I may have stayed here too long. The desk-clerk girl made me coffee without my having to ask for it. She also didn't offer me sugar or cream (which I don't use) and she went and got the paper for me.

There's a new girl in town. A very attractive six foot tall girl from Holland. She's working on her Ph.D. in cultural anthropology. She's here for 6 months to do her thesis on native dance. Not so much on the actual movements but what do they mean. Why do they dance, when, the evolution of one dance into another, etc. She was the setter on the volleyball team at her college. She also smokes roll-your-own cigarettes.

Went to the bank to change money again. There were about 4 people waiting so I moved on.

Lunch at the Picadelli Cafeteria - Mother would be proud of me. Chicken, cole slaw, baked potato(e), etc. - the usual. Took a picture of the interior patio - I like these things. You never know what's behind a dirty, grimy door.

Back at the bank - No line - and she has my receipt from last time. Plus she doesn't check my money to see if it's counterfeit. Maybe I'm a regular now?

Started trying to take some candid shots of different things. The moneychangers, holes in the sidewalk, window sill anti-sit-down devices. Who knows how they will turn out.

Ran into my "friend" in the Parque centeral. She was bragging how she had slept with some high ranking official, had some revealing pictures taken and that's why their store had electricity this morning. I asked why the pictures weren't in the local papers if this guy was so important. She very modestly stated that she wasn't the type who needed publicity. She seemed irritated at my failure to be impressed with her accomplishment / feat. Or perhaps it was my failure to congratulate her for a job well done. I didn't mention that the papers last week had said that the rationing of electricity would stop today.

I got "measured" today in the parque. It was after my "friend" had departed. I was standing around in a purple funk of despair when I noticed this woman kind of sneaking up on me from the side. I was wearing wrap around sunglasses so I did my best to appear to be looking in the trees while she moved in. I then noticed that she had a friend about 30 ft in front of me who was laughing at her. When she got about 3 feet away, she stood up as tall as she could and smiled gleefully to her friend. They walked off together.

Went back to the Congressional building today. I wanted to get a picture of the place since it's up on stilts and is kinda interesting. There's sure a lot of military types out today. There seem to be continuous patrols of the parque as well as the side streets. I'm trying to figure out if it's safer to have them around or not. Good news and bad news I suppose. There are a lot of soldiers around who seem to belong to what I assume to be some kind of elite unit. They all wear baseball caps with stuff on the front. All I can read from my distance is "COBRA". Their rifles sure look like they have been well used.

Did some shopping down close to the Honduran Maya. There just isn't that much worth getting. I guess that leaves liquor. Darn!

Took the goodies back to the hotel and went back to the parque. Found a bench to sit on - an actual bench. I think it was vacant because it was directly next to a trash can with a strong personality. Oh well - it's a bench. I sat there enjoying the place. It's much nicer without the generators running. Then along came what I suppose was a homeless person. Sat down on my bench. Much too close for my personality bubble. Then he took out his meal. It looked like a cross between something he had scrounged from a trash can and some leftovers someone had given to him. Anyway, being polite (and damned close) he offered it to me first. I smiled and allowed as how I was full and couldn't eat another bite. He proceeded to eat his meal with his own personal spoon (which he carried in his coat pocket). I discovered he's ambidextrous. Very neat. He put his paper plate in the trashcan. (Probably the only time I've seen a trash can actually used.) He carefully wipes his spoon on his sleeve, puts it back in his pocket and moves off down the street. After chasing a dog away from what I assume is his trash can.

Watching him eat kind of made me hungry. I decide to see what Pizza Hut has in store. ... Not bad. The place could be any Pizza Hut in the USA. They have mastered the USA concept of picturing one item in the menu but when it shows up it looks entirely different.

I had planned on purchasing a coffee cup from Dunkin Doughnuts. That might make a neat souvenir. So I stopped in at the next DD I saw. (They're all over the place) Had a doughnut and coffee. As usual, the coffee was very poor. Then I noticed - there, dare I say it, a percolator! My god - a real live percolator in actual use! I was tempted to take a picture. (Actually I did, but a sneaky one without the flash - It didn't turn out) Anyway, the coffee was so bad that I decided against the coffee cup. It would only bring back bad memories. Everyone else in the place was drinking Coke with their doughnuts. Now I understand.

Back to the hotel. Watching CNN/ESPN with the owner and a Canadian guy. The Canadian seems to have been everywhere. He tells me about an espresso place he has found. Hope I can find it.