Drip-filter coffee, not so bad actually. Jog+cold shower+3 cups is very buzzy. We walked – stopped at a gallery with a new exhibition of erotic art. Some wonderful stuff out of Cuba – really WANTED a piece done in ink and lipstick. So far have failed to convince Andy to part with the necessary small fortune... but am in secret email contact with the gallery owner. Walked – to Merida's English Library, a lazy gringo haven with a kids' reading room, water, toilets and a big leafy courtyard. Friendly guy said – “Santiago for lunch” – another friendly guy said “want a lift?” (Wife owned a coffee shop, car smelt divine). Lunch was fantastic - huevos motelenos, sopa de lima, poc chuc. Then two hours lazing in the lovely ol' square – kids on the playground and chasing pigeons, fountain trickling, watching afternoon shadows fall over the wide, huge facade of Santiago cathedral. As the sun set we walked the few blocks to the Plaza Grande for a show and telescope viewing at the planetarium (exciting to see Polaris). Pollo pibil for dinner at El Trapiche. Yucatacan romantic seranades in the open air theatre, some mean finger-picking and beautiful, open voices. All free, all eclectically attended. Very late. Marvellously happy.
Sunday morning, ran all the closed roads of the old city along the Paseo Montejo and into town. Wonderful to jog without traffic, to watch the markets and music set up. Walked this same route then with Andy and kids, stopping at antique shops, one more look at my painting... Breakfast in Santa Ana square, between the fountain and the russett-coloured church. Markets, music, hot but shady. In town another free show - musical theatre. The Mexicans have an exceedingly wacky sense of humour - a lot of it seems to involve laughing at extremely caricatured simpletons and their crazy antics. Is it a way of laughing at themselves? Is it a way of embracing diversity? Or do they just think dumb fat people with big teeth are funny? At any rate the audience loved this, which was for us the best part.
Can't remember what we did next... I am a little late in keeping up with this. I do remember that Andy and Artie got hit by a bus a couple of days later ( - quite literally, it mounted the narrow footpath - luckily, really luckily, all okay, Artie just with some bumps and grazes). We closed down central Merida with about 30 police officers and 10 times as many public - all wonderful people - the bus driver was this close to being savagely torn to pieces. A terrifying experience, but thank God everyone was okay.
This post is really an excuse to stick photos up for Ma and Pa. They include some from Progresso, 30mins north of Merida (directly off the coast of Progresso, about 15km away, was where the meteor that extinct-ed the dinosaurs hit. No one cares about this but Lucien and I think it's awesome!). Also some from Izamal, the yellow city, named, strangely enough, because every single building is yellow. Quite lovely.
Hasta luego amigos. xxx
This post is really an excuse to stick photos up for Ma and Pa. They include some from Progresso, 30mins north of Merida (directly off the coast of Progresso, about 15km away, was where the meteor that extinct-ed the dinosaurs hit. No one cares about this but Lucien and I think it's awesome!). Also some from Izamal, the yellow city, named, strangely enough, because every single building is yellow. Quite lovely.
Hasta luego amigos. xxx
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