Touchdown

I began my journey aboard the unwelcoming and cheerless Continental Airlines flight to Newark, NJ churned up with feelings of loss and yearning at leaving the wonderful SR behind combined with the palpable anguish of a situation with potential to upset ‘our’ apple-cart whilst I am far away. These thoughts were then jumbled, shaken and stirred together thoroughly with 4 hours of teeth chattering, bone-shaking turbulence. The resulting cocktail from this blend of ingredients was, surprisingly, one of wind…. A mighty wind. The diversion of finding opportune moments and localities in which to parp brought with it enough space to allow my thoughts to settle and with it a wonderful, almost Biblical sense of peace and clarity. The kind of clarity that only distance and flatulence can bring.
By the time I was passing the hours in Newark airport eating bad fast food (or was it just bad food, fast) I felt calm and open enough to embrace the journey ahead. The five hour hop down to Central America was almost consistently turbulent (and yes, a little but windy) the food didn’t really deserve the moniker and it was way too hot but the feeling was different. People struck up conversations easily, offered sweets around… smiled even. By the end of the trip I’d met enough people to fill a cab into town and whisk me to the ‘rustic’ palace I find myself in now after some well needed but short-lived sleep.
I’ve just had an early morning wander around the Havana-esque old city of Casca Vieja which has got me really excited about being here, there was loud latin music blaring from the crumbling colonial facades and kids protesting in the streets about something and deals being done in alleyways and people spitting joyfully in the gutters… but much as I love it I’m heading straight out to the beach today I think. I need the water in my gills.
One other point of note; the rave pustules I gathered from the weekend’s party have made a seamless transition into travel boils and a couple of cold-sores have come to join the party too! Here we go…