Aah, Santa Fe ...

14 April - Had a very needed sleep in before I did my chores at the hostel then eventually made my way into downtown Santa Fe. I was still a bit tired from the previous day's driving so I ended up spending a bit of time just sitting around in the plaza reading 'The Child In Time'. Despite the numerous tourists crowding downtown it seems a really relaxed quiet city, which was just the city I felt like exploring. Met a few interesting local characters including the man from the carnita stand who sold me a reasonably nice early lunch and a rather refreshing hibiscus flowers drink called a jamaica - also met John, a local hippie who's been selling newspapers from the middle of the street for the past 19 years - everyone in town seems to know him by name and he had a few interesting stories to tell about his travels (and his couch potato, television addict chronic fatigue syndrome afflicted wife). The town really feels like something out of the past - with most of the buildings still low and in the adobe style which hasn’t changed for hundreds of years. Did a bit of a tour of the hundreds of tiny art galleries that line the streets - some of the art was really quite beautiful - when I make my fortune i ll probably return to make a couple of purchases - until then, they'll have to stay on the walls or get bought by the retired wall street bankers who the town is famous for. Headed back to the hostel in the afternoon for a planned nap that never happened and headed back into otown after the sun went down to sample the city's nightflife. Found myself at a relatively cheesy themed bar called 'The Cowboy Hall of fame' that played both kinds of music (country AND western) and was full of a mix of families, cowboys and tourists like myself. Was feeling a bit lonesome before I was rescued by a couple of texan girls, amber - a pretty stunning redhead (you've always got to be a carful about those redheads), and niti, a very nice ethnic indian - here on a work assignment in town . One of them is a speech therapist (so, do you teach them how to speak english or texan???) and the other a physical therapist. Basically, amber talks the talk and niti walks the We soon abandoned the hick bar and moved onto a rnb club that had dancing and whiskey on free pour, which with the high altitude soon resulted in a a rather tipsy trio. Certainly one of the most enjoyable nights spent since my arrival in the usa and looks like I may have a contact or two in some of my upcoming cities.