pictures that are all awesome thanks to my new camera with a special "sunset" setting, but no green flashes show. Well, I have time to work more on this, given that my windows face the West...
I should quit trying new things though, because - a big surprise - now I want a boat! Or at least a captain's license:).
In the evening, I was invited to watch Super Bowl at the villa Aldora (the hotel where I stayed last time). Wanted to bring dessert and beer to the table. The former was not a problem to find, but I totally forgot that in Cozumel they stop selling liquor after 3PM on Sundays in the attempt to curfew the alcoholism that is as bad here as it is in Russia. Not sure how several hours of beer purchase deprivation is helpful though. In Russia we gave up and sell alcohol 24/7 to anybody who's tall enough to reach the counter.
The party was very nice. Food was delicious, the first (and last) beer I had since I came here hit me right in the head, the crowd was diverse, friendly and interesting, and TV - what a relief - was silent! I guess they didn't want to hear all the comments in Spanish. But I was very happy about it: I don't understand one rule about American football, so for me it's painful enough to sit through the 5 hours of the game, let alone being bothered by the continuous loud sounds. So it was perfect: to substitute the commentary, guests were just discussing the game amongst themselves and sharing various unrelated stories. I was in charge of keeping track of betting sheets. It wasn't a difficult job to do, so I also kept track of random stories floating around the room.
Sapphire Mines of Montana: There's a whole family at the party from Montana - Bruce and Debbie have been married for 40 years (!!!), and are here with their 2 daughters (out of 4 children) and their husbands. Erica - one of the daughters - tells us that one of their favorite things to do with their children is to go up to one of the mines and buy 5 buckets of mining dirt that they
sell there for $5 each. Then you go home and spend the entire afternoon sifting through the dirt looking for various sapphires. And it's never in vain. Once they found a 10-carat one. There's a special sifting technique that some family members are more proficient at, so they have more luck. Of course, those are just rough stones, and after you find them, you have to send them to get fired. The firing takes a long time - 6-7 months - because it's done in... China! The upside is that it costs only $200 a bunch. Sapphires can be blue (duh), yellow, and pink. Sapphire is my favorite stone, and I find the story fascinating. As fascinating as Bruce and Debbie staying together for 40 years, and being genuinely happy. You can sense their love toward each other in their sarcastic remarks, in their constant laughter, and subtle glances and touches that they exchange once every so often. Inspiring...Bus or Beer Stop in Minnesota: Apparently, in some parts of Minnesota bus stops also double as bars due to unpredictable schedules of inter-state public transportation. Sherwood was telling us that once he had to wait for a bus over there for a couple of days - it got delayed again and again because of unfavorable weather conditions. I bet, the bar bus stops come in quite handy for such lengthy lay-overs.
Movie Role for a Climbing Rope: Ryan from Canada tells us that he was in an independent movie once. He was into mountain climbing at the moment, and overheard a conversation that the movie director had with his climbing coach: the movie required a rope for a little while, but they didn't want to buy it, they just wanted to borrow it for a while (the movie being independent low-budget and all). However, for some reason it was impossible to arrange. Until Ryan stepped in and offered his climbing rope in exchange for a role in the rope scene. The agreement was quickly sealed. Ryan climbed up to the ceiling of some building, managed to dodge a couple of bullets coming at him from various angles, and successfully got down on the floor utilizing the said rope. Unfortunately, only to have his throad slit at the end of the scene. And unfortunately the film never made it to distribution, so Ryan doesn't even have a DVD to prove that he has some movie star potential.
At the very beginning of Super Bowl we all had a project to detect the Green Flash effect during the sunset. I ended up taking 20 pictures that are all awesome thanks to my new camera with a special "sunset" setting, but no green flashes show. Well, I have time to work more on this, given that my windows face the West...
Ah... I haven't gotten to drive El Pescador in ages! I guess I could ask...
ReplyDeleteThe second time I drove it, he went and helped David break down the gear, so be prepared!
And just a thought for your boat desire: A boat is a hole in the water, surrounded by fiberglass, into which you pour money.
haha, thank you for putting things into perspective for me! that should cool off my desire to get one:)
ReplyDelete