Rejuvenation

It is not often you feel rejuvenated the day after staying out to until five in the morning closing down bars in a Mexican (southern) border town.  But after a pretty rough few weeks at work, a trip to Chetumal really soothed the soul.  Highlights of the weekend include:

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II - Loved it.  It followed the book fairly closely and I didn't mind the changes.  My favorite addition was the line from Prof. McGonagall, "It's good to see you Potter."  The look on her face says everything and sums up the emotional connection we all have with the story.
• Dr. Pepper - They don't sell it in Belize and they don't sell it in Mexico, but we found a random case on the shelf at the grocery store which I had to buy.  I was so excited that I almost didn't cringe when I realized I paid US$12 for the case.
• Pirate bar - a bar shaped like a pirate ship.  Enough said.
• Road beers - we walked the two-mile stretch of bars and restaurants along the sea and soon realized that it was more enjoyable with a can of Sol bought from a drive-thru beer store.
• Gaudy belt buckles - several outdoor stands were selling belts with jeweled belt buckles.  Common designs included jeweled dollar signs, jeweled marijuana leaves, and jeweled guns.  These things were so awful that I think even Mexican gangsters would only wear them ironically.  Some of the best designs had spinners in the buckle like the rims on cars that were popular 5 years ago (are those still popular now?)  We saw these several times when we were sober, but we couldn't find them after we had been drinking or else purchases would have been made.
• Closing down the Mexican strip club.  Around 3, we decided that we couldn't go home without trying to improve on my previous experience in a Mexican strip club.  Our first attempt got lost in translation.  We didn't know the word for strip club, so our best Spanish speaker asked the taxi driver to take us to the "bar for women without clothes."  The club was rocking, but we soon realized it wasn't what we were looking for as no one was taking their clothes off and most of the women in the club were really men in drag.  Our next cabby understood us better and took us to a different club.  Absolutely everything was better about this club than the one in April.  After two dancers, the turned on the house lights and closed down the club.
• Wal-Mart.  I should not get this excited about a store but can't help myself.  Between the internet and what is available in Belize, I can get almost anything I want.  But with internet shopping and small stores, you lose the ability to browse.  Plus, the produce is so much better in Mexico.
• Tacos

This weekend was just what I needed.