Old City Albuquerque

Day 93: Thursday, October 7, 2010

Albuquerque Rattlesnake Museum; Flamenco dancing

So now that we had made it all the way to Albuquerque--all the way from the Bay Area via Alberta, Minnesota, and Georgia--I was somewhat puzzled that the city warranted a stop. I had hitherto thought it merely a funny looking name of a city "down in the Southwest somewhere". These things are all relative to a Boston girl. But I had an open mind.

We had pulled into the campground late the previous night and were somewhat alarmed by our neighbor there--an older man with bloodshot eyes, an open beer, and an overwhelming desire to talk with us. He was perfectly sweet, very cordial, both helpful and kind; yet one could not help feeling his desperation rank in the air surrounding him. I'll be frank: It made me uncomfortable.

So here was the dilemma. What to do? Do I take the time to converse with this man who so clearly needs human interaction, despite my personal discomfort; or do I continue minding my own business, going my own way?

I settled for being friendly and talkative but not overly friendly, which I am wont to do. It was a feat.

That afternoon we went to the Albuquerque Rattlesnake Museum and learned about the behaviors, diets, and terrain of various types of rattlesnakes. These fearsome critters are incredible. They are highly evolved creatures, equally suited for land and water--and they don't even have limbs! They blow my mind. While there we also saw a David Attenborough film about snakes that featured an enormous python stretching its jaws around a pretty sizeable deer. Since the python has no lips, it had to move each individual part of its mouth over at a time, until it had engulfed the entire kill. The python stretched its jaws so wide that giant tears were created in its skin, a pretty common side effect of such a meal. I mean, it was bleeding and everything. That is dedication, my friends.

Before we could leave the Old City, however, we heard that the flamenco dancers were coming onstage and we simply had to watch. I have deep respect for all dancers, due to my own lack of coordination and grace, but these flamenco dancers were phenomenal. They were from a nearby Flamenco Academy and ranged in age from 4-24. The dancers amazed me with their grace, athleticism, and skill. I think we were there for a good two or three hours.

Matthew was not pleased.