Mexico Easter 2003 - Part 16: Party days in Playa

Life in Playa del Carmen - PARTAY!! No time to write. Scraps of daily happenings are scribbled below in a messy way (This whole travelogue was written straight, raw and messy, but that’s the point innit!).

21 April - James Bond and the Mexican intruder

Did my training with a guy in the morning and an introductory sea dive in the afternoon. Good dive. Met Sol (Swedish with eyes to get lost in) and Sandra. After a late night with some guys and gals, I settled to bed late. At 3 a.m. a 20-ish guy was soldering the netting on the window frame, just above my own head (imagine the gonads this guy must have to do such a ting). The American sleeping near me woke up because of the smell. Switched on the light, got housekeeper, guy at the window scampered. Housekeeper went back to sleep as he couldn’t speak English. Me and big American guy discussed all the whys and hows and whats about this guy trying to break in for a while. There was only a few of us in the room, if he brought round more people or guns, we’d be done for - had to have handed over valuables. A German guy was snoring loud and the other Mexican teenager was too small to have any effect. I had a cigarette lighter, we armed. We got the air freshener from the bathroom to spray the intruder with the cigarette lighter, flame-thrower style. The only weapons we could find were two solid toilet brushes in the toilet. So we put these things aside and lied down in bed. Half an hour later, American spotted a shadow at the window and sheeshed to me to get up. We both circled around my window waiting for the guy to try and come in. I had the air fresher and lighter and we both had toilet brushes. We were sweating for a few minutes. The intruder was almost through the window, we could have thumped his skull and had him (there was nobody else), but the most unfortunate luck. The blasted housekeeper came in that very moment and switched the light on, instantly scaring the thief away. We gave him some rude words (in English, which he couldn’t understand). Next day, I moved from the dorm to a private room upstairs, not trusting the dorm any more.

22 April

Big day and night with about 15 people at the hostel. Spent the night in smoke with a hippy gang in the balcony of some tattoo place.

23 April

Went out with crazy big London “Rastaman” Nigerian Charles! The most awesome character, travelling around the world for years. Girls crowding around this guy in the bar. Cool, wild. It was like going out with a huge crazy Bob Marley. Hope he’s doing okay wherever he is. I got close to some girl from Texas.

24 April

Met George (Greek) and Johann (Jochen) (German), the mad cats I would be doing my course with. We got on immediately, and were drinking beers together within moments. This was to be a hilarious number of days with my new friends. Every day after diving was spent beering and then having a wild night together. Johann makes us all almost drown in our belching at his face and fish mouth in the water! George begins moronic behaviour (or more accurately, we all do).

25 April

Met Marion, Johann’s friend from way back. She manages her own cabanas which I looked around later. It’s like a national park in there - pigs, lots of dogs, countless cats, turtles, toucans and a racoon. Me and Jochen at Marion’s place …

26 April

Met Liz - Mexican from Puebla with eyes like Sol. Had to chat to her family convincingly to get her out. Lovely girl. Bought her beers on the beach while us boys were enjoying the usual beering and random jumping into the sea. Changed hostel to Hotel Delfin, nice big room, more central.

Days upto 1 May - Life was a daze of diving, partying and having the greatest time

George loses his bag, by leaving it on top of the car at the cenotes! All we can do is sigh and laugh. Tried to steal G’s and Johann’s fins from underneath them when we were diving in the cenotes.

Had breakfast with Liz, then she disappeared - saw her with some other guy and a wry smile on the beach. I thought it was funny, so did she. It was.

Saw “pornstar” Mexican almost playing with herself on the beach! Just me and George noticed. Melina called us boys. Yo tengo! She spoke like a cat when we asked to take a photo with her. What a hottie!

Saw off Johann on this last day. And George bought a good dinner one night for Sandra, Melina and myself. Discovered blues band in Blue Parrot Cafe.

1/2 May - the end of my time in Playa del Carmen and Mexico

Met an Italian beauty at breakfast and then got a massage on the beach by an Argentinian girl I saw again at the bar that night.

Joylessly - went back to Cancun, New York and London. Mexico has grown an exquisite coral reef in my mind - and it’s all mine - to SCUBA.

Some poems written this week are shown below.

Rose

This was written on the beach one night, on the darker side at the end of the tunnel.

There was a dead rose in a red vase
A shattered wind
Paid its respects - when a bee circled,
The wind shied it away with empty grace.

Two bats played - rolling on moonly rays.
And the rose shone in light. And the petals
Travelled upon the mountains overhead,
And turned their faces -

To a midnight as dark as the love of
The God of death. Bloody Mary
Appeared in the mirror of my nightmares
And slowly wrote - a wretched letter to Life.

The fairground is fresh and joyous -
Chameleons and chirrups 	and green grass -
Rested 	like the driftwood of virgin river.
	  	Raw and playful.

Torrents push down the barren streets -
The sky shines a 		different kind of blue.
Listen to the heavenly keys 	to the afterlife
Grate down the streets in noisy haste.

On some autumn day when fresh dew would
Gleam, the leaves would sell their colours in
Markets of bustling life. 	But the rose
Lived on. Dead as autumn litter.

Amit Kothari.

Ode to the Sea

Sea, wrong and loud and weary sea;
- You, your big blue loud sand and you love -
- You hug, the sand. You love the sand like your
child, but the child is left behind O sea, in
Your haste you leave the child behind. Sombre,
your child sits near your lap and the mountains
overhead look on from above and tell you of
your brotherly, sisterly duties. You fall, you heed,
bring yourself on, to be a doteful parent. O sea,
smash your heart out on crescent cliffs. Put
your secrets into jail and
treat them badly, don't
feed your secrets, for their sole food will be the
cherished manna that sounded its soft fall like
pattering raindrops on you, a parched desert.

Amit Kothari.

Headless Rose

Dedicated to Johann, Sandra, Sol, George and Melina (as promised). The PADI Class of 2003, Playa del Carmen.

A thousand acres of sky -
A thousand waves of swell -
A thousand bubbles of nitrox -
A thousand smiles of skin.

	Black, weary eyes used to turn up to
lessons, air-filled with yells and
shrieks and cries and bleats.
	George was a hero, a demi-god to
the blue, as if the cenotes were designed
by himself, he spoke to them but didn't listen to them.
	Johann, our ever gleeful chappy sang happy songs to
the fish and breathed like one and looked
like he breathed like one too! Johann was ever-cheerful.
	Sandra now, this omniscient professional of ours. We'd
render useless all attempts at seriousness. Her
patience would have served the rough seas very
well. At least they would calm.
	Sol remained our enigma. The mysterious force
that would buddy me to the top and glare
at us - offending clowns, smiling cautiously.
	It was only a week, but some weeks
	deserve to be left in deep memory.

Amit Kothari.

Photos from this day

L2R - Jochen, Sandra, George

Marion and her place

Pisha, Marion’s dog, and my most favoured animal in town!

Me and Jochen at Marion’s place

Me and Jochen at Marion’s place

George and Melina

Melina and me

Sol and me