Thief Whisperer

Five other Israeli travelers threw caution to the wind and checked into the Hostel Del Lago the same night I did. They had rented a car, and that night they were making plans to drive to the local hot springs to swim, drink wine and talk loudly. I had soup with them and we became fast friends. One of them made the mistake of inviting me to go with them to the hot springs, partially because I would have to unleash my guns, and mostly because they had 5 people already and a car that can only be described as a glorified golfcart.

Nonetheless, four of us happily piled into the backseat ready to endure the uncomfort of a 1/2 hour drive knowing that the destination offered the natural goodness of thermal pools and slippery wood.

Unfortunately, our navigator failed to navigate, and we got lost twice. Thusly, the supposed 30 minute trip took 1 hour and 40 minutes. This was ok though, because most of the trip was spent playing the "Stump the Israeli" game which intricately involved me saying an English word, and them saying if they knew it. While pumperknickel, Culinary Atache and booty aren't in their English repetuar, I was surpised by the fact they knew what a Hush Puppy was, as I don't really know what it means.

We finally found the springs, and after getting out of the car, stretching and making those weird noises everyone makes when they get out of the car after a long trip, I noticed they had two big pots of some vegetable stew and approximately 13 loafs of french bread. I thought this was peculiar to bring to hot springs, but in the end, I ate it with them while in the water. My bread was soggy.

I pruned the hell out of my fingers after 3 hours of submersion, and passed out on the way home in one of the most uncomfortable positions ever.

The next morning we tried to hike the volcano, however, our efforts were thwarted by the weather (thwarting #1 of 4). Earlier that morning while I was eating my Nestle Fitness & Fruits Cereal (which reminds us that "a good figure IS possible all year round") one of my Israel friends saddled up to me and poured himself a bowl. A box of Fitness and Fruits costs the same as a night at Hostel Del Lago, but sharing a bowl with a new friend didn't bother me much. However, when two more of his (and my) Israeli buddies grabbed bowls and filled themselves up, also making use of my box of leche (milk), I started to get mildly agitated. I let it slide though, threw out the empty box and bought a new one that day. It was their stealing of my pen after I asked them for their email addresses that hurt the most.

The end result: I now have no pens and writing utensils are items I refuse to buy. Ahhh, the pennies pinched by pen pilfering..