Another week and another beautiful guide. I did not know the school rotates the guides each week until Mariela knocked on the gate at 4 p.m. on Monday.
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| Mariela |
It is a good program in that I meet more Spanish speaking people and learn different speech patterns. Mariela is a 21 year-old university student studying economics. This will be her last year. Like Yasmin, she is a lovely young lady with a lot of energy and big smile.
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| Home work at Star Bucks |
Monday we went to Star Bucks and worked on my homework.
On Tuesday we rode my motorcycle to Maya ruins, Dzibilchaltun, about 15 miles north of Merida.
The park has an excellent museum and a small cenote (sink hole with fresh water). I brought my swim suit with the intent of cooling off, but Mariela did not bring hers, so I did not jump in.
We were walking towards the a temple when a storm was approaching. A guard warned us it was dangerous to be near or on the temple because of lightning and he waited for us to leave.
We rode out of the park at 4:30 and as we were approaching Merida we ran into the storm and I quickly realized we need to get off the highway and seek shelter.
I rode under the covered entrance to a new coliseum that was not open. For two hours we stood under the overhang of the entrance and watched the huge storm. It was totally black with streaks of lightning piercing the sky. I entertained Mariela by teaching her salsa, bachata and merengue, and singing a song. But after two hours it was still pouring rain and the wind was howling around us. I called Gonzalo and asked him to pick up Mariela and take her to her house. By the time he arrived at the coliseum, the rain had almost stopped but the streets were flooded and there were stalled cars everywhere. I rode slowly back to my host’s house, plowing through foot deep water in some places. I was glad Mariela was not riding on the back because I fishtailed a couple of times stopping for signals on the flooded streets. When I returned to my host home, there was no power. We went to bed early and the power came back on about 2 a.m. The next morning the news reported that it was tropical storm 13 and caused a lot of flooding.
On Thursday we went to the central market and then I attended Rotary that night. When they asked me what I like to do and I responded that I like to salsa dance and sing. So they asked me to sing a song. I sang the only one I know I can sing well accapella, “You Make Me Feel So Young.”
Mariela agreed to meet me at the Mambo Café on Friday night at 9 to go dancing. Needless to say, I was delighted to have a beautiful young dance partner. I told her she does not have to dance all night with me and is welcome to dance with younger men. We took the one hour dance lesson in salsa, bachata and merengue. Mariela text her friends and asked them to come, but they had other plans. She left shortly after the class and I stayed and danced with other ladies.
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| Uxmal |
On Saturday I went on a tour to the Mayan ruins of Uxmal and Kabah. The tour was provided by my Spanish school. I have been to both these ruins a few years ago by myself. This time I had a Spanish speaking guide and one purpose of the excursion was to work on my Spanish comprehension. It was a hot but an enjoyable day.
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| Uxmal |
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| Kabah |
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| Kabah |
I planned to go karaoke singing that night but the first two karaoke bars I went to were closed and I could not fine the third one on my list. Then it started raining hard and I decided to call it a night. On the way back to my host home, I was having difficulty seeing the road because my helmet visor does not have windshield wipers. I missed seeing the trolley car tracks and skidded sideways, dumped my motorcycle in the middle of the street and made a three point landing on my right elbow, hip and knee. I quickly killed the engine, picked up the motorcycle and pushed it to the side of the road to assess the damage to my body and bike. Although I had a big bruise and some bleeding road rash, nothing was broken and the motorcycle still ran, only missing a mirror. Lesson learned: DON’T RIDE A MOTORCYLE IN THE DARK IN THE RAIN.
Oh ... I forgot to write that I found an excellent espresso machine at Sam's Club for $71. I have been looking for a good espresso machine in Mexico for many years because the one I brought to Casa Martillo ten years ago no longer makes steam.
More next week ...
For several years my bucket list has included taking a Spanish immersion course. After going to Cozumel three or four times a year for the past thirteen years, you might think I would already be able to speak Spanish fluently. But I can’t, so I registered for a three week course in Merida, including a home stay. I arrived in Merida after a red-eye flight from San Francisco to Cozumel, a ferry ride to Playa del Carmen, and a four hour bus ride.
My host family in Merida is a warm and gracious 79 year-old lady, Josefina, and her son, Gozalo. Josefina speaks English but has been told by my school to speak only Spanish with me. Her son, Gonzalo, speaks English, but we do better in Spanish.
I am very lucky to have a private class because I am the only student who started classes this week at my level of comprehension. My teacher, Astrid, is a beautiful 24 year-old lady who is a college graduate.
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| Astrid |
She has excellent articulation, and is patient with me. She is fluent in English, but the class is solely in Spanish. Classes are from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday through Friday. I return to my host home at 1 and Josefina serves comida, the largest meal for the day, at 2. Then it is siesta time.
The school provides me with a guide who arrives at my host home each day at 4. We go to museums, shopping, cafes, and wander the city. Her name is Yasmin, which means “gift from God,” and it is a very appropriate name. She is an adorable 19 year-old college student with a lot of energy and a big smile.
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| Yasmin |
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| Shopping with Yasmin |
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| Mayan Skeleton |
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| Studying at Star Bucks |
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| Always fun |
On Friday night Gozalo and I went to a night club. Gonzalo was not interested in dancing, but enjoyed watching the girls and the beer. The club provided a one hour lesson in bachata, salsa and merengue. A thirteen piece band started playing at 11. I danced with several women and had a blast.
On Thursday, my laptop stopped connecting to the WiFi, and I can’t be without email for three weeks. So on Saturday I took the bus back to Playa del Carmen and the ferry to Cozumel to have my computer expert fix my laptop. I arrived at Casa Martillo about 9 p.m. and the computer guru came over immediately and fixed it in 10 minutes. I went out to dinner at 10 for a bowl of pazole. I got up at 6:30 to ride my motorcycle to the car ferry and then the 4 hour ride back to Merida. The ride was not bad, except it was 100 degrees and 90 percent humidity.
More next week
