HANDWRITTEN LETTERS

I carefully unfolded the letter and read the first lines “Hola, How is life at the Finca?”

My ear was still very sore so I stayed all day in bed. In the evening, feeling kinda peckish, I went to the Restaurant area looking for food. When Gaby saw me, she shared that some guest had a letter for me.

“I’m writing from a bus, so excuse the handwriting. I always preferred handwritten letters to emails, so when I heard my friends were heading to the Finca, I was excited to send a message the old fashioned way ...” – the letter continued.

A tall girl with an Australian accent introduced herself as Sandy and asked me if I was Paulo. Happy with my answer, she went to her cabaña and quickly returned with a sheet of paper neatly folded in her hand. Sandy handed it to me and smiled “From Zahara.”

“...I had a wonderful time discussing life & philosophy with you & want to keep up the conversation however possible. I’ll be checking your blog & wishing you an incredible journey...”- Zahara’s letter continued on.

It has been a while, a few years actually, since I’ve received a handwritten letter. I remember the postman handing me envelopes with my name and address on it. I remember tearing it open and removing its contents. I remember the paper sometimes with perfume, other times with just its natural scent. I remember inspecting the handwriting, written with a pretty fountain pen, or with a regular bic. I would read it once, twice, three times even. I remember smiling and getting down to the task of writing my own reply letters. I remember keeping the letters from loved ones in a safe place (a shoe box) and rereading them, years down the line.

“...One more thing, you will find my stinky old sneakers somewhere in the common area – throw them away – they can kill someone...” – Zahara’s letter hinted to finish.

One thing that I’ve been doing all along this trip has been sending handwritten postcards to all my friends as opposed to emails. It has not been an easy task because sometimes was very difficult to find a post office. And I hope that they’ve enjoyed receiving them. I’ve sent them with all my love. My stay in the Finca is nearing its end thus my journey will resume soon. And so, a postcard with your name is heading out your way too (very soon).

“hugs & kisses – xoxo Zahava”

A funny side effect to the pills that I’m taking is that I get several erections in the most impromptu moments throughout the day. Like when I showed the room to one of the guests. He didn’t say anything but I noticed his eyes going down to my crouch and coming up again kinda blushed. Or when I waved good bye to a boat and some passengers pointed to my obvious erection. I told what happened to someone, who quickly asked: “Are the pills blue?”

“PS – Stop in and say hello next time you’re in San Diego. You always have a place to stay.”

Thank you Zahara. For the conversation, for laughing to my jokes, for the company, for inviting me, for the pills and for being you. Something that you don’t know is that we there’s only a 48 hours difference on our birthdays. I’m the 28^th April.

Ciao 4 now

~ Paulo ~