What a day! We've added another night onto our stay in Merida (so we will be here a total of 6 nights by the time we leave) because there are just too many things to see and do. One thing that we won't be doing though is going to the bull fights because as luck would have it...they happened last weekend and so we missed them by just a single day - whew!
As we left the hotel room this morning Lynda said, "I'm not wearing my hat because it will blow away in the wind...but...I'm going to wear my short dress." We laughed all morning as gusts of wind made her dress do the "Marilyn pose". I'm pretty certain that is the reason the man pulling his suitcase behind us as we walked down the sidewalk didn't want to pass us. He was getting a great show with each gust of the wind!
A little later this morning as we walked down another street a local man approached us and said, "you're from Canada right?" We said yes and he said...I saw you the other night in the main square. Now if that doesn't inform us that even though there are some expats living here...we still stand out from the crowd. Might have something to do with the fact that we prefer to eat where locals eat and stay slightly off the beaten path. He was a very nice fellow and directed us to the tourist info centre where we could find maps of the region. We'd been looking for the info centre so it was great to have someone take time out of whatever they were doing and walk us right to the centre. People are willing to do that here all the time. So many of them seem to have all the time in the world - and it is so nice to see and to be the recipient of their generosity.
Our plan today was to visit some of the museums in the main square but...the day didn't turn out as planned and since we enjoy just going with the flow of it...we were just fine with the changes. This morning as we sat enjoying a cup of coffee near a small zocalo about a block from the main square (see...we were on our way to tour the museums etc) a nurse dressed in white uniform approached us to take our blood pressure. I guess it is a common service in Mexico...nurses just go around checking people's blood pressure and if needed directing them for assistance. Fortunately we both "passed" with flying colours so were free to go. There was a moment of panic though as I considered the fact that I was having an espresso at the same time as she was taking my BP!
After our visit with the nurse we spent quite a bit of time chatting with the young man who was our server at that restaurant. His name was Adrian and he was full of information and charm. He so wanted to help us plan the next leg(s) of our journey and in truth...he was more than helpful...he actually gave us some information that gave us cause to adjust our plans slightly. During our conversation he suggested that we be sure to stop in to the Mayan Co-operative where we'd already made a purchase a couple of days ago but as Adrian had been so helpful and since he asked us to say hi to his friend Jesus at the co-op...we decided to make a return visit.
En route to the co-op we took another little detour into an optomostrists office as Lynda was looking for a new thing to hang her glasses around her neck with. While we were in there I kind of got carried away with trying on frames and before I left I'd continued with my medical theme for the day and had a complete eye exam and I will pick up a new pair of glasses tomorrow! Once we were back on our way to the co-op we met another man who was from Progresso (one of the places we had planned to stay for a night or two until our conversation with Adrian led us to a much better option so now we will just make a day trip to visit Puerto Progresso.) Our conversation with him reinforced what we had learned from Adrian and made us just that much more certain that we were on the right track. This new fellow from Progresso also interrupted his errand to turn around and make sure we located the co-op with no difficulty. It took him just a couple blocks out of his way but even so...it's such a nice feeling to know that people are willing to take the time to be so helpful to a total stranger.
Once in the co-op we located Jesus and passed along the greeting from Adrian. In no time we were deep in conversation with Jesus who as it turns out is a member of the oldest of the Mayan tribes, the ProtoMaya. He lives in a village about 90 minutes from Merida and because the village has maintained it's traditional norms no one is allowed to go there without written permission. Jesus works at the co-op a maximum of 4 days at a time and then goes back to his village for a minimum of 4 days. While in his village his work is as the local traditional healer. (that means he deals with everything from medical to spiritual wellness) I will just simply say that our very lengthy conversation with Jesus was one of the most interesting I've ever had and neither Lynda nor I will ever forget him. Both Lynda and I made a couple more purchases in the co-op and one of mine was a ring. As always, the ring was too small so Jesus accompanied Lynda and I to the mercado (main market) to a silversmith who spent the next 40 minutes re-sizing my ring. (all included in the price I had paid) It was so interesting to watch him work his magic with the ring and he did it right in front of our eyes. Seriously, we were at most maybe 2 feet from his table vice where the aristry was taking place. Art is a foundational element in th Protomayan history. In fact the three sides to the triangle that are represented by any pyramid are: Peace, Harmony, and Art.
After the mercado we meandered back toward our hotel and returned to a little place near yet another zocalo for dinner. After dinner it was time for me to pull out the iPad and get to work via facetime as I met with clients for the rest of the afternoon/evening. Tomorrow my day is fully booked with clients too so there won't be a blog tomorrow unless Lynda decides to write it as she will be out and about all the while that I am on my calls with clients.
Hasta luego amigos,
L & L
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