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BANGED UP ABROAD: HELLHOLE

compared to back home. All the way to the hotel, we were laughing our heads off. This was the life!

The hotel was impressive. For starters it was called El Paradiso - the Paradise. It had grand, marble steps leading up to its entrance, giant marble pillars, a polished marble floor and enormous rooms with balconies that overlooked a brilliantly lit swimming pool. Everything was plush - these guys had obviously spent money on us, just as Luke and the Russian had said they would. It seemed they were as good as their word.

We were party animals from the word go.

For the week we were there, we'd wake up and start boozing, bomb into the pool, then hang out on the beach. We decided just to get right on it and put the smuggling job out of our minds.

Being white as sheets and me with red hair and over six feet, we stuck out like sore thumbs, and girls would flock over to us wherever we were. With all of our money, they were like flies round shit. But what did we care? It wasn't even our money, so we spent it like there was no tomorrow. We'd order the girls food, and massive plates of crab and exotic fish would show up, with another crate of beers.

On the first night, we brought a couple of birds we'd met in a bar back to the hotel. The girl on reception went ballistic. 'No! You cannot bring girls like that in here!'