Useless men pt. 692

Saturday. My headache returns with an anger I feel is usually reserved for the likes of Osama Bin Laden or George Bush - or both in the same room. I hear a knock on the door - it`s the cleaning lady asking if I need to check out - NO I DON`T, in fact I am about to vomit from this headache thanks to you - I try to speak Spanish and it hurts even more - I want to die. Die. DIE.

I will myself back to sleep... trying to forget about the rage inside my head... it`s a war I was not going to win. Eventually, at about 2pm, I manage to get up and crawl to the pharmacy across the road for some relief. By this stage, it has eased up a little and I manage a lazy walk around town with L before he starts work.

The guy from my room has already left for a day doing something that started early which I couldn`t quite understand when he explained yesterday in Spanish. So this left me free do little else but wallow in my own self pity for a while. Soon enuf, I bounced back and - headache gone - started thinking about what I would drink that night. I didn`t have any plans for the next day at that stage, and the tour to Cafayate I had scored at a discount from L had been booked for Monday, it beginning at 7 in the morning n all...

At some stage, I got talking to a Dutch girl who was promoting a horseriding company nearby, and well you don`t really have to do much of a sell-job to me about horseriding... the only problem was price, and she said that if I couldn`t afford the half day with asado dealio, I could just come by bus in the arvo for a few hours for cheaper. Done!

Then L came in and said he wanted to come, and we actually started getting a whole bunch of people interested... I was bummed I couldn`t join the half day thing because of cash, but somehow L managed to get it for me at over half the price. It was ridiculously cheap. Yay!!

We had another pre-party at the hostel, dancing around to super gay music programmed by L and drinking drinks definitely NOT bought at the hostel. Nice. This place rocks.

I had actually heard back from my useless friend from here, and he told me when n where he would be out tonight. And that he would call me. Well, he didn`t. But anyway, I had about 15 people coming with me so it wasn`t like I needed the company... We got to the place he mentioned but, ahem, 2 hours later and of course he wasn´t there so we moved along and went dancing to another place.

Then something really strange happened. The whole club area closed at 6am and a row of police literally moved on the ENTIRE lot of people out on a Saturday night - drunks n all - to the other areas of the city. Not sure how far they pushed us out but it was a really funny thing to witness - I wish I had my camera. They weren`t violent about it, everyone just accepted that was how it worked, and danced merrily along down the street... So weird. But I guess that´s the way they control after-hours problems here.

The hot guy from my room was again really wasted but this time he actually came out - I couldn`t stop him without using excessive force - and I literally had to RUN away from him in the end to make sure he wasn`t ANYWHERE near to me. Especially since I didn`t know if I was going to end up seeing that guy again. But fucking prick, not any effort more than a couple of replies to my messages. That was it. Last time I try.

We got back at 7am, I arranged my things for horseriding the next day - sorry, in 2 hours - and I slept soundly until L came to wake me at 9am. Shudder.

The impenetrable gay force

Just a few days into work and I already feel like I have been here a month. I woke up a few hours before work started in the afternoon and used the opportunity to lounge by the massive pool under another faultless sky and get some rays. After having stared jealously out the doors of the bar for a few days now (sans the tropical rainstorm the first day of my work), it was my time to shine. Boom.

Work was good, again, and I kept learning more Spanish. This is gonna be great guns for my bilingual efforts!! Dammit, I will return with additional tongue capibilities!!

Afterwards, a couple of the workers were keen to get on it, and despite starting at 9am the next day, I agreed. A few beers, a topless swim and a good old dance later, and we were en route to Cuba Libre again. I convinced an Asian-looking Aussie guy to come, and had a few others from the hostel including some guests. My recent hook-up, which I now realised would be a repeat performance due to ability to keep a secret (wonder how long that would last), didn`t want to come but I wanted to hang out with my new gay best friend P that works here. Such a darling!!

We had a good dance at the club, but it was hardly full compared to our Friday night visit, and after a couple of titty tequila shots, me and aforementioned gay friend admitted we were drunk and called it quits. One guest, an American girl, had caused a fuss when P refused to give into her come-ons, making him frustrated and me kinda laugh that she wouldn`t believe he was gay. And I mean gay. Ha! Such a difference to my experiences n gay clubs in Rio... couldn`t fight them off quicker!

As we were walking to the further cab rank to get a cheaper fare, the American girl stormed off back up the hill and the Aussie guy ran after her. That was not unusual, considering that after he´d given me a crack and got turned down (felt like he was just doing it cos I wasn`t wearing underwear and had a tongue ring - his admittance) and the girl had had the same happen with the gay guy. Also, he kinda annoyed me by not really socialising and making me feel like I had to babysit him... so we waited until we grew too impatient and I remembered I had to work early the next day, and I got a cab back. "A la cementario" was all I said to the driver. I think.