Our complex has seen an influx of new
tenants this past week. At least half of the units are now occupied so it is fun to sit around the pool and meet our new neighbours. Last Sunday we went back into Merida for t
he day with Pat and Paddy. There was a free concert of Cuban dancers in one of the city squares. They were very good and energetic. It was over an hour long and every dance- at least a dozen- had a change of costumes, which were fantastic and colourful.
Our neighbour Wendy has a monthly dinner group in Winnipeg. Her turn was January and she told her friends that if they wanted her to host they would have to come to Mexico for it. So four of them did! Two women named Barb, Stan and Greg all came for a week. The Barbs and Stan all teach at the university there and Greg is an executive chef. Wednesday was Wendy’s birthday and the group hired a van and driver for a tour of the area. They wanted to fill the van so they invited us and Mike and Nancy upstairs. We had a fabulous day. Pedro, our guide, speaks perfect English as well as Spanish and Mayan. The Mayans do not consider themselves Mexican at all!! We left at 7:30 and our first stop about an hour later was in a little Mayan village where there is a daily market and wonderful street food. It was great having Pedro along because he advised about which food to try and which vendors to buy from. Next was another village with the only gothic cathedral in this part of Mexico. Later we were taken to a former sisal plantation to take a horse drawn trolley cart to three underground cenotes. All I can say is WOW WOW WOW!! Two of them had steep steps going down into the caves and Nancy was actually able to get Gail to come down backwards so she could go swimming. I have never seen water so gorgeous and blue. Gail said it reminded her of the Blue Grotto outside Capri in Italy. The third cenote was down a very steep ladder so we did not attempt it!
Our final stop was a late lunch of Yucatan food at a Hacienda. We sat outside overlooking the orange groves and had the most wonderful food, starting with Margaritas of course. Later in the evening we went to Wendy’s for a birthday party and another great meal cooked by Greg.
We had such a good day with Pedro that the two Barb’s, Greg, Pat, Gail and I went with him again a couple of days later. This time early in the morning he took us bird watching to see Egrets, Flamingoes, Herons, Eagles, Vultures and so many more that I will never remember. It was a thrilling experience.
After that we went to a Mayan site called Dzbilchaltun. We had gone to this pyramid site the previous week with Pat and Paddy. It is not as popular as Chichen Itza but it is in our neighborhood and well worth a visit. We did not mind going again, especially with a Mayan guide this time. There is a wonderful museum at the site and it was fascinating listening to Pedro explain the calendar system and show us how the sunrays hit the buildings on the equinox and solstice days. We were able to climb the pyramids there- I don’t think you are permitted to do this at Chichen Itza anymore. It was very very hot so we were glad to jump in the water at the above ground cenote at the site. The water was a lovely green and filled in places with blooming water lilies-very magical! On to another Mayan village where we went into a typical family home and saw the old grandparents weaving hammocks. People in the Yucatan traditionally sleep in hammocks and most of the homes have no beds at all. Actually in our condo each bedrooms has very heavy iron hooks imbedded in the concrete walls to hold hammocks. Even the wealthy people here sleep in them when it is extremely hot in the summer.
After that we were taken to the salt flats. In ancient times the Mayans had dug beds in the soil a few kilometers inland to trap the salt water when the tides were high. The area is below sea level and the flats still fill with salt water. They used the salt to stay hydrated in the heat and to trade with other people. The salt made the Mayans very wealthy. Nowadays the flats still exist and the local people poke wooden sticks into the mud flats below the water. Within hours or days the sticks are coated with sea salt. It is very interesting to see the process.
On the way home we stopped at a seafood restaurant where I had about the best fish fillet I have ever eaten.
Today is Sunday once again. We woke up to another Norte, which will probably last two or three days. We only have nine more days here before we take the bus to Cancun for our final week in Mexico.
