Day 5 (Sunday) Merida

Today is a day to relax and enjoy the city along with the locals.
A college friend  of mine  who is now the director of the Central College program in Merida was planning to join us for breakfast.  But an emergency came up with one of the students so she was not able to join us after all.  Susan was not feeling real well and decided some extra sleep would do her more good than breakfast.  So, it was just Julie and I.  We fall into a pattern quickly and order the same breakfast  as we had yesterday.
After a leisurely breakfast we head out.  The feeling is very different from Saturday.  Today there are bicycles instead of cars, vendors setting up along the streets.  We stroll to the park and walk the circumference.  I buy an embroidered blouse and an embroidered headband.  No one in the group is really a shopper so we are mostly people watching.  We find a park bench in the shade and do more intensive people watching

On one side of the plaza a performance is beginning so we wonder over.  We are lucky to get a seat perched on a low wall.   It appears to be a dance and singing school for children from 8 or 9 up through young adults.   The production is a story of the aluxes (little pixie, pranksters in Maya folk tales) playing with the children's dreams through different periods in Mayan history.  The last one was of the future.  The children were all playing with their electronic toys and the aluxes couldn't get their attention.  The narrater talked about how sad the aluxes were when the kids were playing with electronics and not outside where they could interact with the aluxes.  It was fun and certainly a local attraction. 

Juan met us at our hotel and we drove to the Central College house which is a great example of the elegant early 19th century houses.  

After visiting the Central house we went to Juan’s house for a lunch of tacos.  It was fun to catch up some more with Juan’s family and share some of my pictures of Japan and the family there. 

Back on the road to Uxmal, with a stop in Muna which is Juan’s hometown.  We drive past the house he grew up in and where his sister still lives.  It is a traditional Maya house with a thatched roof.  There are fewer and fewer of the traditional houses left in Muna.  We also visited the cemetery.  Always interesting to see how different cultures honor their dead.  With the rocky soil, an underground burial really isn’t possible.  The cemetery is to resemble a town with little houses and streets.  Family keep the structures painted.

On to our hotel at Uxmal.  It is an elegant, old hotel that has beautiful, manicured grounds, welcoming, professional staff and an inviting pool!   After a refreshing swim and a bit of a rest, we enjoy a delicious meal beside the pool.  Life is good!