Santa Cruz, BO - Tuesday, Day Four

So this nasty weather just won’t break. It is cold, grey, and very very windy. Apparently this is somewhat normal for this time of year as the winds blow in from the Argentinian coast. We all went down to the breakfast buffet together and had a nice meal as per usual. After eating, we went back to the rooms, and then I came back down to the business center to use their computers to check email and make sure my servers were up. I then brought Vee’s laptop down to the wifi area and uploaded pics and blog entries. Vee came down as I was finishing up, and as we were leaving, we ran into the couple that we had met from Philly last night. We had another nice conversation with them, of course disgusted with the Eagles performance last night, and learned more about there lives here in Santa Cruz. We parted and went back to the room, where Vee spent more time with her Mom and sis, and I continued reading my book in the cozy reading room. You could tell that there was a feeling of lethargy and a bit of cabin-fever setting in as we all wanted to be outside but with the weather being so nasty, we felt more compelled to stay indoors. Finally, Vee gathered the troops for a taxi ride to an area of Santa Cruz where there were to be cafes and restaurants. We walked around for a bit, but there was not as much there as we expected, and wandered into “Alexander Coffee” for some warm drinks. It took them forever to get us menus, and almost as long to take our orders. Once received though, everything was good; mostly espresso drinks and pastries. The excitement of the evening was when a tv reporter and cameraman came to our table to interview Vee. With the lights of the camera shining in her face, Vee was asked by the reporter (in Spanish of course) “what is the best lie you have told so that you could come home late”. Poor Vee really didn’t have anything to divulge and said so while being filmed. I was just relieved that I was not the one being interviewed. After a few moments, with no juicy material, they left. We got the check and left soon after as well. It was getting to be dinner time so we debated ways of getting pizza at the hotel and decided to walk to Eli’s, get the pizza while we waited, and then get a taxi to the hotel and hope that the people at the front desk don’t give us a hard time. Whenever getting a taxi, it usually involves a sort of game I call “hide the gringo”. This is where I stand away from the group, looking around aimlessly, while Mom, Chris or Vee negotiates a decent fair, and then calls me to come to the car when everything has already been agreed upon. This way, the taxi driver gets paid a “normal” fair, as opposed to a fair that has been adjusted up to a level they believe a rich gringo should pay. No problem, it’s kind of fun in a strange way. We got back to the hotel with no problem, and thoroughly enjoyed the pizza. Then I finished reading my book and listened to some music. Then Vee, Mom, Vanessa and I went to the spa and got a good workout in. Vee spent most of her time showing Mom some exercises she could do with her weights at home. After that, we went back to the room, changed, and headed down to the lounge for a drink.