Festivities and Shopping

Free advice: If you stay at the Hotel Dolores Alba in Merida, don't eat the 50 peso breakfast buffet. 'Nuff said.

We set out last night in the rain to get dinner. Found a recommended restaurant called Pancho's, with sort of a Pancho Villa theme. Although it seemed to cater largely to Americans (and what business here doesn't?), it had quite authentic flavors, and the food was universally excellent. We tried their tuna ceviche, beef quesadilla, pepper steak, and chimichangas, and all were delicious.

By the time we left, the rain had stopped, and there was some outdoor activity, but nothing to the degree that would be normal. Some clowns on the zocalo gave my daughter a fancy balloon animal, but that was about the extent of things last night.

This morning we went out in search of hammocks. The recommended stores are closed on Sunday, so we looked at a few other places. We eventually bought a huge blue one made of silk. It's quite lovely, and easily holds the whole family. The negotiation process was interesting, but that is something my wife is very good at. She thinks we could have gotten an even better deal if we'd had more time, but I needed to get to the airport.

So here I am, sitting in the departure lounge with an hour to spare, trying to figure out the wifi system where all the pages seem to be in Spanish. I was hoping to do a little research on the web while I wait, but perhaps I'll just get started on my reading (and this writing, of course).