El Banito Balneario

El Banito
Balneario… For the first time. I have opened the tent’s side
panels to let in a cool & moist breeze. I am in a rather
surreal campground, surrounded by trees painted white and chirping
crickets. It is a bit weird for me. I can not remember the last
time I sat out at camp in night air that is warm enough to be
shirtless and still be able to see the stars. It gets dark so early
down here! Doesn’t warm air mean daylight and lots of it? Star
viewing is done when it is forty below. It’s all backwards… For
the second night in a row, I am the only camper… umm… camping.
The cost was $8 to park The Rover in this grassy field. It doesn’t
seem like this place sees a lot of action these days, which is a
shame. It’s a nice place, very wooded with lots of shade, but if
you want hook-ups to power & water, you may be
disappointed. The grass seems like a nice change for checking
fluids. There is a bar/restaurant down below and lots of out
buildings scattered about with changing and bathrooms. I was told
there are a couple of pools that I plan on using for a quick swim
in the morning. The bar would fit in perfectly in Alaska with lots
of strange and quirky things hanging from the ceiling or nailed to
beams, including a Canadian license plate in the shape of a polar
bear. I have always wanted one of those NWT plates myself. I ate
dinner down at the cantina tonight. The food was very good, and
there was plenty of it for a very good price. An older, very lean,
Mexican gentleman with a straw cowboy hat was the only other
patron. He spoke fluent english, and told me that he had been
offered a job in Alaska when he graduated from a university in
Texas. When I asked why he didn’t take the job, he said “The job
paid $10 per hour, and I was told hamburgers sold for $15.” I
laughed, and told him that burgers went for only $12. I had
forgotten the sound of crickets.