Eccentric encounters

This afternoon at Posada Mexico Hostel in San Cristóbal, we were a crew of six yobboes from around the world, united together to lay waste to the cultural soul of this town. We were: myself; Sean and Lachlan, two more Aussie boys, from Melbourne; two heavy-drinking Scottish girls, whose names I can't remember (hey, I was drinking heavily as well!); and a hippie girl from Baltimore, USA, who had a massive tattoo on her back. Together we sat on the grass, ate BBQ chicken, drank beer and tequila, and wore colourful Mexican wrestling masks. Good times.

This Aussie couple happened to be in Palenque at the same time as me, and along with Alan, I wound up spending some time in the jungle with them. They've both been everywhere, sometimes together, sometimes alone. They're both willing to try really crazy things; but Tara's really funny, because she just naturally looks a lot more sensible and careful than she is. They're also both from Sydney.

I cannot for the life of me remember where I first met Alan. It was somewhere else in Mexico :P. Anyway, we crossed paths again in Palenque, and we ended up hanging out together, along with a few other people, in the jungle for a few days. Alan's in his late 30s, and he's been travelling for a long time. But I felt that all his travelling has kept him young at heart. He's been all around South America, and he has plenty of stories to tell about that.

Do you know the mushroom man,
The mushroom man, the mushroom man;
Do you know the mushroom man,
He lives beside the road.

These three folks were staying at The Weary Traveler in Tulum, while I was down on the beach at Mar Caribe. I met Chris first — on the beach, I think — and then the next day, I met Erica and Laura as well. The four of us ended up going out on the town for a few nights, and becoming real good friends.

These two Israeli guys were staying at The Weary Traveler. They're both — eh, you know! — real easy-going, laid-back guys. Actually, they're both rather stoned. Shay is also an accomplished juggler, who can do an impressive act with his throwing sticks. Nir wants to go to Italy to become a doctor. They've both done South America, and have plenty of good stories to tell about it.

Ran into Kyden at The Weary Traveler, and he, myself, and Steve (Cody couldn't make it) ended up hanging out together in Tulum for a bit. Like my good friend Arthur Cheng back home, there's something about Kyden that screams "future national leader". Maybe it's the law degree he's getting a Georgetown Uni in D.C; or the way he always appears to be either listening intently to someone, or answering their questions (with the accuracy of these appearances being questionable); or the way he jumps into things with confidence and enthusiasm.

I met these two guys in Playa, and we ended up travelling to Tulum together. Steve's a half-Aussie, half-Scottish, Miami-residing, aspiring Medicine student. Cody's an oil rig worker from Alberta, Canada. Both of them came down for spring break. Cody is trying to learn guitar (he brought one with him, but can't play it); he produces some ripper one-liners; and he seems to enjoy ridiculously good luck with women.

I saw Thomas a few days earlier in Mérida, and now it seems that he's followed me (or vice versa?) to Playa. Thomas is a Polish guy, who lives in Germany, and who's on holiday from his physics degree. He's travelled to some interesting places in his time, including Eastern Europe, which he says is so corrupt it's not funny.

Sonya was staying at the hostel in Valladolid on my first night there. She's beautiful — she looks like a 40's movie star — and she has a voice like an angel. Dave from NYC wanted her something bad (he wants everything with breasts and 2 legs something bad, though), and I think she really liked him, too. She's in a 14-person soul band, back home in Bavaria, Germany.