La Ceiba Carnival and Earthquake

So last weekend i was in La ceiba for their carnival. Different to any carnival ive been to before. Totally disorganised! the parade took for ever as people kept walking infront of the floats the soldiers kept trying to keep people back by pushing them but it was a waste of time. Funny seen soldiers with machine guns pushing kids about.

Everyone at the carnival seemed to have a necklace they were throwing them from the floats and it basically meant that people were almost prepared to crush each other to death to get them . I ended up with a rather fetching chain with medallion, blue wristband and white number! Was able to use my height advantage. At one point they were chucking the necklaces at these guys on horseback and the horses were backing into the crowd. Total chaos.

The last float was giving out free samples of pasta sauce, honestly youve never seen a crush like it. It turned out that some of the pasta sauces had 5 dollars inside. All of a sudden there was a bit of a dustup in the middle reminded me of a northern nightclub minus the tattoos and alcohol. Somebody had stolen somebodies wallett and it had all gone off, fists flying, 20 people jostling police come a swift gun butt to the ribs seemed to sort things out. They grabbed the guy, got the wallet, put him in the police van, it comes over loud speaker and applause for the police please! crowd cheer, police riase guns in the air give victory salute! ive never seen anything like it totally out of control.

The carnival itself had what i can only describe as an edge to it! if you get my drift. all the chewing gums sellers were transvesites which was weird. For safety i had my money belt and camera stashed in my pants. The guy i was with managed to get his camera stolen and then his wallet a few hours later. To make himself not look like a tourist he wore red bermuda shorts? and kept his camera in his back pocket!


At night i went to the concerts in the street, you should see some of these people dance. Punta is amazing its borderline obsence. I didnt really drink wanted to keep my wits about me incase someone tried to get my stuff felt one hand on my pocket at one point removed it quickly. Yeah so totally crazy carnival just not that safe i dont think!

Now im back in danli at the phyiso clinic but im leaving on monday for nicaragua. Had the biggest argument yet of my trip, god im really getting sick of it this is what happened.

Tuesday i arrive for work, girl from work takes me to hotel. Woman at hotel says is it for 2 people, no its for one. Girl from work helps me with my bags to put them in room. Anyways over the next day i notice that the woman in the hotel is treating me like a leper. She does not say hello once or even look me in the eye. Im wondering why. Also weird that they havent asked me for my money for first night. So wednesday night i go to pay, she says without looking at me that the man will deal with me. makes me wait 10 mins, then comes and i tell him i want to pay for yesterday today and tommorrow. ok for 2 people he says thats 750. What 2 people? wheres the other i ask? the girl he says. What the girl who came with me to the hotel. Yes hotel rules say you must pay for anyone who enters your room, i thought he was joking. So lets get this right someone enters my room for on my first day and hes wanting to charge me for 2 people staying 3 nights! Hes even wanting to charge me for the following day! how the hell can he see into the future. I just exploded he got 5 months worth of anti dishonesty crack. Told him that on thursday i planned to have 5 girls in my room so how much would that cost me, my sarcasm seemed to be lost on him.

Eventaully after 10 mins of raising my blood pressure the miserable woman shouted over, just charge him for one person for 3 nights. So what they think im a complete idiot and going to stay here another night! no thanks. paid for 2. Went back to my room never felt this angry, so mad at these peoples dishonesty, imagine if i couldnt speak spanish. Sat in my room wanting to smash it up and go back to the uk.

Anyways i go to bed, i wake in the middle of the night theres loads of noise, feels like my bed is moving, it is. A few weeks ago i had the privlege of finding a bat in my bed (it actaully landed on my head), then last week i saw the biggest rat ever outside my room so ive got beasts in my head. The bed keeps moving im thinking god i hate this hotel they treat me badly and now theres a plague of rats under my bed. Just tried to shut my eyes and ignore it, hope they dont bite me. The noise carries of for a few mins, starts again and then stops. Get up in the morning my bed has moved and some things are on the floor. Put on the TV, it was an earthquake 7.1 on the richter scale and i thought it was a big rat! The centre of it was in the bay islands and La ceiba where i was last week. Cant imagine what it must have felt like there. For such a big quake only 6 people died.

Went to work told them about my hotel situation, the boss of the my clinc rings up and complains! the woman at the hotel lies again says it was a misunderstanding! (Even though she actually went in my room and saw nobody else there) and that i can go back and they wont bother me! No thanks. Im claiming it as a victory as the boss of my clinic is going to talk to the owner of the hotel about the miserable woman at the hotel as she says she wont send anyonew else there again.

So ive finshed working at the clinic the people are so nice its amazing. The level of poverty is frightening people lack such basic things. You should come and see for yourselves it makes you think.

heres hoping for no more arguments

Ross

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