Pop on your togs as we say buenos dias to Poopie el Pulpo. But just a warning – this oversized octopus is armed and dangerously cute!
The purple playboy takes pride of place in the pool of the exclusive Hotel Pazifico, in the Guatemalan tourist town of Madre Viedja.
Named after the resort’s beloved founder, Salvador ‘Poopie’ Sanchez, this majestic mollusc straddles the line between hyperrealism and whimsical exuberance. There’s just something so fun about the way he waves his suckers in the air.
I squid you not, this is one Big worth travelling to Central America for!
Jumping into the pool is the only way to get up close and personal with Poopie, and that may present issues for our more squeamish readers. The resort has taken out the coveted award for Guatemala’s Poopiest Pool Water™ three years running, something the staff are understandably proud of.
I think you’ll agree that a brief spell of gastroenteritis is a small price to pay for the opportunity to take a photo with a garishly-painted concrete octopus.
A Kraken Good Time
Located just metres from the golden shores of the Pacific Ocean – and a few minutes from Los Amigos del Pescador – Hotel Pazifico shows off the fun and flavour Guatemalans are famous for. There are waterslides and gardens full of statues, as well as a beachside restaurant with sublime views out over the water.
The ceviche, I can confirm, is luscious. But you’d better go with the prawns, rather than the calamari – you don’t want to upset The Big Octopus.
Whilst Pazifico’s rooms are a little run-down, they do all look out onto el Pulpo, so I guess it’s better than spending the night in a tent-acle – teehee!
But the real ‘El Pulpo’ was Gustav, a German tourist who seemingly lives in the shallow end of the pool and is all hands whenever someone swims nearby. Despite guzzling bottle after bottle of Monte Carlo cerveza, this amphibious pleasure-seeker never once climbed out of the brine to use el baño.
“There you go, Salvador,” Gustav giggled, as he wallowed in the browning pool water. “Looks like you’ve got that title wrapped up for another year!”
