Drunks on a Beach

When we left Villahermosa, we had a few days to spend and no real idea where to spend them. So we asked some locals about where they go with time off. There is a nice little beach town about 2 hours up the coast, so we went. With a name like Pariaso, Paradise, it should be nice... Well once again, it wasn't so nice, but it was a purely locals hang out. During the day and a half we spent there, we did not see a single gringo.

We found a great little bungalow on the beach and settled down for the night. As I congratulated myself on a private beachfront bungalow for only $40 a night... 10 bug bites and 30 minutes later we discovered why there was no one else there!! So we quickly packed up and scurried back into the town of paradise. We found a nice little hotel on the town square (zocolo). It is difficult to describe a small town zocolo at night. Almost all towns have them. They usually have a church, maybe a raised stage, a statue, and some trees. What they all have a people. On a Saturday night, there is always a crowd at the zocolo. There are kids, parents, and old people just sitting around. They might be talking, listening to music, making out, or playing chess. Many times there are little electric cars for rent or a bounce house. Vendors will be selling food and drink and the town's folks just come together and hangs out. There is a tangiblesense of community... Something I think we miss in our fenced off fiefdoms.

The next day we went to the beach. We had a lot of fun playing the sand and the waves. So there we were in the sand when a group of smash face drunk kids come waling strait to me. Without a hello or my name is... they ask in perfect English, "OK you have to settle this for us, who is the quarterback Tony Romo or Dan Marino." I quickly answered the question, "Dan Marino, I mean please. Romo may be great but at this point he has done nothing to even put him in the same league as Marino." And then I started to think... HEY!! How did they even know I was an American or even liked football. I could be a Brit whose favorite football team is Chelsea. Even more, what makes me an expert? Anyway, there issue resolved by an authoritative version of the Encyclopedia Americana, they went back to their drinking... Bizarre. Only in Mexico friends, only in Mexico.