compadre

After a fun bus ride to a tiny fishing village called Jiquilillo, I arrived at my next destination which my friend Michelle would call Rancho Relaxo. It was set back from the beach about 50 yards but the surf could be heard with violent clarity. Most people who were there had already been there a week which is really long by backpacker standards. Most backpackers spend about 2 or 3 days in a town depending on the length of their trip. Shorter trips make some people stress as they try to fit in as much as they possibly can, therefore missing almost everything worth seeing. Longer trips allow people to move at their own leisure, but with lots to see, most people get antsy to see more after 3 days. Some stay longer if they really like a place but that time depends on the individual. This Rancho just had a good mix of things to do and lots of good hammocks with a steady ocean breeze. Plus they have a killer library of about 1500 books, most of quality authors whom I could see myself buying at a bookstore, made more impressive by the fact that the nearest seller is 500 miles away and shipping and customs taxes on a box, the size of a case of beer, is well over $150 (not to mention the price of the books themselves). Me, always being on the lookout for characters, was slightly disappointed when I missed the chance to meet 'crazy drunk machete guy'. When I heard about him, I wanted to get together to share crazy machete misadventure stories but unfortunately he has left town. You see, 'crazy drunk machete guy' was just how you might imagine him: stumbling, falling, mumbling, drunk at 10 in the morning with a macahete in his hand. Apparently he was a big nuicence. You see, he was usually so drunk that he would fall down and give you time for escape should your paths cross . That was the attitude of the townsfolk until he robbed a 80 year old man who lives on the property of the Rancho. All the old mans cash was stolen along with some recently purchased food. The good folks at the Rancho realized it was only a matter of time until he would hurt an unsuspecting taveller, so they asked the cityelders if they could do something. They came up with idea of buying him a bus ticket for far away and just putting him on the bus. Everybody chipped in and he hasn't been seen since.I have many issues with this philosophy, the short list is sending someone to be someone elses problem, not helping someone with serious chemical dependancies who most likely has mental instabilities, and most importantly not keeeping him around until I got the chance to take a few pics of him. This is the kind o stuff that this blog so desperately needs to keep it interesting. On the first few points one might argue that he is his own problem and most likely the next town will not stand for his tom foolery and incarcerate him almost immediately, or that Nicaragua has neither the funds nor facilities to deal with such mental instabilities. On the last point there is no possible rebuttal. All that I can hope is that 'crazy drunk machete guy' will act like a lost dog in some touchy feely Disney movie and find his way back to his home by any senses he has left and that I haven't left the town yet. I feel a kindred spirit with this whole machete thing.