Lost with Orphans and a Blue Gorilla

I woke up this morning lost.  Have you ever had this happen?  You wake up and you have no idea where you are.  It happens to me ever so often, being that I'm in and out of hotels so much.  I heard birds, unlike the ones we have back home.  Some insects. The sounds of a slow highway.  Then I see David's face across the room in his own bed.  "Oh yeah, I'm in Honduras."  It's like 6am so I opt to sleep a little more.

Then I have one of those vivid dreams you have when you fall back asleep, and then you remember everything.  Something about hunting coyotes and my brother being attacked by some weird blue iguana...don't worry, he was fine.

Time to shower. After ten minutes of waiting for the hot water to arrive, it was obvious it was NOT coming.  I can't remember the last cold shower I took, because I like hot showers...long showers.  Today was a cold, short one...and most likely tomorrow as well.

Breakfast was great.  Eggs, re-fried beans, tamales, and the best cup of coffee since yesterday.  Then we packed up all the gear and waited to meet our host, Ayax.  After he picked us up he drove us around Chuloteca giving us the grand tour.  "Chuloteca is a small town," as he always says.  (Population 150,000)  We tour the building where we will be doing the shows for Sunday and Monday and then head off to run some nameless errands.

Around 2pm we arrive at an orphanage to put on The K@otik Show for a little over 100 kids.  They were so sweet.  There were a few I would have liked to pack up and bring home. (If Melissa were here, we probably would have ;)  A local TV station was there and filmed the whole show and then did an interview directly after.  Nothing like having the media there for your warm-up show!  It was good times.

By 5pm its time for lunch.  Yeah...lunch.  Pizza Hut fit the bill, and it was great.  I had the wings and tried to ingest the fewest carbs possible on the pizza, but I did OK. (I'm doing low-carb diet, and trying the best I can in Central America.  I'm actually doing pretty good I think.)  We enjoy the meal and the conversation with our friend Ayax and his co-worker, Ayax.  It's even funnier because they also have the same last name...and there is no relation! 

By 6pm it's time to get ready for the parade.  I throw on a jacket while David wrestles into a furry, blue gorilla mascot suit in the back seat of an already crowded SUV.  As soon as he steps out in his blue goodness, people are looking...starring...honking their horns...taking pictures with him.  It was awesome.  I was now HIS security.  We take a our place in the back of a Ford and get ready, and wait.  Then wait some more.  And wait.

About every 15 minutes we would drive forward about 10 meters/yards.  After an hour we finally get the parade moving in a steady flow.  We were behind the Beauty Pageant float and the nativity scene.  The nativity caught my eye, as they strapped a little girl to the roof of the cab, who would be the angel over the stable.  By the look in here eyes, she was just as concerned as I was.  I will save you the suspense and reveal she made it just fine.  No angels were harmed in the floating of this parade.

We slowly made our way through the crowded downtown of where they think about 8,000 showed up to line the streets tonight.  David's cooling system in his helmet ran out of juice about halfway through and drank a half-gallon of water along the way.  I know he was burning up, but he sure made a lot a people smile tonight!  Something about a big blue monkey just makes your day, right?  He was the star of the show tonight.  I'm glad he was there with me.

They took us back to hotel after it was all over.  When we got in the truck to drive back, I noticed a Coors can in the cup holder.    Should I be worried?  Why?  I just spent the last 2 hours with a blue ape throwing candy into the streets of a country where I can't even speak the language...or drink the water.  Last night we almost hit a 9 foot snake in the road, and the night before that there was a bomb threat.  This is my K@otik life.

Tomorrow I perform 7 back to back shows.  What was I thinking when I agreed to this...not sure. I am sure there will be more stories to tell though, so stay tuned.  Hasta bananas...