Today, it's 10am and I'm in Puerto Banos. I took a bus here with all the old people, and immediately broke off to discover the city. I was hoping for some local charm mixed with some archeological depth. No such luck. So what is Puerto Banos? It's kinda like a giant "Century City". Meaning first class shopping and overpriced coffee. But I'll take anything over that damn retirement hotel. Yesterday my breasts sank 4 inches out of empathy.
After I posted on Monday, I read "The DaVinci Code" from nearly cover to cover. I was 4 chapters into the book (and anyone who has read TDC can tell you that's akin to ... 4 pages) and brought it along just in case I ran out of things to do.
I hated that book. And before I get accused of favoring the counter-cultural over the mainstream, I'll point out that I love Potter. DaVinci Code is like a smug, real-world Philosopher's Stone. TDC is arrogant and flimsy, and the cliff-hanger-chapter-endings don't conjure atmospheric tension. Rather, they give you the impression that you're reading a hiccup.
And no book should have a page to chapter ratio of 2:1.
Tomorrow I'm going to fork over 32 Euro to see Rhonda - I think it's a Roman city carved into the mountains, with an impressive brick bridge some 700 feet in the air. Or maybe not.
Thank, everyone, for the encouragement and suggestions yesterday. I'm not in such a bad place now, thankfully. There's even a book store here, and I didn't know that Krakauer *sp* had a new book out. Can't wait to read his take on Fundamentalism in the US.