Because of last night’s rain they put off going out and tromping around a mangrove swamp.

But I had a very productive day: I learned how to get there by (an oft intermittent bus), I went shopping for some foodstuffs*, I picked up plenty of Pepto Bismol (a hedge against future intestinal problems), I got a haircut (of a sort that looks much like what wore as a defender of ‘Murrica’s freedom) and bought some art supplies.

Last night I’d already shaved off the rather white beard I had been experimenting with. It made me look and feel old.

With these tonsorial changes I look and feel ten years younger.

But it will be the improved coolness that is what really matters. Today, because of the rain last nite it was brutally humid.

Over the course of the day I drank about  3 liters of water and two beers but never once felt I had to pee’

*Don’t get me wrong, I adore my 83 (her) and 82 (him) year old  hosts but the food I have been served is of a sort I haven’t eaten since the 60s: white bread, American cheese food, instant coffee, artificial sweeteners, instant pre-sweetened iced tea, margarine, fake fruit juice, etc.

Now, I grew up learning to eat what ever is on your plate without complaint. I even waited to meet the guy who runs the program to ask if they’d be offended if I brought my own food before doing so. He laughed and assured me that it was fine. They’d dealt with vegans, vegetarians, gluten free eaters, etc. My preferences were minor compared to what they had had to adjust to in the past..

(In other news I think I’ve figured out how to get the pictures off of my digital camera and on here so I can add some illustrations of the stuff I’ve been seeing. Stuff like this in a traffic circle in front of the pre-school across street: