T and I woke up at mid-morning dreading our departure from Campeche. It seemed pretty difficult to improve upon or exceed our experience here after returning to Merida. We dragged ourselves out of bed, fixed ourselves up and walked down to street level. Several minutes and a few blocks later we returned to Restaurante Campeche for breakfast. I forgot what we ordered, but it was definitely a breakfast food. While we ate we watched a television on in a corner and occasionally snuck peeks at an older gentleman parked at a table near the entrance to the establishment. He appeared blind or perhaps senile (or both) and basically did little but look around and smile at each person having their first meal of the day. The waiters again seemed disinterested and were not at all chatty or solicitous. I didn't mind, as we probably couldn't have much of a conversation in Spanish, anyways. Speaking of TV, during our holiday up to this point many music videos and entertainment news on the stations we saw gave more air to Shakira and her music ("Hips Don't Lie", etc). I suppose some Latin music awards were occurring while we were on vacation and she basically won lots of 'em. We paid the bill and walked outside. Well, just across the street to the west I could see the Baluarte de la Soledad--the very first Campeche highlight we had explored after the cathedral. Back when I had no film and didn't know it. It was open. T was reluctant, but I was insistent. I wanted to go in and take a few pictures now that I was armed with a loaded camera. Besides, this could be the last time ever we would see Campeche, and I wanted to capture what I could before we left. T waited just within the door to the courtyard and I walked up to the two ladies who were at the desk before the entrance to the museum below the walls. In broken Spanish supplemented with hand gestures, I indicated I wanted to climb to the walls above and take pictures and didn't want to pay admission for the museum. They were very pleasant and motioned for me to proceed. I ran up the ramp to the top of the baluarte and took a quick look around, trying to remember what shots I had taken two days before and trying to duplicate them. Unfortunately, T was not with me so I could not repeat the shot of her lounging on the battlements. I didn't linger up there for very long as I knew T was anxious for us to get back to the hotel and check out. Back to the Francis Drake Hotel. We packed up, walked downstairs and settled our account with the front desk. There were no surprises. I am happy to say that in general the staff was always friendly, helpful and knowledgable. My only beef is with the restaurant on site, so I have no hesitation in encouraging patrons of this hotel to eat somewhere else. Definitely do stay here as it is strategically located in the historical district in a nice part of town and has decent rates...but don't eat there. *wink wink* If anybody has ever been there and enjoyed the restaurant then I am happy for you and wish we had the same experience when we were there, but in our own experience we didn't enjoy after giving it two tries. I got the guy at the desk to call for a taxi and T and I waited in the lobby. After several minutes passed we and the desk dude got a little edgey and he called again to make sure someone was coming to pick us up. Several more minutes passed before one of the brown n' red taxis drove up. We lugged our suitcases to the door only to discover another couple lugging their own bags from the taxi into the hotel. While we were maneuvering out of the way, two other little brown taxis zipped up behind the first and the cabbies got together to figure out which of them was going to take us to the bus station. Short discussion. We were loaded up and in a minute we were flying down the streets. On a map it appears the station is a long distance from downtown, but we made it there in no time. Paid the cabbie and tipped him for handling the bags, and we walked into the bus station. T waited while I stood in a short line to purchase our tickets for a bus to Merida. ADO was the busline that made the trip and they left at least once per hour. Lucky us, one was set to leave within fifteen minutes. Unlucky me, I didn't have enough pesos to pay for the seats. Again, they do not accept cards or American dollars. I was told to go to an ATM up some stairs to get my pesos, so I did what I was told and carefully typed in what I needed remembering my awkward experience the day before with Xtampak. Paying for two seats (about $130.00 MX each), I had to give my name and T's and then choose which of the available seats we would be assigned. Got some snacks and a drink for the trip at the snack bar and then we made our way to the bus parked outside. "Stealth" was the featured flick shown on the overhead screens, which was great as I had never seen this film before and it was all special effects and action so I didn't need to fight through the Spanish dubbing to understand what was going on. Kept me from taking a little nap or looking out the window for long stretches. This bus was pretty crowded, so we didn't have the opportunity to change seats. We didn't have issues with the window or proximity to the lavatory (again, in the back of the bus). I did have a little problem with condensation from the A/C finding its way to one of the seams in the ceiling above us and dripping down once in a while when the bus jostled, lurched, or turned. I had to use my carry-on to block drops of water from raining on our laps. However, it was part of the travel experience so am not about to rant about it. ADO busses on this route are great--they have A/C, in-route movies (dubbed) for long drives, and have lavatories. And they depart about every hour. Can't complain about that! When planning for this last stop in our holiday I again wanted a hotel in Merida near to the historical district a short walking distance from the zocalo. I had registered with another board frequented by ex-pats living in Merida ( www.meridainsider.com) and asked around for recommendations. I got two and both had websites I could browse around. Before I get into our hotel selection, I might mention that meridainsider is very useful for information about the city and surrounding area. There are articles and discussions for events in the region, reviews of restaurants etc, a message board...very useful. Nobody wanted to be particularly chatty with this newbie, so I haven't stuck around to visit there after our holiday. Hotel Casa Del Balam was my choice for the three remaining nights in Merida. First off, they were just one block further away from the zocalo than the Gran Hotel de Merida. Second, it appeared newer and less stuffy than the Gran. A veteran Merida vacationer had warned me while I was planning that the downtown hotels were generally older and had less amenities, and that certainly would apply to the Gran. However, Hotel Casa Del Balam looked great...check out the website: http://www.casadelbalam.com/. I did the reservation over the phone with a lady at the hotel and she spoke perfect English. The third reason for choosing this hotel was that they were offering a special for their honeymoon suites: $85.00 USD/night. However, the special would end one day short of our last night there. When I mentioned this to the hotel representative she stated that would not be a problem and they would extend the special rate for us to include the last night in Merida. Wow! I must add that continental breakfast was included with our stay. The hotel sent us a confirmation email fixing our rate in writing. Excellent! The bus had no incidents along the way and the in-route movie ended just as we passed within the city limits. There were no issues on the way to the hotel, and again I didn't think we were overcharged for the cab ride from the bus station. I mention this again as I did read in some places how others experienced fluctuation in charges for this service. Our little taxi zipped up to the front of the hotel (facing Calle 60 at the corner with Calle 57). We wasted no time scrambling out of the car we were blocking traffic in that lane, but we probably shouldn't have worried about it. Anybody and everybody dropping off peeps along Calle 60 has to stop on the street to do so. A uniformed bell-boy ran up from the hotel to take our bags inside. The doors were open as we passed inside and we were directed to the front desk immediately to the right of the entrance. I almost forgot we were in a hotel, as the patio inside was filled with all kinds of tropical vegetation...like stepping into a jungle or at the least a well-manicured botanical garden. Huge leafy plants soared out of the ground three stories or more up. On ground level there was a small fountain working and all around were set tables and chairs. The man at the front desk collected my credit card information and had me sign a bill acknowledging the rate and nights we were going to spend there. Shortly thereafter we got our key and unwieldy keychain and our bell-boy rolled and lugged our bags to the elevator. I should call him a valet rather than bell boy. His name was Rodolfo and he spoke excellent English. He was friendly and rather chatty and as he led us to our room in one of the upper stories he gleaned from T that she was interested in learning more about hammocks. In addition he learned from me that I wouldn't mind finding a local guide to give us a city tour if time allowed. After we got to our room, he adjusted the A/C and told us that if we wanted to do a city tour we should go to the front desk and talk to Victor (the head desk dude), who had a list of guides for this sort of thing. Rodolfo's shift was ending soon and so he personally offered to take T and I to the collective shop on Calle 57, where he could vouch for the quality of hammocks and other local products as well as the knowledge of the vendors. T was thrilled and I gave him a nice tip for his help before he left us alone. Our room was a corner honeymoon suite. We could look out and see Calle 60 and Calle 57 and I knew the view would only get better when night fell and Merida's street parties began. We had a king sized bed and all the other pieces of furniture you would expect in a hotel room...except I do not recall a sofa. And...surprise, surprise...our honeymoon suite included a small refrigerator with beverages provided GRATIS! That's right, for the first time in our holiday I was staring at cold bottles of water, beer, and soda that I didn't have to pay for. We hadn't expected this and were thrilled since finding bottled water for excursions away from our hotels was an issue in the days prior. I should also add that there was no alarm clock. The only hotel this trip that had an alarm clock was the Gran, so we had to use the wake-up service here. We were hungry, so after freshening up we took the elevator downstairs and located the dining area hidden in a back corner away from the patio. I could see a small swimming pool in the "backyard" with a few loungers around and I was hoping for a quick dip sometime during our stay. The restrooms on the first floor are well-hidden, but I believe they are located near/adjacent to the pool. We had a quiet lunch in the hotel...don't remember ordering anything in particular but I recall that the lunch menu was not that extensive. No matter...we weren't that far away from the Main Street restaurant and other eateries close by in case we didn't like the cuisine at Casa Del Balam. I never had issues with it, however. Again, the tab would be settled upon checkout. After lunch I walked over to Victor at the front desk and asked if he could recommend or set up a private guide for a city tour. I didn't realize how late it was getting (early afternoon); otherwise I might have arranged something like this for the last full day of our stay. However, Victor promptly took out something like a little black book, scanned down the pages, picked up the phone and contacted someone who would be able to come out at once. I was short on pesos again so after Victor made the arrangements for us I got him to change dollars to pesos for us at a not-so-competitive rate. It was either that or spend perhaps several valuable minutes wandering around the streets of Merida to shop around for a better rate. When I finished with this transaction, T walked up to me and said Rodolfo was just finishing his shift and per her request was about to take us to the collective store to look at hammocks. Well this put a little crimp in our plans. Very likely our tour guide was getting ready to hustle over to the hotel and pick us up, but he could arrive to find we were a couple blocks away shopping. Not well-planned and I told T so. We just didn't communicate on that one. Anyways, Rodolfo showed up in street clothes and said it was only a short walk away and we probably would be back in time to meet our tour guide. The three of us told Victor that if the guide showed up early to let him know we would be back in minutes (or so I hoped). As we walked the couple blocks to the store I reminded T that very likely a sales person would take our interest as a general Desire to make a purchase and to not be surprised if he started to make a series of offers. Rodolfo said that all we had to do is say "no" or "not interested" and that should settle everything. We walked up to a green building almost across the street from a Pancho's, so this was the very place that waiter at Main Street had recommended to us three or so days before. Again, it appeared that this was a government-subsidized operation that allowed poorer merchants a place near the tourist district to sell their wares. We had to climb stairs here. Ugh. Rodolfo led us up maybe two flights of stairs to a series of rooms with hundreds of bags of hammocks, panama hats and guayabera shirts. Two merchants were involved showing off hammocks to another couple, stretching them between hooks in the walls. One left his partner to handle us and he walked up to shake hands. T and Rodolfo told him she was interested in seeing and hearing about the differences between hammocks and how one could tell one was better than the other. Immediately the sales person launched into a speil, grabbing a bag and pulling out a hammock to begin his demonstation. He informed us that sisal and more durable than cotton and was the preferred material when looking for a quality hammock. Unsurprisingly he said there were no cotton hammocks at that store. He demonstrated for us how double-twined threads were more durable than single, and that triple-twined threads were even more preferable. He showed us the different sizes of hammocks: single, double, and "matrimonial" *wink wink*. Matrimonial was preferred over double for extra space for two. There was a wide variety of color combinations to choose from ranging from basic white to a veritable rainbow. The vendor let us try out the matrimonial and the double hammocks, hanging them from the walls. That was pretty much it for T and me. I really wanted to get back to the hotel and our guide. I told Rodolfo to inform the sales dude that we had an appointment, but would probably return later to consider a purchase. Being the typical sales person that he was, our vendor motioned us to follow him to the other room so that he could at least quote us a price to consider. This other room had a cash register, but also stacks of panama hats. Uh-oh. Anybody who knows me can predict that I would do this. I looked a hat, picked it up, placed it on my head, and posed for T. Not intelligent. Especially with Mr. Sales Guy looking on. All of a sudden he started explaining hats to us, how they were hand-woven in damp caves to ensure pliability, etc. The ones featured in this store were not from the better-known location at Becal, but in areas more local to Merida. They really ARE nice hats, says I. He noted that they are hot commodities in Europe, selling for hundeds of dollars in the finest stores. Uh-huh. Of course, in a store such as this back in Mexico the prices are much more reasonable. All I had to do is pick what size hat and what quality "knit" I wanted. Here, try THIS on, Michael F...the vendor found the perfect-sized hat for my little (and shrinking) cranium. Two hats, differing in quality were placed in my hands. Although I couldn't really feel the difference, I thought I could see the difference. The better-quality hat had finer "knitting". Nice. Modelled for T again. Now, says I, all I need to do is find a guayabera shirt and I'm all set! Doh! We are subsequently led to the third adjacent room. I feel like a fool. Sales dude shows us racks and racks of shirts filling the room from top to bottom on walls, in plastic, folded in bags on shelves, etc. Ay-yay-yay. Here, try one one, he says. I do so, and as in the local custom you don't tuck in the shirt in your trousers, but leave it hanging out. Looks a little plain, says I. Weeeeeeell, they come in different light pastel shades. The nicer ones are pleated and with more pockets. See one you like? Making what could be a longer story short I wound up modelling a shirt and a hat for T while Rodolfo and sales dude looked on. Look good, T? Yes, they look nice, but...erm...do you even need a hat? Are you really going to wear that shirt in the U.S.? Did you really plan to buy these things on our trip? Well, I had been planning to at the very least consider them, says I. I had done lots of research before the trip and determined that I wanted to see if these were for me and for a reasonable price. *slaps hand on forehead* (so hard the mark is still there) As the clock continued to run for our tour guide back at the hotel, the sales dude whips out a calculator and starts to crunch numbers. Hemming and hawing, he determines the base value of a matrimonial sisal three-threaded hammock, a basic guayabera shirt, and a nice hat. Total came to over $3000 MX. We did the math in our heads and determined it was about a hundred dollars per item average. Em, thanks, but we really need to get back to the hotel. Whoa whoa whoa, wait a minute ther pardner...See, if you don't really want the shirt, then this would be the price for just two items (over $2000 MX). Discussions...nope. We edge towards the stairs. Ok ok, we can make a combo deal here since you're buying two items...flashes a new figure on his calculater. (I am sooooo regretting our expedition to the collective at this point). How 'bout this figure, if we discount the sales tax? Rodolfo recommended us...how about THIS price? How about changing that to a lower quality hat...almost looks the same...for THIS price? Closer and closer to the stairs we go. Say, just for the hammock--the matrimonial hammock--we can do it for $1300 MX. We are walking down the stairs at this point. Rodolfo is not saying a word. Sales dude made one last-ditch effort offering the hammock for less than $1000 MX??? I shake my head and we keep going and the last thing I see as we walk down out of sight of the upper floor is our regretful sales dude leaning on the railing with his head and shoulders sagging. Sorry. These Americans do not work with peeps who are so flagrantly bumping up prices. Even T who is a seasoned haggler (a Vietnamese pastime, it seems) didn't see the use in sticking around. A waste of time, but not so much a waste of time. At least we saw what they were trying to sell for at the collective. If we couldn't find a better price elsewhere and we really wanted a hammock we knew we could return and make peace and get one. I would be extremely uncomfortable about it, however. I was sure our tour guide had turned into a mummy in the hotel lobby by now, we had taken so long. Rodolfo needed to get home, so he left us at the corner and pointed out the hotel just a block away. We thanked him for showing us the collective and then we went our separate ways. He could be Antonio, but he introduces himself as Tony. Our tour guide looks like the stereo-typical former tennis pro that gives lessons to rich ladies at the club. Tall, dark and handsome. High-top white tennis shoes and almost knee-length white socks. A red pair of shorts a few inches short of his knee. White polo shirt. Very very untypical outfit compared to all the other locals we've seen at this point. He speaks very good English and is very friendly. He said he hadn't been waiting in the lobby for long, but I knew this was a fib. His car was parked in a lot nearby so we had to walk a bit to get there. After noticing T's slower gait he recommended we wait on the sidewalk in front of the hotel so he could pull the car around. Short wait. The man was fast despite the heavy traffic on the one-way streets. Once we were in the car he sped north towards the Paseo de Montejo. I remarked that the traffic appeared quite busy for it being the siesta hour. Tony responded he had been on siesta when he got the call from Victor. I apologized for interrupting his rest, but he said that we were currently in a low part of the season for tourists so he was happy to get the call. Normally, he works with peeps on cruises stopping over at Progresso north of here. I guess that kinda explained for me his out-of-place duds. I forgot the order of things here, but I believe we went immediately to the Monument to the Nation AKA Monumento a la Bandera. We had paid a visit to this awesome monument on our first night here when we were riding around on one of those calesas. That was in the dark and we not able to see everything. Not to mention *ahem ahem* I didn't know there was no film in the camera at the time. The traffic was horrendous on the circle surrounding the monument and I couldn't see anyway we could cross the street to get to the structure. Waiting for a while, we saw an opening and dashed/limped as fast as we could across. Not much more to add here except, WOW. It took years to build it, and I could tell why. So much detail, with just about every major historical figure in Mexico represented from Mayans and Aztecs to Porfirio Diaz and presidents of the early 20th century. That's the side facing south. From the north side we could see the pool of water more clearly in the daylight and in the midst of it stood a statue of the eagle and snake. The low wall bounding the northern half of the pool had all the seals of the Mexican states represented. Nice. We rushed back to the car and Tony took us to our next destination. South along the Paseo do Monte we went and we pulled into a small parking area adjacent to one the large houses that grace the boulevard. This was the Palacio Canton, named after the original inhabitant of the mansion--General Francisco Canton. It has been converted into one of the Yucatan State museums that grace the city today: Museo Regional de Antropologia. We have to pay to enter and Tony was exempt as he was a certified tour guide. The whole lower floor of the building is accessible to the public. I don't know what was on the higher floors, as the stairs to these were roped off. The whole exhibit is dedicated to the Mayan civilization and the building was filled aritifacts recovered from the many ancient cities of the Yucatan. T was especially interested in the skulls and teeth due to her profession. Per her request I took pics of these, but the quality was low due to the no flash policy and anyways they were behind glass. Tony took an exceptional amount of time in front of a chart that detailed the Mayan numbering system with dashes and dots. We learned how to count in Mayan (identifying symbols) after a while. However...if you don't use it, you lose it and T and I have since forgot how to do this. I was impressed with the number and variety of artifacts on display here and wouldn't hesitate to visit again. I have a brochure that states some of the exhibit rotates on a seasonal basis, so I possibly would not see the same thing twice. Each side hall had something different. Tony appeared pressed for time and did not lead us about, but followed us and explained things depending on our interest. At some point I realized that it was getting late and there could be other places on the tour that would close before sundown. We left the building, but instead of taking us to the car he stopped to point out one of the many plants also on exhibit on the grounds around the mansion. It was a sisal plant and very obviously was a member of the agave family. In fact, he led us around to the front of the house to show us an agave plant familiar to most of us and from which tequila is made. Time was of the essence, and Tony quickly got us back in the car and we headed towards the great zocalo. I forgot where we parked, but we walked to the Palacio del Gobierno where the governor of the Yucatan State had his offices. Parts of this building I guess also serve as a museum. Our guide walked us right by the armed guards posted at the entrance and into the lower hall, where he found a great staircase towards the back of the building and led us up to the next floor. Each of the three walls around the great stair has a huge painting each depicting the significance of three of the cardinal points of the compass to the Maya, and featuring the symbolic colors they assigned to each. I read somewhere that these scenes are taken from the Popul Vuh, which is a legendary religious story of the Maya. On the second floor we passed by a gallery of paintings facing the open courtyard in the center of the building, but didn't stop to study these. Tony was guiding us to the room facing the plaza. Here was a long room lined with windows from which we could take in a nice view of the zocalo. But the reason for visiting this particular room was the series of large paintings. Each depicting a significant event in the history of the Yucatan, almost all of which involve the Mayan people. There was the appearance of the conquistadores, violent conversion of the natives, enslavement on the plantations, the War of the Castes, attacks by pirates, etc. I wanted to take pics of every one of them, but didn't have the film. I have since purchased a digital camera, so this shouldn't happen again. Of course, there's nothing I can say that can do these paintings displayed in the Governors Palace any justice. An article I found in Yucatan Today gives so much better detail than I could have done: http://www.yucatantoday.com/culture/eng-castro-pacheco-murals.htm. It's definitely a place worth including on your cultural tour of the city. Tony said that the current governor was a friendly and open statesman and if he were in his office right then, he would actually take a moment to greet us. As it turns out he was not in, but I wasn't that comfortable about meeting the governor at that time in any case. With that we went back to the stairs, but T didn't want to negotiate them again. Thankfully, there was an elevator which we were able to take down to the first floor. We walked out the front door with a nod to the guards, and Tony said there probably wasn't any time to visit the next (perhaps final?) part of the tour: the Casa de Montejo, which is the original home of the conquistador who subdued the area Maya and founded the city of Merida. The front of the home included what appeared to me to be a coat of arms. Tony explained it was a likeness of Francisco de Montejo, and if we looked closely we would notice he was standing upon the heads of his Maya subjects. Sad sad, but I suppose typical of how the conquistadores regarded the "heathen" natives of the New World. Well, obviously, because we started the tour so late we were unable to take in any of the remaining museums and houses that may have been included. Didn't help that SOMEBODY (T!) just had to visit the Casa de los Artesanos earlier. Tony started escorting us back to our hotel. After walking past the Gran Hotel and the smaller cathedral across the street from it, we noticed a crowd of activity moving on the sidewalk in our direction. Tony said it was the governor and the mayor of the city leaving some sort of event at the Teatro Peon Contreras, which is a large theater across the street from our honeymoon suite at Casa del Balam. As the crowd approached I could make out both officials as Tony described them. The governor was very tall and had a fair complexion. The mayor was shorter and darker. Both men were surrounded by officials from the respective levels of government and members of the media. I managed to act the tourist and take a couple pics myself. I should post these later. As we approached the theater, there was still a mass or persons in and around the entrance. Many young adults were wearing traditional dress, the ladies in long white dresses with flowers embroidered on the fringes. Tony said this had been a ceremony for high school children in the state of Yucatan for academic excellence. Since the theater was still open, he guided us inside. Against the press of locals milling about we worked our way to its interior, where we saw the stage and row upon row of comfortable seats and box seats. Again, I didn't know much about the place other than it was a cultural center of the city and there were banners on the face of the building outside advertising concerts and musicals. I guess I will have to refer to another article I found to explain more about it: http://www.yucatanliving.com/destinations/teatro-peon-contreras.htm. At last, Tony took us back outside and to our hotel. I paid him his due plus a tip (which he had not solicited us for), and he left us in the lobby of the hotel after saying our farewells. If ever you find yourself staying at the Casa del Balam and want a city tour, see if the front desk can locate "Tony" from their list of guides. T felt a little tired and wanted a shower and a nap before doing anything else. I agreed, and as she bathed I indulged in a cold Leon from our suite's mini-fridge while flipping channels on the television. I probably didn't mention that the hotel "officially" solicited tips for the maid service by placing a note and an envelope with the official hotel letterhead on the dresser. I thought two things: that it was nice that the housekeeping staff had the support of the hotel management when it came to soliciting tips, and also that it was a little disappointing that any solicitation was needed. I mean, after all we never fail to tip for the service. However, it was apparent that a majority of guests don't tip without the solicitation and/or they didn't know where to leave the propina. After dark T and I went downstairs to the hotel restaurant. The menu is more extensive in the evening, and while I cannot remember what we ordered I know for certain that it lacked the flavors and "heat" that T and I like from Tex-Mex cuisine and her southeast Asian foods. Of course, this is what habanero peppers are for and their sauce. By the end of the meal, T probably lost feeling in her tongue from adding too much of the salsa to her entree. As usual for me I didn't add a lot of condiments to my meal as I prefer to savor the original flavors of the local dishes. The atmosphere in the small restaurant is pleasant, almost romantic. A fountain of gurgling water is against one wall and the lights are dim. The wait service is attentive, and of course the charge is made to our room and is settled upon check-out. It's easy for me to envision a small group of friends occupying a table here and having a long night of drinks, appetizers and quiet conversation. When we were finished I enticed T to take a night stroll with me. I remembered that every night of the week downtown Merida had some kind of public event. This was Thursday night, so there was supposed to be something going on at the Parque de Santa Lucia just one block to the north (I was so proud of myself for picking downtown hotels for our lodging in Merida for this reason). We came to a park where a couple hundred locals were gathered to listen to music and singing performed by artists in the area. These were very good. Trios, a choir, soloists, etc. We found a love seat away from the stage, behind the rows of seats. We were thus exposed to a couple of street vendors, including the same Mayan princess who had solicited us when we were sitting at our very first meal in Merida four days before. We still weren't interested in their wares and only wanted to soak in the atmosphere. T was still not over her craving for coconut ice cream, so I went to one of the carts serving helado nearby and bought her a cone. Before we were finished with it the show was over and peeps started leaving the park. We followed suit and returned to our hotel without continuing our stroll. We needed to rest up for our tour the following day. To Celestun and the realm of the flamingos...
BRAVO! BRAVO! BRAVO! I want to go to Merida!!!! That hotel looks beautiful. I would love to see a pic of you modeling the hat and shirt
