New Species: Homo Touristas

Okay its officially summer now. Here on the island the beaches are covered with seaweed and tourists and both of them are starting to stink! The weed less so. I know that's a mean thing to say and I'm probably a mean and crabby old  dude for saying it but hey I kind of like being mean and crabby. I could lose the old part maybe. Then again being young in my case means being dumb and I've still got plenty of youth if you know what I mean.

There were some good waves the other day so I grabbed my boogie board and fins and caught some fairly decent waves. There really is nothing better than living by the beach. Whether I'm riding my bike, floatin on my cheapo pink inflatable raft, sponge boarding or just baking on the beach with a paperback mystery this is the life. I can't really blame the tourists for coming but they have passed the saturation level. The Seawall has ceased to function as a travel corridor. It is now a slow moving exhibit of the species homo touristas.

A number of years ago after some foreign travel I remember thinking that as a tourist I had to learn to wait in line and follow directions. I decided this was a pretty good approach to life in general. You know, that old "I'm just visiting this planet" attitude. I still feel that way. However I no longer see myself as a tourist, tourists are too disrespectful for me to continue to identify as one. I would like to see myself as some kind of naturalist. Actually that sounds just about right.

Naturalists aren't necessarily scientists but they have that sort of respect and awe that scientists have. My problem is I should probably have that sort of awe for my fellow human beings but I don't. I mean a scientist studying gorillas will spot some silver back with a huge belly gobbling termites and be dumbfounded and inspired. But when I see some hairy back tourist gobbling fried chicken... well inspired isn't the word. Some tourists are more fun to look at than others and there is nothing too scientific about figuring that out.

I am blessed to live somewhere so many people want to be, if only it weren't so easily accessible.





Russell