Where did the summer go?

Yeah, yeah. I know. I haven’t written a post in a very long time. Well, here I am and here I go!

As you probably remember, the summer weather here is Hot, HOT, HOT! It takes a lot just to get started in the morning unless you are one of those 5 a.m. folks (and I’m not). And, naturally, summer is slow for teaching because so many people take vacations. That means I had a lot of downtime this summer, which I really needed.

A Visit to Querétaro

I did manage to fit in a trip to Querétaro to visit my friends, students and colleagues. I stayed in what should have been a nice hotel in the historic area of the city not far from where I used to live. I chose it so I could be close to my friend Paola’s restaurant. I invited her to stay with me at the hotel so she didn’t have to commute as far for a few days. That way we were also able to have breakfast together every day.

It was great to see her, and, with the exception of the shitty problems with the hotel (do NOT stay there — Hotel Casa Altamira), I had a marvelous time. In fact, I had forgotten how much I love Querétaro! My immediate reaction was “why did I move?”

Of course, it doesn’t matter anymore. I did move and bought a house, which means no plans to move back–at least for now.

The weather was wonderful! Such a nice break from the oppressive heat in Merida. It did rain every day, but mostly just at night, which was perfect to cool things off. And the city was as wonderful as I remembered it! I walked and walked and walked. I really miss being able to do that.

Here, in Merida, we live in the suburbs and, even if it wasn’t insanely hot, there isn’t really anything to walk to. All of the stores and places of interest require a car ride. Plus, did I mention how hot it is here?

All of my activities over the long weekend revolved around eating. I am lucky enough to have a great friend who is a restauranteur and fantastic Italian chef, so naturally, I ate at her restaurant as much as possible.

The only exceptions were breakfasts. Every day we ate someplace different — a panderia (bakery), a traditional Mexican breakfast restaurant (chilaquiles!) and several small cafes. One night I also ate at the Cheesecake Factory at the mall. Yep, they have a Cheesecake Factory! Such nostalgia! The food, the atmosphere and the drinks were exactly as you would expect. Delicious!

Two of my amazing students — Briceyda & Rosalia — and me at Cheesecake Factory.

What was exciting for me was to actually meet some of my students for the first time. For example, Briceyda and Rosalia, both in HR at GE in Querétaro. They have been my students on and off for a couple of years. I just love these ladies!

I also had the chance to have dinner with my former colleagues from the Anglo, although I forgot to get a group shot. Here is one of me and Rodrigo and his wife Eunice. It was a blast to see so many of my friends again! We were quite the tribe before the pandemic, celebrating most Saturdays with beers and margaritas at the local Irish pub, after classes of course! There was at least one “little” surprise: One of the gang had just had a baby! She was just two months old and as precious as they come!

Rodrigo & Eunice & me in front of Gusto Mio.

Then there was a dinner with my students from another company. Even though I am not teaching for their company right now, I have remained friends with these guys. After several years of classes and two vacations together, we have gotten very close.

As an extra treat, my friend Carmen from Boise, Id., also came down from San Miguel de Allende to have dinner with us. She ended up staying with me at the hotel one night when her scheduled rideshare fell through. Unfortunately, one of the gang couldn’t make it. Sad, but it happens.

L-R: Carlos, Nora, Carmen, Me, Arni and his wife, Alexandra.

The following day, Carmen and I had breakfast with my friends Rosa and Dani — a mom and daughter duo who I just adore. Rosa doesn’t speak a lot of English, but Dani does. She also speaks French! In fact, we agreed to trade some English classes for French classes starting this week. Friday will be my first French class since 1975. Should be interesting!

Another “first” was meeting my Spanish teacher — Maricela — for the first time! I headed over to Olé to visit with Sandra, the director, and got to meet David (one of the ESL teachers) and Maricela. It was an interesting conversation. Spanglish, of course!

Sandra, Maricela and Me at Olé Cultural Center in Querétaro.

On the final night in Querétaro, Paola and Alberto and I walked around the city. One of the fun things about it is that there is always something going on. On this night, there was a live band playing music in one of the plazas. People were dancing in the street! The weather was delightful, which made it all the more enjoyable. The music was amazing and so were the people dancing.

Music and dancing in the plaza.

After that, we met with some of my other friends, Aldo and Fabi, for a drink and dessert before calling it a night.

The last day, Paola and I spent the day together enjoying some of the local treats. We went to a vineyard where we shared a nice bottle of rose and a paella, then to a cheese making place, and finally, to the airport, where I had to say goodbye to my friend until the next opportunity to connect.

Back to Merida: A Day at the Cenote

Since I’ve been back, I also had the opportunity to take a day and go to a Cenote not far from Chichen Itza in a little town outside the city of Valladolid. If you want a refreshing cool-down, you can’t beat the cenotes. The water is fresh and cool, and the natural setting is amazing. Cenotes were considered sacred by the Mayans and are today still a source of fresh water for residents of the peninsula. New ones are always being discovered, either by accident or when an old ceiba tree collapses into one!

This cenote — Hubiku — included a brief visit to a honey tasting area. The bees here do not have stingers and live in old tree stumps instead of man-made hives. The honey was delicious. The next area was for tasting homemade tortillas via cochinita pibil tacos, a local specialty. Cochinita is made from pork marinated in special seasonings and served with a type of pickled red onion. Very VERY delicious.

To get into the cenote, you had to walk down more than 100 steps. Of course, coming back out was a bit harder! After the cenote, we went for a tequila tasting. Oh man, after a few hours in the sun, tequila is soooooooooooo good! I tasted different flavors, including mango, strawberry, passion fruit and chocolate along with the tradition stuff. Ended up buying a few small bottles for home. Yasmin abstained as she was the driver!!!

At the very end there was a Mexican buffet lunch. All of this was included in the $15 admission! I think I actually paid less being a senior citizen and all! Ha!