After a brief disruption of sleep to receive Amy, our third traveler, at roughly dawn-o'clock, I finally felt rested and got up first to what I expected would be a refreshing shower...only I was unaware of the absence of hot water. I suppose that may not be such a terrible thing considering 3 people are sharing one bathroom. The room itself is a bit of an enigma, there is an A/C and TV each with designated remote controls, however there are more lights than associated switches. It was only later that I discovered the ancient device below (perhaps once considered advanced technology) controlled at least one of the mystery bulbs. And yes, that is an ashtray on top.
It was a true blessing that the rain finally stopped late morning. After everyone suffered the tepid shower, we headed to Ponta Negra through traffic blocking lakes for "breakfast" and the 1pm Ecuador-Switzerland match (hard luck, Ecuador!). We met several fellow patriots there, a couple of whom were there for a NSCAA event (education for US coaches). They informed us about a trip to the dunes organized from their hotel across rude street called Laina's Place. Being bold, Amy suggested we check if we can join the group.
The English speaking owner Miguel said the rain caused the trip to be cancelled, but offered us a tour of his quaint hotel, with the ocean view. He first quized us on football photos...we quickly and correctly answered "Pelé" to the first question. The next questions were a bit more obscure requiring knowledge of an older generation to identify subjects in a 1980 photo of the Cosmos...when Pelé was not playing for them. Amy eventually spotted Franz Beckenbauer. After the tour, we graciously accepted the invitation to stay and watch the (lovely boring) France-Honduras match. As Miguel escorted us out, we promised to stay at his hotel on our next visit at his invitation. But he wouldn't let us leave before answering a final quiz, did we know anyone else in the Cosmos' team photo? As I initially expected, he was in the photo himself, as a coach. He then offered his brief career profile having played for and won several honors goal trending for Brazil's own CR Vasco da Gama, and is proud to admit he's saved a few Pelé shots in his day. Miguel Delima eats, sleeps, breathes football. Man after my own heart! (www.delimasoccer.net)
We headed down to the boardwalk and found a good spot off the beach called Blue Marlin to catch the second half of France-Honduras. Then who did Amy sit next to, none other than my long time chum Manny, who incidentally was not returning my messages he said because his charging cable was damaged.
We explored a bit further down the beach until we came across a great venue for dining and watching Argentina-Bosnia at Astral Sucros.
We then ventured up a few blocks to reunite with one of my original Galapágos flatmates Bianca (she's English, I have to call her that). We spent the evening enjoying local beer and listening to a live musician and Bee's insane "you can't make this sh*it up" stories! I sometimes think she may be a warrior, but then realize she's more of a honey badger as evidenced by her resignation to sleep on a floating mattress in her flooded apartment the night before, and her willingness to walk the final block home that night in an area the cab driver warned (with hand pointed like a gun) was a very dangerous neighborhood. Fortunately, we saw her safely to her door on this night.
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