mookfish: September 2015

Saturday, September 26, 2015

How strange it is to be anything at all...

It's rainy today in León. Usually about this time of day the sky decides that it can't keep it together any longer and it empties itself in waves upon the tin pitter pattering rooftops above our heads. I love this city. I love Granada too and it's hard to imagine a time when these cities were tricked into attacking each other by the great filibuster from the United States, but I'm not in the mood to write about politics today. Today I feel like reflecting on the happiness that has been cooking inside of me lately. Maybe it's the good food and rum I've enjoyed in good company last night followed by a birthday celebration at a salsa bar for a friend, maybe it's that other side of depression that makes me impulsive and hyperactive when I'm not down. Either way I'm watching the puddles come closer and closer to my toes and I feel a hunger growing inside of me.

Music and songs from the street.. Sometimes a car drives by blasting reggatón (a repetitive type of dance music that I've always considered a guilty pleasure) and sometimes it's a truck with propaganda or advertising of sorts. These people have music in their hearts and it's refreshing to be in a culture that isn't afraid to dance.

Maybe I'll stay for a bit and bounce back and forth between Granada and Poneloya. This country is in my budget and helping my Spanish. What strange people we are, we travelers. We become immediate friends and companions yet vanish in only a few mornings. Then we are alone again. We sit at large wooden tables and toast cold beers to our health and safety while sharing stories from the road. We sit together, we wanderers of many nations and marvel how amazing it can be to be found together. I've learned a thing or two in my years of traveling. I've learned people aren't so bad after all. I've learned there are no coincidences that should be left without consideration. I know now that I'm a lot stronger and adventurous than the child I was once. I'm glad I stuck out the fight when I felt alone growing up because now I'm a wide eyed and curious explorer who can't get enough of this planet. If you're hurting, hang in there.. Life's pretty cool.