"Where is Finland? Near Germany?" asked one of the men on the other side of the car. "Yes, I am a tourist, but from Finland, not Germany.
#BULGING NIFTY GAY STORIES SKIN#
I saw muscled abdominals glistening with sweat on chocolate skin before he bent over to talk through the window. He was tall, at least 15cm taller than my 175. One of the shirtless team walked around to the driver's side window while the others waited on the sidewalk. The men stopped their game and all four walked toward my car. Could you give me directions back to route 836?" I lowered the right side window and shouted in my best English, "Excuse me. I pulled to the side of the street, parking in the pool of light that spilled from the playing area. I decided to stop and ask for directions. The many lamps that bathed the area made me feel a bit safer. Even the guys with the shirts on looked pretty good, certainly not like criminals. Four young black men were playing a game, two versus two.
As I pulled up I could see that it was illumination for a basketball court. The buildings and houses told me this wasn't a prosperous area and I suddenly recalled the warning at the car rental place.Īt the end of the block was a splash of bright light. After a left, another left and another, I was thoroughly lost. I couldn't continue straight as the street was a dead end, blocked by the elevated roadway of the very highway I was trying to regain. But, after the second right, the street turned somewhat left and the next street was one way in the wrong direction. Three rights should allow me to come perpendicular to the road I was on and I might cross over and regain the highway. I had to turn right to follow the rest of the traffic.Īfter several blocks with no way to turn left to get to the other side of the road, I decided to turn right. I could see the entrance to the highway at the other side of the street, but there was no way to reach it. The street I arrived at was divided by a concrete barrier separating the directions of traffic. I slowed, but the off-ramp came closer and I had no choice but to follow it. I looked left but there was no break in traffic to allow me to change lanes. It took me a few seconds to recognize that it said, "RIGHT LANE MUST EXIT." Ahead a few hundred meters I saw cars in front leaving the highway. I had gone several kilometers when I saw a sign by the side of the highway. I figured I would stay in the slower lane until I got used to the car and the driving habits of American motorists. I waited for an opening and merged into the rightmost lane where the flow was a bit slower. This must be the rush hour that is mentioned in American television shows. I spotted a traffic sign with the sun on it almost immediately and soon found myself on the entrance ramp to a highway numbered 836 headed east that was to lead me to another numbered 95 that would take me south to route 1 that leads to my destination. It was dark when I finally drove my car from the rental office. That was why the sun symbols were placed on the road signs around the airport to guide newcomers. Finally, she warned me about driving in unfamiliar areas because there have been several incidents of tourists being assaulted and even killed. I was told to follow the sun shaped symbols to reach the limited access highway that was the best route through the city.
She gave me a map that covered the city in detail and the whole area in smaller scale. As I completed the formalities, I asked the woman behind the counter for directions. The trip included an intermediate size car that nevertheless was larger than 90% of the vehicles on the road in Finland. Key West's reputation as a gay Mecca was well known at home and to say I was eager to see if it was deserved was an understatement.Ī shuttle van deposited me at the car rental office about five minutes from the airport.
I had won the trip in a contest and never doubted my luck at having two weeks of warmth and sun. It was 30 C when I stepped from the terminal quite a change from the Finnish winter.