The Rough Guide to the Yucatan

Neither Terry nor I realized what was in store for us when he gave me a copy of "The Rough Guide to the Yucatan" for Christmas two Christmases ago. We would look through it and take notes of things we wanted to do once we made our first trip to Merida --- go to Progreso, learn our way around the local bus system, check out some of the out-of-the-way coastal areas, see flamingoes in the wild, visit some of the Mayan ruins, and just enjoy the culture and architecture of the City. Now fast-forward. We've gotten a taste of it and those are still the things we want to do in the Yucatan. The Rough Guide has taken us to Celestun, Chichen Itza, T elchac Puerto, Chelem, Chixulub, Progreso many times, Campeche, Sisal, Holbox, Isla Mujeres, and Cozumel, and me to Uxmal. We even left it at home and went to Belize. "The Rough Guide to the Yucatan" still remains in my backpack and has traveled almost as many miles as we have. Maybe you could say that little Christmas present ended up being much larger....it provided another fork in the road.

I ate my last eat-out Yucatecan meal yesterday. It will have to last me awhile....sopa de lima, empanazados cazon (shark meat turnovers), and chaya. Now I can start thinking about the traditional "get off the plane" meal - a Whataburger. Went to the SoHo Gallery and gave hugs and kisses to Yesenia who will be looking after the house and the unfinished work while we are gone. Now Terry and I will concentrate on some sailwork that needs to be done.

One last treat from the elderly gentleman tamale vendor this morning early.....two tamales cooked in banana leaves -

 Spending the last day doing the things on my "close up the house/say hasta pronto" list.
I'm ready to just study Spanish for awhile rather than speak it to survive. Heck, it gets tiring acting out all those words I don't know!
I guess the sounds of vendors' bicycle horns, horse hooves and Volkswagens going down the street will be replaced with the sounds of boat engines and sail rigging. Smells will be different. Faces will be whiter.

OH MY GOODNESS - QUE SUPRESA!!!

It was around 7:30 and I looked up and here's a red truck parking in front of the house...it's Wilber the Hererro with all the protectors/grillwork for the front terrace and front window. He and his helper went to work. It was quite a production as they used an electric cutting tool to cut through the existing iron and then welded the new piece of grillwork to the old. It was painful to watch because of the noise and the sparks flying and let's just say...not a lot of safety goggles, gloves, etc. I really thought I was going to lose it when he took the raw wire end of his welding machine and twisted them together with some of the wires inside our electrical box. Within a short period of time they were finished. One whole week ahead of the day he originally promised---- I think he had read my disappointment when I had told him I was leaving and was sad not to see the finished product. After he was all finished I gave him the traditional cheek to cheek on both sides of the face --- I really could've kissed him!

It really hit me when I bought the hamaca and tied a couple of bowlines making sure I hung it securely - it's time to get my sea legs back.  I want to take Cool Change out to Offat's Bayou and anchor out for a weekend with my favorite Boat Captain....take the dinghy to shore...go fishing...visit friends while hanging out at C-dock. I'm ready to see and visit my beautiful kids and the rest of my family.
I'm way past ready to see my husband!

The last little bit of unfinished business ---- I went to hopefully pick up the CASA KAHANEK sign...and sure enough - it was ready!

I fly out at 6:15 tomorrow morning -----So it's HASTA PRONTO CASA KAHANEK Y MERIDA.....and HOLA HARBORWALK!