Miami Twice

Late September, 2006

Miami wasn't on my itinerary, but since my American Airlines flights from Mexico to Coast Rica and then Costa Rica to Ecuador both took me through there, I thought it would only be polite to get out on the second occasion and have a look around. Also, it gave me the opportunity to do two very important things: visit the dentist after my Cuban Mint vs. Molar incident, and to pick up my new, fully-loaded ipod which had been sent from the UK.

There's not too much to say about Miami really. I stayed on Miami Beach, which was nice enough but really felt just like an American city with a touristy beach attached to its eastern side. Three exciting things happened to me while I was in Miami. Here, in the best tradition of the awards ceremony, they are in reverse order...

The third most exciting thing that happened in Miami was that the night I arrived, I used the hotel safe in my room to store my valuables only for it to refuse to open again! I suspected some sneaky extortion plot on the part of my dodgy little hotel, but no, a maintenance man got it open quickly first thing the next morning.

The second most exciting thing was that I came across the new Irvine Welsh novel, ("The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs"), in a bookstore. It was US$26 and came only as a huge, heavy hardback; not ideal for travelling, but I had to have it. And very good it was too.

But the most exciting thing to happen in Miami was that I got my hands on my new ipod! Mine had bitten the dust big-stylee in Cuba, and I'd had to endure a whole difficult month without music.

So I ordered a new one from the UK website, had it delivered to a friend in the UK who had all my itunes backed up, and he loaded it and mailed it out to the UK consulate in Miami! Bless them for taking delivery of it; I knew I paid my taxes for something. Or I used to, when I worked. And big up Simon, of course, for taking care of business in London and saving me from a musical void out here. No thanks, however, to Apple, for flogging hardware which breaks when you look at it the wrong way..... I have now had six different ipods in 18 months.

The thing I most enjoyed about being in Miami was getting up early, sitting on the beach watching the sun rise over the ocean, then going for a big American breakfast in an old-style diner. Yum yum bagels!

So then it was time for me to get on another American Airlines plane, (hand baggage completely devoid of liquids, gels and pastes of any kind after the big terrorist scare in London shortly before), and set off for Ecuador.