Our Man in Antigua

a massive thunderclap from Volcan Fuego at 2am, with lava eruptions…a minor earthquake around 4 or5 am…off the coast by Puerto San Jose and all of a sudden it’s another Monday…it’s when the volcano isn’t going off or the earthquakes don’t rumble that it’s time to think about what’s next…why do we choose to live in such a place, when we could be safe and sound ‘back home’?

Some came here years ago in the 20th century version of a Conestoga wagon…the VW bus…some came by boat, up river to Rio Dulce. Some came for the o-so-cool ‘vortex at Lake Atitlan and the end of that particular trail of weed, yoga and meditation..some fleeing ex-wives, ex-husbands, the law, debt or any combination of those..some changed their names. Maybe it was time for a change of scenery after a career had run down and the big city wasn’t making it any more. If anything there’s a common theme of risk-taking and in a sense, this is sometimes just like don Marco once said…’this is the 21st century version of Dodge City’..we’ve got more guns, shootings and random violence than one would like, a hell-hole of a capital city and a political system that runs like a mafia chief’s wet dream. You don’t dare call the police unless you’re very well connected and the system only works for the few families that actually run the country..the system? try getting a residency permit or a driver’s license..those who were bandits, thieves and con-men in another place find fertile grounds here..sometimes  the hustlers get hustled…a fair percentage of the gringo/ex-pats come here with baggage…sometimes enough to require a trailer hitch. I’m sometimes amused by the changes in people who were once ‘counter culture’..and now they’re ‘establishment’..that said, Antigua is our home, for better or for worse…it’s frustrating and mischievous, marvelous and never dull…I spent ten years looking for this never-never land(and not the Michael Jackson variety), from Havana to San Jose, Granada to Bocas del Toro..was i fleeing? no, I was running to, arms wide open..what about you? running ‘from’ or running ‘to’?

and equal librium for all…Shaun of O’lot due in late tonight..’walked by the Cafe Flor/flusher…empty except for candles on the table..chez romantic but no responses to Claudia or her daughter…the lawyers win again..Lex and Flor the Tasty seen ducking in to Cafe Ajamenou or whatever…pizza time..Dos Reilly’s quiet early on..La Esquina has found a new use for their stage…a perfect private dining area for 8 or so…and they had a table of 8 or so..uh…a question for a new restaurant considering expansion…T.I, aka tenant improvements, is money outa your own pocket and only benefits the owner..if the existing business/cash flow indicates a need for more space, which I’m assuming is $25/$35k cost-wise, does the investment make sense? how many cocktails or meals can you serve to recoup that $$?…just asking…not to mention the downtime during renovations..a crap shoot, as we used to say in ‘Vegas…silly me, still thinking of cost/benefit ratios…no change for a 100q note at DV…damn…’have to go back tomorrow night..