“This is the place, guys!”
August 5th, 2002 ~ Day 4
Another hot, humid day dawned with Kristina and I sound asleep. When we did finally wake up, we decided to go back to town to take in some of the shops and return with some Authentic Mexican Memorabilia. A quick Terror Taxi ride got us to the center of the commercial area of San Miguel, where all the shops and tourists were. We joined the fray with Big Texan Smiles displayed.
After two hours, we left the fray. We were all frayed out. We were hot, tired, and unimpressed, and our Big Texan Smiles had long since turned tail and bit the dust. We had discovered two disappointing things about purchasing Authentic Mexican Memorabilia: First, Authentic Mexican Memorabilia cannot be purchased without first enduring a barrage of solicitations from shop keepers claiming that their shop is “the place” where such unique items can be found. Second, every shop keeper is selling just about exactly the same Authentic Mexican Memorabilia as everyone else. Our most gratifying purchase was two bottles of cold water that cost us a cool $4 US each.
We returned to the hotel all but empty-handed, but were pleased to see that preparations for Mexican Party Night were underway. The large main pool was surrounded with tables, and scores of employees were busy covering them with tablecloths and centerpieces, while others were occupied with the task of setting out the food. We hurried to our room to shower and change clothes.
As the sun was beginning to set, we emerged from our room to find that preparations were complete, and the party was about to begin. There was food everywhere, and there was a band playing what I guessed to be flamenco music. We snagged a table by the bar and set out to gorge ourselves on what actually seemed to be palatable food. We ate and ate, and drank and drank. We returned to our room late that night satisfied after all.