Rosca De Reyes

When the weather turned bad in Holbox, I decided to get on the bus and head to a sunnier horizon. Boy did I find it. I am here in Merida, where it is a good 85 degrees. I had to use sunscreen for the first time in Mexico. Yipee!!

Not my CS house- but the style of home very typical in the area.

  I am staying at a couch surfing friends house. His name Rodrigo, and is he a salt water fly fisherman. If only those Montana boys could see the size of the flies he uses. They are real monsters! He uses them to catch tarpons I believe. Rodrigo lives in the colonial center of town in an antique colonial house. It has giant 20-30 ft ceilings, enormous doorways, and big courtyards that allow the air to move freely. It is really a gem! Rodrigo's house is also located in the fancy part of town, next to all the bank houses and expat homes. There is a Walmart, Starbucks, and Hennesy's two blocks away. He was telling me that Merida has become a popular place for Americans to retire, because they can purchase these giant old homes for very cheap. However, this causes the prices of rent to increase to a point that is unaffordable for locals.

The Rosca de Reyes. It was impossible for me to take a photo of the whole thing.

The 3 kings

   After I met Rodrigo, and chatted a bit about the New Year and Christmas I went out for a stroll. Tomorrow, January 6, is Three Kings Day. Three Kings day is somewhat similar to Christmas, but instead of a Santa you have have three kings that bring you gifts. Another tradition on Three Kings Day is that you eat a circle "fruit" cake. It is not really a cake and there is not really fruit on it.... so why am I calling it a fruit cake? It is more like a delicious sweet bread that has dried fruit on top. In celebration of Three Kings Day the hotel district hosted a bit of a party. They created a circular cake that was the length of an entire city block. When I started walking past I was thinking to myself how many people do they plan on feeding here! For 30 pesos  ( about $2.50) you received a piece of cake and a soda. You always chose your own piece of cake. This is really important because there is a little baby inside the cake somewhere, and whoever it is that gets it has to make a meal for everyone on Feb 2. It was such a fun family activity.

Rodrigo is so gracious and lets me take silly photos with him... even at the taco stand. :)

Merida's Loncheria. Yummy Mango smoothies. I'm addicted. 

 Later that evening Rodrigo took me to the most delicious taco stand. Here I found out there is a special technique for eating tacos that are super full of pig and cow fat. Rodirgo informed me that you have to support the tortilla from the bottom or all the stuffing falls out, and your tortilla breaks.

I love these neat S chairs they have in the city! Rodrigo and I
sat here and chatted in the shade for a while in the morning. 

The folklore dancers in Merida's Central Plaza.

 Rodrigo speaks perfect English, but is being very patient and letting me speak with him in Spanish entirely. I told him that for every taco I eat my Spanish improves 10 times. He laughed and said by the time I leave Mexico I'll be fluent in that case. I can't wait.
   Sunday's are a big day for catching up with the family in Latin America. They know how to do it right here in Merida. I went out for a run this morning on the main avenue, and realized that they had closed off about a mile or more of the road for runners and cyclist to use! It was so nice seeing families out riding bikes together, or just strolling down the street. The biking path ended at the Grand Plaza in front of the big Catholic church. Sunday is a market day, and the plaza was filled with food vendors, artisans, and a stage where they put on performances of regional dances. A terrific way to pass a Sunday morning.









Here is a link to a video of the dancing in the plaza. https://drivegoogle.com/file/d/0Bzqb0g33bQ4aSkhDRlk0RUU5aDQ/edit?usp=sharing