I met up with a few other backpackers to split the cost of a room and they turned out to be great company. Andrés (center) is an Argentinian 21 year old who started backpacking last year. He's constantly singing songs to himself and actually has a really good voice. Ruben (left) is from Puerto Rico and is working on his masters in history. He's thinking of studying in America and asked me to talk with him for a few hours in English so he could practice.
We went out to check out the murallas again, this time with some daylight so I could photograph the walls themselves, and it turns out they're actually made largely from coral. The military engineer who constructed them had the bright idea of using whatever materials were readily available and they've proven quite sturdy.
Andrés and Ruben are heading southward by bus today, working their way down the west coast back to Buenos Aires, where they started their trip. Unfortunately I've changed my plans and am no longer heading that direction. Instead I've decided to go north. My next stop is Panama and I leave tomorrow by plane. We said our goodbyes in front of the turrets as it started to rain.
1 comment:
I meant to comment on this earlier. Once you get to the point in the language where you can make road friends who don't speak English, you have arrived at a point where you become another person. You have left behind not only your familiar surroundings but you are now thinking in the words of another people. That disconnection from the habitual self is the liberation I get from this kind of travel.
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