OR, I MISSED MY LAID BACK HUMAN TULUM!
There’s a lot to be said for a quick foray into other parts, and Merida and Uxmal were a good example. The atmosphere over in Yucks (Yucatan) is more aggressive and smacked slightly of London about the masks, apart from that it was lovely. However once leaving I had no qualms. I wanted to be back home in Tulum. I don’t want to be a baby about it but it’s the closest you can get to our old normal lives in this lovely place.
I’m looking forward to refilling my fridge with some fruit and veg and finally getting some Parmesan for pasta. I need the big supermarket for that, they ain’t big on cheese here. I think I’ll buy some fish while therefor a change too. I’m strangely thrilled by these small things of normality and am looking forward to have a quick beer at my local, Charlies. These small pleasures we took for granted and now I see what a difference they make to our lives.
I think it’s time to get a handle on my sloppy Spanish too and learn some of the different words they have here, there’s quite a lot to be honest. Tomorrow a bit of beach though, weather permitting and a proper swim. Sort out snorkelling kit too, all the stuff I was a bit too dazed and befuddled to do before. I feel a lot more focused now. I met some interesting characters on this trip and feel more ready to tackle the coming month then months? Things change so quickly at the moment but I’m pretty sure I have a better mental handle on everything now. I’m not ready to cry every two minutes and don’t have the huge anxiety that bugged me a lot since arriving, I’m just back to my old neurotic self which is fine. Mad old bird, good. Mentally frail ancient bird, bad very bad.
Although I’m repairing myself here, when I hear of what is happening across the rest of Mexico and indeed saw it in Merida, I fear for my sanctuary here and worry I’ll have to move on. Chiappas is a green zone and I want to go there but am reluctant to leave Tulum. This now is our restricted new world, how you can live out your days is now a problem. I know for you old birds this is not encouraging but I would say this is indeed the time to take flight. Your courage is needed here and if you don’t have it, god bless you. This has never been a site to say things are easy in life but now is the time to go and do what this old bird has always advocated, get out there before it’s too late.
Supermarket Day and my neighbourhood.
So being back here I left it a day then have gone to the big supermarket. It’ a big old walk in strong sun but I passed streets I hadn’t seen before, a fairground with a dodgy looking wheel and what were stalls obviously only open at night. Countless small restaurants and businesses closed. Interestingly though the Mexican spirit rose through with fluorescent crudely written signs offering refreshing drinks, clothes, food and whatever they had basically. I think it goes to prove that the Mexicans on coastal areas are more free.
I had left quite early and yet still the sun bore down on me and I was sweating freely in no time but I walked a different way and saw more of the backroads of Tulum. I was in a hurry to get to the store so I left my poking my nose into the various exciting looking shops till on the way back.
Once at the supermarket I sorted through my mental list. First I needed tweezers for my Dennis Healey eyebrows and razors for my legs and pits. You always forget how quickly hair grows when you’re in the heat as do your nails. I went and got emery boards too for my talons. Satisfied with this then came cotton wool and hair colour to fix my roots and a body spray as they only had vey expensive eau de cologne. Boom toiletries done I went to the fish section. For days I had lusted after gambas and fish in general so I got my giant prawns with shells on, tuna steaks and some frozen white fish. I chucked in a frozen T-bone and spinach for good measure. Next I hunted down the parmesan as I also carnal thoughts about it, fixated on making aglio, olio peperoncino pasta with massive amounts of butter and parmesan heaped on top. I decided to ignore the vodka as I’m drinking rather a lot at the moment and spotted snorkel and mask sets that I had promised myself to get my water mojo back. I got a dashing fluorescent yellow and black one then went and paid.
On the walk back I asked a girl on her bicycle how long the walk down to the coast took and she said it was really quite far even when you cycle, but there is another collectivo that takes you all the way down to the Hoteria part of the beach rather than the public beach where it’s a bitch of a walk from the bus. Another thing accomplished, I was very proud of myself. So continuing the walk I saw a small covered market which I went into that was more of an abattoir than a general market, I retched slightly into my fresh lemon juice, when I saw a whole cows head hanging off a butchers hook with its hair left on obscenely around its muzzle. On the other side hung a pigs head. I thought guiltily of that T-bone in my bag. Why had I bought it? I’m not really eating meat these days and felt terrible remorse. I think the hippiness of Tulum is kicking in. I even was invited to a friends first yoga class this morning but it’s a home day today periodically having fierce downpours and more to come this afternoon. Anyhow when I returned to my pad I cooked half of the prawns in garlic oil and had them with potatoes and mayo and boy, were they delicious. At last some seafood. I’ll have the rest today if my local tienda has had a delivery of fresh fruit and veg that they promised so I can do a salad.
I tried on my mask and snorkel yesterday and they fit perfectly, I am now on a mission to get to a cenote to see some of the local fish and to the reef for the salty ones.
Fear of Bicycles, another Ibiza Classic.
Charlie has told me that the bike is for me that is in my little courtyard, it looks at me accusingly each time I walk past it. I really must get over the last time I rode a bicycle and had a quite bad accident. This is another of my Ibiza stories. I was around ten and me and my brother decided to rent bikes and go to a beautiful beach called Las Salinas. It was named thus as it was next to the most beautiful salt flats I’ve ever seen. The various shades of mauve and pink could always be seen in the distance like some fields of lavender, until you got closer and they started sparkling and shimmering. The ride to the beach was fine and we had a picnic and a wonderful swim before calling it a day for the long ride back.
This is where the tears started. While following my brother at speed my back tyre caught in a cross track of the salt flats small train lines. I went flying over the handlebars and chaos ensued. As I rolled along the sandy ground my bike hurtled over nearly taking Mark off his. Shouting and crying and blaming followed and then the injury check. I was bleeding from my hands, elbows and knees. I was also very bruised all over and shaking and scared. The horror of having to ride all the way back with my confidence in tatters was more than I could bear. I got back on that bloody bike and wobbled my way back into Ibiza town snivelling snottily and then openly crying alternatively on that dreadful ride.
That was the last time I rode a bike. I have no problems with horse and even motorbikes but the peddle bike still panics me. I am determined to get on that dam thing, as it would be so useful and everyone rides bikes here, just not today.
Today.
It was pissing down this morning so I decided to do my hair and pluck, shave and beautify. Talons are now neat pink nails and puckered up dry old skin plumped with body cream. The sun is back out so I’ve nipped out to my local shop with the last of my cash till I hit the bank to purchase beer to go with the last of my prawns. I am awaiting the thunderstorm now and see the dark clouds rolling in again. The weather forecast has determined that there will be a mother of a tropical storm coming in so I’ll sit tight and see. It looks like I’ll be writing and going through my pics for the rest of the day and watching some Netflix. Tomorrow the beach! Arriba!! There I will have a chance to speak to the ex pats and delve into the psyche of the lifestyle of these coastal towns. I want to know what gives man. Peace.
The rain has come and god what a downpour. Thunder and lightening but I don’t care going to make a nice cup of tea and have some cake while watching some crap on my laptop.
ALERT If you don’t want to hear me banging on about politics you might want to skip this bit! Today is a big world protest day it’s about the new tyranny that locks us up like zoo animals and all our human rights are being stripped from us. It’s been recognised that Europe have been the worse sheep, so get out of your beds and fight the fight that’s now on your doorstep. If you don’t now you are basically without rights. My life has been clean and decent so I’m horrified how the filthy liars are exterminating us. I think you will have peace of mind if you stand up now and be counted. I don’t want to over emphasise the difference but now for example a singer came and sang to me ‘Besa me mucho’ and more classics, so after we had a discussion about the fact that actually he comes from Merida (from where I’ve just come), and said he can’t sing there. This man with his beautiful voice is being stopped from singing. He asked me if I was a journalist, I said sadly I wasn’t because if I was more truth would be out there. At this point I have to ask where are all the “journalists”? They have died apparently or sold their souls to the devil. When they say I’ll see you on the other side, forget it. This is the side we have. All the wonderful things I’m still getting to see is because I’m the tough old bird who you cannot change. If anyone needs me let me know. I’ll be here if you need me. This will all go into a book because I believe this is more book material than a mere blog. I sit here terrified because I should be in Mexico City where recently they have shown the day of women. These women were out and like warriors.
OVER AND OUT FROM A MUCH CALMER OLD BIRD.
Old Bird Travels Solo! 