Spanish Immersion Course, Merida, Mexico. Week Two

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.

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.



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.



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.

Uxmal

Kabah





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 ...

Spanish Immersion Course in Merida, Mexico, Week One

 

 

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.



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.


Yasmin

Shopping with Yasmin

Mayan Skeleton

 

Studying at Star Bucks

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

Sao Paulo and Brazil

Sao Paulo and reflections on Brazil. 

I had read that Sao Paulo is a dangerous, dirty, polluted city, so my expectations were not good.  Aggie has been living and working there for three years.  Her apartment is downtown in the middle of the hospital and clinic district.  We arrived from Ubatuba on Saturday and I stayed in her apartment for three nights before flying to Manaus.  Although I am sure there is crime in the city, as with every major metropolitan area, I did not see any and felt safe riding the extremely clean and well run subway system and buses all over the city.  I went karaoke singing one night in a Japanese bar where I was the only gringo, and I went to the north end of the city another night to attend Rotary.  After my trip on the Amazon and Itacare, I returned to Sao Paulo for a few days and again attended Rotary, went shopping and toured the city.  I can’t believe what a bad rap Sao Paulo has compared to reality.  It is very friendly with good climate.  I would much rather live there than in Rio. 

When I walked into the Rotary meeting the afternoon of my last day in Brazil, the president immediately came forward and introduced herself and welcomed me to the club, in English.  She insisted I sit at the head table with her and we talked for about 15 minutes during lunch, before she opened the meeting in Portuguese.  After the meeting she explained in English the projects they were discussing during the meeting.  I am always warmly greeted at Rotary meetings around the world and it is very gratifying to learn of the humanitarian work that is accomplished through Rotary.  And the genuine friendship that is given is extremely heartwarming. 

My last night in Sao Paulo was typical of my experience.  Aggie works late and then goes to yoga, so I went out to pizza by myself.  The waiter was extremely helpful in explaining by drawing a picture of the size pizza I ordered.  After dinner I walked to a super market to buy butter to make scones.  There was a man about my age behind me in the checkout counter and he smiled.  I said “bom noite,” when I meant to say “boa noite,” (good evening).  He responded in English, “Good evening “and after a short exchange said, “it is nice that you try.” 

My month in Brazil has been exciting, relaxing, and enjoyable.  The most unusual animal I saw was a 4 foot jungle worm.  The country faces some big challenges in preparing for the World Cup Soccer games in June.  I think that some visitors will be frustrated with the lack of infrastructure in Rio and Manaus.  The airports and roads are not equipped to handle the thousands of visitors and there appears to be a lack of focus by the government and many people to get prepared for the games. 

But as Aggie said: “If you are having a bad day and want somebody to comfort you, talk with a Brazilian.” That brings me to the end of this saga, and Aggie. What a jewel she is:  Smart, cute, funny, athletic, energetic, and always smiling.  We have had some fun times.  She introduces me as her uncle and I am happy to have her as my niece.  Can’t wait for our next adventure!

I

Sao Bento - Pedra do Bau

I flew from Bahia on the eastern point of Brazil back to Sao Paulo on Friday and the next morning Aggie and I rented a car and drove for three hours to Sao Bento, a small village in the mountains.  Aggie had booked us a room at a new pousada that was at a farm.  It was very picturesque with green pastures and lots of cows, that mooed all night.  That afternoon we drove to a waterfall, but the water was too dirty from the cow poop to swim in. That night we went to dinner at a nice restaurant in town.  The food was good and very inexpensive.

Sunday morning we got up early, had breakfast, and drove to the base of Pedra do Bau, a famous rock formation, that is at 6,400 feet elevation on top.  When started up the trail to the base of the rock about 10:30 and there were only a few other people on the trial.  It was already getting a little warm, but we had plenty of water with us.  There are iron bars imbedded in the face of the rock to form a ladder and we climbed about 800 feet up ... then decided that the exposure and risk without a rope

 outweighed the potential reward of climbing to the top.   So we climbed down and drove to Cachoeira dos Amores, that are beautiful waterfalls just a hundred yards from the road. 

We cooled off and ate the left over pizza from last night's dinner, then drove to Bauzinho, another rock formation just west of Pedra do Bau.  But the difference is that the road to Bauzinho goes almost to the top of the rock.  It is only a 500 yard scramble over rocks and along the arête to the top.  The view was incredible.  A thunder storm was rolling in and we could see the lightning approaching.  We knew we did not want to be on top of the rock when the storm reached us, so we hurried down, just as the rain started. 

We drove to Campos do Jordao, a quaint tourist and vacation town that looks like it is in the Swiss Alps.   Most of the buildings have typical Swiss architecture.  We wandered around the shops, had an espresso, Aggie was stung by a bee, then we headed for Sao Paulo, arriving at about 9:30 p.m.  It was a very nice weekend and it seemed like we had been gone for several days, rather than just over night.

Itacare

I flew from Manaus to Salvadore, Brazil on a red-eye, arriving at 7:30 a.m.  The map on TripAdvisor indicated my destination, Itacare, is a little south of Salvadore.  Well, I should have enlarged the map. It is about 160 miles south and the route is not very direct.  I rode a city bus for one hour from the airport to the port, where I took a 50 minute ferry ride.  After a 90 minute wait, I caught an "express" bus south for the 5 1/2 hour ride to Itacare.  But I had the front seat and a great view of the country side.  So it took me ten hours to get from the airport to Itacare.  

Itacare is a very laid-back beach vacation and surfing town. There are hundreds of pousadas (B&Bs) restaurants, bars, and boutique shops. The tourists are mostly Brazilian families and young couples of all sizes and colors.  There is also a surfer bum community of locals with lots of guys with dread locks and pretty young girls.  I booked at Casa Tiki, a small pousada owned by a young couple, Kevin and Patricia.  Kevin is from Belgium and Patricia is from Sao Paulo, Brazil.  They are lovely, friendly and extremely helpful hosts.  I had to change my return flight to Sao Paulo and Patricia spent about two hours on the internet and phone assisting me with the change.

My first night I walked around town and had dinner at an excellent restaurant that had live music.  Patricia made reservations for me on a river rafting trip for the next day.  We rode for about 90 minutes in a Toyota Land Cruiser over a road that made me start humming the theme song from Indiana Jones.

The rafting trip was short (about 4 miles), but very exciting with class 4 rapids.  We were a group of three rafts plus two safety kayaks.  One raft flipped in the third rapids.  No one was hurt, but some were a little shaken. 

We walked around one rapids and the guides took the rafts through without us.  That night I went to Kevin and Patricia’s new restaurant and she gave me a piece of her excellent lime pie.  I went across the street and sang one song a cappella at a bar that had open mike night. 

I made a reservation for a private surfing lesson the next day.  I surfed a little when I was in college at Long Beach State, but that was 48 years ago so I was just a little rusty.  Then there was the problem with my big toe on my left foot that no longer bends or takes weight since the operation in October. 

  After changing to "goofy foot" position, I was able to get up on the board and had a blast.  My instructor kept yelling, "one more, David," and I would bash through the waves to get back out to the surf line.  The conditions were ideal for learning with almost

constant three foot waves spaced far enough apart that I could get through them without choking.  I lost track of how many waves I rode, but after two hours, I was exhausted. 

I was going to rent a kayak the next day and paddle up river to a waterfall, but there were breaking waves at the mouth of the river so I decided to hike to the beaches instead.  There are four beautiful beaches separated by headlands.  They reminded me of Laguna Beach in Southern California, except the water is a lot warmer. 

The next morning I rented a kayak and paddled for two hours up river to a side stream that goes about half a mile through jungle and mangroves to an eco preserve that has a series of beautiful waterfalls.  I went for a swim, ate my lunch, and met a young lady who is studying law at a university in Sao Paulo.  We talked about law practice for about a half hour, and then I had to leave to get the kayak back on time.  The paddle back was with the current, but against the wind.  Three hours of kayaking was enough for one day. 

The next morning I got up a 6:30 and started the long trip back to Sao Paulo.  I got there, but my bag did not make it.  I have only flown GOL airlines twice, and had big problems both times.  I will not fly GOL again.

Bombed by Bats - Heart of Amazon

I was picked up at my hotel by a ten passenger air-conditioned van with leather seats and flat screen video system.  The other passengers were the guide and two Brazilian families.  All of them except a 10-year old boy spoke good English.  They conversed amongst themselves in Portuguese, but warmly responded when I introduced myself and soon English was the language for the day. 

My new friends included a professor at the university in Brasilia who teaches computer programming, his son, who is finishing a master’s degree in economics, and a man who is in pharmacology.  We got to know each other during the two hour drive north from Manaus through the jungle to the Urubui River that flows into the Rio Negro.  Our destination was the Maruaga caves.  We hiked about an hour into the jungle along a narrow, slippery trail, up and down small valleys.

  I have been in lots of caves but this was the first one that is carved out of sandstone.  We waded up the underground stream flowing from the cave, ducking from the hundreds of bats flying over our heads. 

I felt something wet hit my head and I realized the bats were pooping on me.  I quickly got out my hat.  I brought my backpacking head lamp and stayed in the rear most of the time so the other trekkers could see where they were stepping.  Our guide had the only other light.   We walked about 200 yards into the cave, to a point just short of a large cave in.  Ahead of us we could hear thousands of bats fluttering their wings.  We turned off our lights for about a minute and just listened to the bats. 

It was a loud, eerie sound that raised the hair on the back of my neck.    We walked out of the cave and then followed the stream through the jungle to another smaller cave that opened into a beautiful waterfall and pool. 

After a short swim, we hiked back to the van and drove about 15 miles to an excellent restaurant on the Urubui River.  After a lunch of tambaqui fish, we drove another 15 minutes to a large waterfall and pool.  The water, like that of most of the Rio Negro, is the color of tea from the tannin.  We swam and enjoyed the falls for about an hour.

Find David in the falls

 

I had arranged with our guide to drop me off at a small town near the river where I could stay the night and see the culture of rural Brazil in the heart of the Amazon.  We stopped at a modern hotel that wanted about $75 a night for a room that was small, dingy, smelled bad, and had a dirty shower.  I went across the street and checked into an old 1 1/2 star hotel for $35 per night.   It was a one star hotel with a cold water only shower, but it had WIFI, so I gave it another 1/2 star.  I wondered around the town, in and out of shops, and then stopped for pizza and a beer.  The restaurant had a video projector and sound system that was showing concerts of famous Brazilian entertainers.  

I was the only gringo on the street and no one spoke English.  But most understood my bad Spanish.  After dinner I watched a soccer game played bare foot on a concrete surface, about the size of a basketball court.  There were five players on each team and they were all good.  I watched for about 30 minutes and they played hard, non-stop, with neither team scoring.  It was Friday night and almost a full moon.  Lots of families, young couples, and kids were wandering around, looking for something to do in rural Brazil.  The town had a very old, small movie theater and I put my head inside.  An animated movie for kids was showing.  I saw some kids walk in and sit down.  I don't think there was any admission fee.  I sat at an outside bar and watched people for a while before returning to my hotel for a cold shower and bed. 

The next morning I walked to the Saturday morning farmer's market and browsed.  It was typical of any local market in a tropical country with lots of fresh veggies, fruits, fish, chicken and beef.  It started pouring rain during breakfast, so I decided it was time to take the bus back to Manaus and get to the airport for my flight to Salvador, in the north east corner of Brazil.