Honkytonk postgame

The Honkytonk Hoedown
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The "Honkytonk Hoedown" was, I suppose, a developing-world tropical version of what Woodstock was at one point.  A whole lot of tie-dye, agriculturally afflicted people jumping and spinning around in the open air.  I worked security for the stage on the first night, and it was a little disturbing exactly how much I enjoyed "killing the buzz."  I was the "man" that they were all sticking it to, and it felt great.  Time after time, hippies would be "feeling the groove" and dancing right up against the stage, and I'd have to go up to them, arms all folded and serious, and say, "Excuse me, sir, you're going to have to back up."

Honkytonk Homeslice
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One guy--pretty high on acid as I later learned--came up to me while I was in my "take no shit" arms-crossed security mode and said, "You should just kick off your shoes, man.  You can feel the spin of the Earth so much more acutely, you know?"  So yeah, like you can imagine, this wasn't exactly my ideal clientele.  Fortunately, I met this Dutch girl named Kelly to hang out with for the festival.  She was working on the video production crew, so like me, she hadn't come for the hydroponics and the "groovy tunes."  It was fun, someone new around here to talk to, and a welcome distraction from the land of the 9/11 conspiracy theories and the phrase, "Far out."

The Reef Runners Dive crew
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So yeah, that was the event.  I'm down to my last three days here in Puerto Viejo, and as much as I lounged around and bemoaned the fact that I didn't really have anything to do, a part of me is sorry to see this place go.  The fact is, I was part of a little family here.  Anton, Derek, Robin, Dave, Crystal, Michelle... we all knew where we all were all the time.  We never ate or drank anywhere where we didn't personally know the owners.  We never went anywhere without everyone else coming too.  Backpackers and tourists come and go daily, but we all stayed and became like a little tightly-knit unit.  It was a good month.

So yes, I'm off again in a few days.  The plan is to spend a few days in Bocas del Toro, Panama (more or less just to say I've been...), and then back to San Jose for a few days to await the arrival of my father for Memorial Day.  After that--and this is truly hard to believe--I'll have like two weeks to kill before I close the book on this year abroad.  I'm really looking forward to seeing home again.