PHOTO GALLERY TWO (Family Reunion)

PHOTO GALLERY THREE (Mayan Ruins, Museum)

PHOTO GALLERY FOUR (Merida, Anthropology Museum, Dances)

PHOTO GALLERY FIVE (Progreso Malecon)

Day Two

The next morning we had a plumbing problem. Don't ask. I only mention it at all because, like the evening before, we went looking for help only to find that nobody was around. We were able to locate a plumber's helper though, and that got us through the emergency. I kept the plunger for future use, just in case.

One of the things I was looking forward to was trying some of the typical Yucatecan cuisine. Elsie, my sister-in-law made me some panuchos for lunch. My wife says they're too much work, so she's never made them for me, and has pretty much told me to never expect her to make them for me. I've concluded that I may have married the wrong sister. Panuchos are corn tortillas that are stuffed with frijoles negros (black beans), fried and topped with pulled chicken, lettuce and tomato. Add a little habanero salsa, and it was just a fantastic lunch. It was made even better by a local panadero – a guy riding a box with wheels (an overstuffed bicycle) – who goes around the neighborhoods selling fresh, hot bread. He has pan dulce – sweet bread, and pan frances – small French baguettes around 10 inches long. We bought a selection of each - I think fresh bread is a universal language.

When we got back to the house there was more family waiting to see us. Rocio's aunts and cousins. I'm beginning to think the whole town can claim a relationship with my wife. And they all talk at high speed, at the top of their lungs. I was starting to feel a bit claustrophobic, so begged off and walked back to the hotel.... where I'm sitting now, in the hotel bar writing this, wishing I could find somebody that could give me a cold beer....

Day Three

We started our third day here by getting up at 9 AM. Even Julie is sleeping in, which is not typical for her. Of course, that's all probably due to the fact that we've been getting to bed really late, like after midnight every night this week so far. Mainly because of visiting family. We had Rocio's brother and his wife in our room until at least 1 AM, and of course as long as the light is on and there's activity, Julie wants to be at the center of it.

After rising, we left Julie in the care of Rocio's sister so we could go into Merida to pick up some things for the anniversary party. Rocio's niece (Janette) and her fiancé (Eric) drove us in. Fortunately, there's a Sam's Club in Merida and my membership from the US is valid, so we bought plates and utensils in bulk. I also picked

For lunch we stopped at a local place that Eric recommended, where we had tapas and beer. I'll probably regret it later, but it was very tasty. No A/C, but the beer was cold and food was hot, both from cooking and from spices. I tried some green chili that was hot enough to etch the enamel off of my teeth. Even the waiter winced when he saw how much I slathered on my tortilla. We got a combination platter, which had a number of things on it. Puerco Pibil, which is pork in a red sauce, was very good. There was turkey in both a white and a black sauce. And I do mean black. It was black enough that it would probably scare many Americans away, but it was actually pretty good. There was also a chicken thing and a very good chorizo sausage. And as long as we were drinking, they kept the frijole dip and the guacamole coming.

I usually drink a lot of water every day – around three liters, but since purified water is not always readily available the choice is either Coke or cerveza (beer). I think I've drank more beer in the last three days than I have in the last six months. But at least it's cold.

Seeing Merida during the day was interesting. There are car dealerships there that we don't have in the States, like SEAT, Renault, and Peugeot. Even GM and other car companies common to the US have models that are not sold there. Mostly really tiny city cars. Don't know why they don't sell them, they'd probably sell like crazy. I'm talking about cars that you could park inside my Dodge Grand Caravan, that are actually tiny four-door cars. Mercedes also sells the A-class here, which was nice to see. I've heard they may start selling it in the US.

Eric also took us on a quick tour of the downtown area of the city. I did remember some of it from when I was here almost 20 years ago. We're thinking of spending two or three days in the city before we leave. I'd really like to go to the archeology museum to see the pre-Columbian artifacts.

After returning to Progreso, I went back to the hotel and jumped in the pool, then sat around and read a book for a while. Something I'd like to do for a couple days straight, actually. Maybe once all the party activity has died down a bit.