Don’t Look Like a Tourist

Don’t look like a tourist.

Advice?
Don't look like a tourist

That is the caution one of the guide books gives.

O.K.

--- frescos on ceiling of Pacifico

... Pactifico was at first a railroad terminal ...

How is that possible.

We have on sensible shoes, and a belly pouch that carries our money, a few other personal belongings.

We occasionally bring out a map and stop at a street corner to get our bearings.

1Sunglasses keep the blinding light out of our eyes.

Hard not to look like a tourist.

Oh, there is another kind of tourist looking couple.

 ... Centro Naval ornamentation ...

Wyona pointed them out to me.

He is tall and athletic, silver hair, maybe retired but still full of a lot of energy in his stroll.

She is older (at least not the second wife, yet), but still blonde and slight.

... budding angel Moroni ...

They carry no bags though she may have a slim leather purse across one shoulder.

They look American elite.

We look prairie peasant.  No hiding our roots.

... bronze plaque on door ...

She isn’t really buying anything for he is carrying no packages.

They are just strolling along.

Not even looking up, nor left or right.

 ... lion on door of Centro Naval ...

We however have the drop-jawed tourist look.

 Duh to us!

Oftentimes we lean against a building (or each other) with one arm to give us stability while we look way up.

... ceiling of unidentified shopping mall ...

Way, way up.

We are discussing the iron balconies, the influence of the Greek architecture, the two story high brass door on the naval building – there is no way we can keep from looking like tourists.

We are trying to figure out how long this walking street really is, why some of the buildings are now shabby or abandoned, how the graffiti is so plentiful on the side of one building, and there is none on the building next to it.

7Don’t look like a tourist? I wonder what that means.

Today we checked out where a Laundromat is from our building.

I was watching what the locals looked like, and today I noticed that about ¼ of them had on jackets or sweaters.

“Wyona, let’s go back and get a second layer on. One-quarter of these locals have an extra coat on today and I am already feeling the cold.”

... ornamentation above door ...

So Greg led us back to the hotel.  We can't even get two blocks away from the hotel and get back on our own.

With that extra layer on today, we looked more local.

Arta