Most Memorable Roommates

Hostel La Esquina, El Salvador

As our 60 Days Walking journey begins to wind down, I thought it might be fun to highlight some of the humorously memorable roommates we found ourselves bunking next to along the trip.  In trying to save money, the three of us generally choose hostels over hotels (in a hostel, you pay to rent a bed rather than a room, and so you never truly know who your roommates will be for the evening until you all lay down to sleep).  Here are just a few of the interesting friends we have made along the way:    

The Mad Scientist: “It is so great to hear the English tongue again!” This was the greeting we received from the elder man as he approached us on the road.  The man was everything the three of us had ever imagined a crazy scientist from books and movies to actually be.  His head and arm motions were puppet-like, and the stories he shared with us were so bizarre, that our discussions afterwards consisted of back and forth questioning as to whether they were real experiences the man had lived, or if they were just strange jokes that we didn’t understand.  Later that night, this same man came to our hostel and reached deep into his pocket to pull out a hand full of American bills.  “Yes! Six dollars! I have just enough to afford a bed for the night!” As the man walked off in celebration, Joey and I looked at one another, “Its seven a night…” We said awkwardly to ourselves.    

The Zombie: I woke one night to see Joey frightened and staring up at the drunken El Salvadorian man standing next to his bed, caressing his arm.  Joey noticed that I was awake and demanded that I speak to him.  I spoke to the man in Spanish and the zombie-like figure turned and approached my bedside, now mumbling uninterpretable words in a strange whisper.  The man eventually walked back to his bed and lay down to sleep again, but not without Joey and I being slightly freaked out by the entire scene.  We came to find out later that this same late night partier peed on our door that same morning.  As the day went on, we saw our roommate now and again but his composure around us proved he had no memory of the strange behaviors he had expressed the night before.