POST 19 (11/21/25) FRIDAY, THE WINDY VERSION

I awakened a bit late, knowing I was just going directly to my second and final massage with Hamza. I didn't want to eat anything before that of course, and given the windy weather, had no desire to leave the room. Check out this wind from my balcony:

So I published Wednesday's blog and wrote the entry for Thursday. Later, after the massage, I was hoping to spend some time with Andre or Charles, but hoping they didn't both seek to do so and therefore be in conflict. haha Just before needing to leave for my massage I heard from Charles. Now that he became a contact in Whatsapp, I noticed his profile picture and realized that I recognized that pic from Silver Daddies! I logged on to look him up and realized that I had not only already added him to my favorites, but in fact had written to him three weeks ago! Imagine that! I had attempted to make contact realizing that he would be here in Playa Del Ingles, and then I end up meeting him in person at the bar. What are the chances? He offered to meet me in the afternoon after taking a friend to the airport. Yaaay! A date... Chatting with him made me leave the room a couple minutes late for my massage however, but it soon became evident that it didn't even matter. When I got down there, Hamza was not at his desk. I walked down the hall towards the treatment room, and there was a privacy sign on the door indicating that he was already in session. Back at his desk, there were post-its and pens, so I wrote him a note and went back to the room. 

Having time on my hands and an appetite from not having breakfast, I decided to give Nuevo Rokoko another chance. When I arrived, I saw Fidel sitting with a friend at the first table outside. I said hi, and then looked around for an open table, but there were none available. So I consulted with the staff, and by then Fidel and his friend had just gotten up, so the Italian cafe bear suggested I take that table. He also immediately offered me a menu - a departure from previous visits to be sure. I felt like having something familiar (like comfort food from home), so I ordered scrambled eggs with bacon and a cappuccino. Breakfast came and it included toast as well, as I had hoped (although one little pat of butter for three toasts half is a bit minimalist if you ask me). See for yourself:

And the guy serving me was wearing an Idles shirt, which I know to be one of my friend Dele's favorite bands, so I asked him if I could take a pic, which he was happy to do. I also asked how many times I had to come in before they start kissing me like all the other guests, and he leaned over my table and kissed me on the lips right then and there! I said, "Oh, it's three times I guess." lol These guys are cool. I don't know why the disconnect the first time or two, but all was good now, and I can certainly see why this place is so popular.

When I returned to the hotel, one of my favorite receptionists, whom I now learned goes by Alex (like my German friend), told me that Hamza was looking for me, felt terrible about the misunderstanding, and had tried to call my room for him when he finished the massage he was doing at noon. It turned out he thought I meant "in the afternoon" not "at noon", even despite reconfirming the day before when I ran into him. So I was asking Alex to help me book a massage at the Gloria Palace Hotel, which had been recommended by my Chi Nei Tseng practitioner back in Marin weeks prior. They were pretty booked up, so Alex talked me into rescheduling with Hamza for Saturday. I ran into Hamza on the way into the elevator lobby, and he apologized profusely and hoped I would reschedule. Little did he know, I was willing mainly because there was no availability at Gloria Palace. So we scheduled for 11am on Saturday.

At almost 3pm sharp, I heard from Charles again. Seems like this guy likes me! He invited me over to his apartment, which is a massively convenient half block away. I took a pic from the elevator landing outside my room, which looks right at the big white building where he is staying (pool in the foreground is at my hotel):

Off I went, and he waved from his balcony as promised, so I followed my directional sense to that hand on the 5th floor of the Habitat Apartments. We had the most delightful visit! He is a charming southern gentleman from the countryside outside of Atlanta, who now lives in Ft. Pierce, Florida. He is on a two month visit here on the island, and seems to have a group of friends he does things with. The fact that he drove someone to the airport gives a hint at the kind of guy he is. And since he had seen my website address on my card, he had taken a look around and gotten to know a bit about me in advance. I felt very attracted to him, and comfortable with him as well. And to avoid kissing and telling, that is all I will say. Oh, and I was there for four hours, and only left because he needed to get ready and depart for a dinner event with his group.

I decided to go back to 450 Gradi for dinner, as I love the food, am fascinated by the owner Antonio, and always feel not only welcome but like a VIP there. On the walk over I set my heart on the risotto. I walked in and made a bee-line to the counter by the pizza oven where I always sit. Antonio was, once again, manning the oven as he likes to do. Imagine that; an owner of four restaurants (in three countries!) being at one of them every night spinning pizzas. I got to meet his father on this occasion as well, who is a charming Italian man. Antonio warned me it takes 20 minutes to make the risotto, and suggested I have a "focaccia" while I wait. I agreed, but had no idea what I was in for. It turned out to be a whole pizza with prosciutto, gorgonzola, pesto, walnuts, arugula, and honey! Why he calls it focaccia I have no idea. Literally the only difference is that it is cut up and stacked on a plank as opposed to served round as a whole pizza pie, oh and no pizza sauce just olive oil and rosemary on the crust. I ate half and managed to stop, a challenge given how good it was. Here he is delivering and describing it:

Eventually the risotto arrived. The photo doesn't do it justice. It was cooked al dente and tasted delicious. It had both cooked prawn chunks in it as well as some raw shaved prawns in little piles on top.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time there engaging with Antonio and watching him work his magic as a world-class pizzaiolo, and greeting all the other staff (100% Italians). On the way out his dad offered me a Limoncello, which I accepted, as you can see here:

I had a doggie bag with my leftovers and a dilemma to bring it back to the hotel and go back out to the bar, or even skip the bar, especially as I had the nice afternoon with Charles already. I decided to head for the bar, stash my leftovers bag outside, and do the bar for a while. I ran into Charles and a couple of his friends right away. I checked their drinks, and all were ok, so I headed in to the bar to get one for myself. I ran into Andre on the way, who was very sweet, but still had never replied to me. So much for being concerned about both of them wanting to see me at the same time. He acts affectionate in person, but then makes no attempt to follow up and actually see each other outside of the bar. No biggie though, it's just the way around here, and with many people. I got my drink, and then ran into the British guys Girard and John from the night before, and had a visit with them It turned out Girard was hot for a guy named Philip, who was also hanging around Andre, as he is French as well. Quite incestuous around these parts! haha I spoke with John a bit while Girard disappeared into the dark room with Philip, and we laughed about that. I went to check up on them at one point and they were not actually in the dark back part but the illuminated front part standing at the side making out. I reported to John, we had another laugh, and chatted a bit more. I excused myself to go back to Charles & co. where I felt a little discomfort on his part that he later explained to me. In a way he is kind of accustomed to being closeted, despite being in this very openly gay environment. HE also told me that a lot of guys there are after him, but he is not attracted to them, so when he got together with me he didn't want others to notice that and become jealous. All understandable and acceptable. After all, this is holiday romance, not partner material, something I determined when at his apartment earlier. After more socializing with a number of people I had already met (from Finland, Italy, Germany, Spain, and England), I left there at midnight with Charles and two of his friends (a Spanish and Danish couple). We walked them to their hotel which was just outside Yumbo on the corner, and directly on the way back towards my hotel and Charles' apartment. I offered for him to come up, and he invited me to his place. He ended up accepting my offer, and we had a nice visit upstairs for an hour and a half or so, and I walked him downstairs and out to the street for his short walk home. And that was my Friday. How was yours? haha