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First things first - a shower so that I can become human after the night bus nightmare. You could not see me for dust - I was in the shower before you could say Jack Flash.
The town was beautiful. Really old and quaint. It had great coffee which also helped to make us all feel more human. We walked up the 2 hills which frame the town and looked round the churches perched on top and surveyed the views which were stunning. It hard work climbing them as it is so hot. I love the weather though. It's nice to be getting a healthy glow.
Despite being dead to the world we all managed to find a second wind and had the biggest night of the tour so far. We started off in a bar where we drank cocktails, did shots and played Jenga. Followed by one of the coolest night clubs I have ever been to. It was really dark and had red, blue and green laser lights which covered you in dots and made you look like you were moving in slow motion. I danced the night away including a bit of Salsa with Gino (he is really good). He had me twirling and swaying the old hips like I had never done before.
Visited some really small villages today where the catholic faith has been blended with their local beliefs. It was a bizarre experience. We went to the local Catholic church - it looked quite normal on the outside. On the inside, it looked like a film set for the latest Tomb Raider movie. There were candles on the floor, on shelves, on benches - basically everywhere. Thousands of candles. People were sitting on the floor surrounded by the candles and soft drinks as they prayed. They come to the church to heal the sick. We actually saw a healing process take place. They flung a live chicken over the candles as they chanted. They then rubbed the half dead chicken over the person and then broke the chicken's neck. Very strange. Not sure what the Pope would think about it all or Father Bill! They have a huge graveyard. Though it looks like a Christian burial apparently they actually have a different ceremony. They also apparently come as a family to have an annual picnic on the grave and then leave some of the food for the departed soul. I thought this sounded quite cool. They just sit there and chat in the knowledge that the dead person is with them in spirit.
We went for tacos in a local restaurant. This would be the last time that the whole group would be well for a long time. It was bad. Everyone seemed to take it in turns. The travel days were the worst - someone even took a bucket on one bus. I wont be recommending that local restaurant to anyone.
Learnt to play the card game 500. If you haven't ever played this, it is amazing and totally addictive. We started a tournament here. At 1am decided we had to pause the game - told you it was addictive. Team OJ (mine) - minus 360, Team AJ - plus 460. Don't worry it was all going according to plan!!!!!
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