Day 35 - Monday 24th October 2005

Basically I spent the day travelling from San Luis Potosi to Guanajuato. I got on a 2nd class bus by mistake, which made what should have been a 3 hour journey last 6 1/2 hours. Saved myself US$3 though.

I also checked into a hostel which was really poor compared to the one in Zacatecas, which leads me onto the topic of the day, Hostels Vs Hotels.

The four main ingredients which are required to make a decent hostel are, in my opinion:

Lockers - To give you peace of mind about your stuff. Nothing worse than worrying if your bag will be messed with when you are out.

Showers - A decent shower. Hot water is a bonus, especially when in the higher parts of the country. When you are next to the beach hot water isn´t such a worry!

Matress - Comfortable, clean matress. With a bed frame that doesn´t sqeak and wake you up every time you move.

Communal Area - A decent palce where you don´t mind hanging out for a few hours. Decent hostels are places you dont mind returning to for a few hours in the day, rather than trying to stay out all day just to avoid going back to the place!

Thats just my opinion formed over the last month anyway. Feel free to disagree.

I have found that when I have stayed in hostels, I have met a lot more people than when I have stayed in Hotels. I guess that would be obvious. One thing I have noticed though, is when I stay in hostels, the people I meet are mainly English speaking. This does not help my Spanish skills. When I am on my own I speak a lot more to locals in Spanish, or even just practicing speaking with myself when there is no-one to talk to. When I am in a group, I tend to forget to speak properly in Spanish and dont practice in my head as much.

There is also the matter of privacy in hostels. In short, you don´t get much. Not that I really mind, but sometimes I need a bit of privacy. Like when I have the runs and know I am going to do a really noisy poo. Then I´d like some privacy! Aside from that I´m not really worried about the noise when sleeping in dorms, because I can´t hear it. I bought some earplugs with me, which I must say are brilliant. Shut out all the noise of people screaming and shouting until the early hours and banging doors etc,. I wish I had bought some when I was in halls at uni!