Run, Forrest. Run!

I played referee to my aging Italian friend Joan and her live-in Mexican "security guard" for a bit, watched cans of beers fly over perimeter walls and middle fingers raised.  I had my fill of that, and after realizing it was actually New Years Eve (thought is was actually today), I trucked it back home to prepare for my night out. 

Last night was a full moon, a Blue moon to be exact, and it was just what I needed to light my path through the snakes and scorpions.  Most of the people I know were drinking, dancing, and celebrating at the local restaurants or niteclubs for the night.  I choose to drive out into the dark, park about a mile outside of some Mayan ruins, and hike in to sit on top of them for a bit and welcome the new year.  I got a little more than I bargained for.

The moon was so bright, I didn't even need my flashlight.  I brought it just in case (thanks Ehud), and after I coated my pants and long-sleeved shirt with bug repellant, I headed off towards the ruins.  I had my knife with me, of course, and a club of sorts I had made an hour before I left.  Who knows what good I'd do with either, but it made me feel a little bit better.  The sounds of the owls and other birds around me were so clear and a little creepy, to be honest.  Bats would swoop down near my head, hopefully intercepting the bugs that were themselves swooping on me.  As I approached the main area where the largest ruins were, a dog started to bark.

Great.  Entonces,  a second dog starts barking.  I checked the bottle of spray I had put on my clothing, but it only said ticks and mosquitos - nothing about dogs.  Dang it!  I was probably 300 yards from the spot I wanted to be, and I wasn't about to give up.  I continued forward, and every step I took was SO loud.  The dogs, bored with just standing and barking, decided that they weren't going to give up either.  The barking grew louder and barkier, and I decided that I wasn't in the mood to tangle with a couple dogs.  I turned around and headed back in the direction I'd came from, but the dogs weren't satisfied.  I could tell they were running towards me from the sounds, and I took off running as fast as my worn-out trail runners would carry me.  I ran until I couldn't continue, and it sounded like they had given up behind me, although the barking continued in place and would do so for almost the entire time I was there.  I hoped that there wasn't un hombre that lived there full time that would come look for me.  I think it was hombre-free, solo perros. 

I decided that I wasn't done yet.  I was going to flank the dogs if I could, whatever that means, and accomplish my goal.  As I headed off into the undergrowth, I sent out anti-snake vibes into the plants.  Turns out, on the way to my goal, I found some smaller ruins off to the side that I didn't even know about.  Que Sorpresa!  Is that even a word?  I was very happy to avoid the dogs again, so I climbed around on these for a bit, took some pictures with a 15 second exposure, listened to the animals and insects around me, and the old year went and the new year came - out there under the Blue moon.