30/10/2011 - Sunday, Drunken Sunday

(This is a post I wrote but forgot to put up last time. It was a really fun day.)

we even tracked down a pumpkin in santa elena

Having opted out of going out last night for halloween (and being thankful I did so, the others told me it wasn't worth it) I went for an early morning bike ride with Manuel, the indigenous indian who works at the foundation, to a nearby river. Before setting off I asked him if I should take some water with us. “You can if you want, I'm going to buy rum.” He wasn't joking.

manuel cycling, beer in hand :)

Before we arrived at the river he'd already polished off 3 beers and when we came to an idyllic little waterfall and pool he cracked out the rum. We messed around near the river for a while and he told me about previous volunteers at the foundation, most of whom he seems to have had an infatuation with. For a bit of context, Manuel is 30, doesn't have a wife or kids and has been working on the foundation on and off for about 7 years. He's a very friendly and happy guy although I'm not sure what to make of the drinking. I'm wary of generalising, but talking with Richard and Martina seemed to confirm that drinking is omnipresent within the indigenous community.

On our way back to the foundation we stopped off at a posada (guest-house) run by some Germans that Manuel knew. They were very friendly and seemed to love the British accent. The 17 year old daughter of the German woman Angela, who runs the posada with her Venezuelan husband, was cajoled into coming to talk to me. I guess this could have been awkward if I hadn't already had a few swigs of Manuel's rum and Angela hadn't given us beer. Manuel drunkenly teased me about this encounter in incomprehensible Spanish all the way back to the foundation. I sobered up in the afternoon, while Manuel kept drinking. In the evening when the 4 of us sat down to have dinner he was completely drunk which was slightly bizarre but I guess it was a sunday after all...