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  Friday, 15 February 2008

round the world diary - yucatan

Diary 5 (a cautionary tale)

25/7/2001
Dear Diary,
4 weeks in Hong Kong and China behind me, and not even 24 hours in Mexico and I feel compelled to relate a cautionary tale of this new culture.
China and its people could not have been more friendly, with hellos on every corner, left, right and centre.

Cancun has innumerable beaches, all bordering on the Carribean - a paradise of white sand, azure water (bathwater warm :-) and large resort hotels. So good it is easy to forget the hotels as you relax among the tourists sunning themselves and soaking in the gentle swell.

After a couple of kms strolling on the beach, it was 3 o´clock, time for a beer by my clock. A beach bar beckoned. Met a young Norwegian lad and the 3 mexican friends he was hitch hiking with. They poured me a beer, I bought one back.
Suddenly one of my newfound drinking partners was flat on his back in the white sand, blood spouting from his nose, his assailant from the other side of the beach bar standing over him. Cries of "Policia" punctuated volleys of spanish filling the air around me.
The Norwegian (whose name I never did learn) and I didn´t have a clue what had happened or why (I was even looking the other way at the time). Needless to say, the body language of "You B!!!!!!d!" etc etc is universal and transcends all language boundaries as we sat bemused watching the drama unfold from the sidelines.

Dear diary, that was a bit of a wakeup call on just how different cultures can be.

With love and hugs and watching my back
Steve M


link to this item posted by SteveM at Friday, February 15, 2008



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