Blake and Deborah in Mexico: Merida - Hot Time in the Old Town

While in Mérida we're renting an apartment for one month in the home of an American expat who has been here about three years. This isn't supposed to be a HelpEx assignment like we did last winter where we work for a few hours a day in exchange for room and board, but it's almost turning into that. Our host is a woman in her seventies with an arm in a sling due to a recent fall, so we've tried to help her out a bit. And of course Deborah, being the queen of volunteering (who is weed-wacking the lawn as I write this), has found time to rearrange the living and dining room furniture, sweep the patio, clean the pool and completely reorganize the kitchen. The latter is partly self-serving since we're primarily using our host's downstairs kitchen rather than the tiny kitchenette in our upstairs apartment (which she has also reorganized). Now the homeowner doesn't want us to leave.

Our temporary home is a bit of a walk from the historical center but not far from Santiago plaza which serves as the neighborhood focal point. This is where you will find a large church, a market, restaurants and many other businesses. Every Tuesday there is music and dancing in the plaza. We checked out the scene this week and Deborah narrowly escaped the grasp of a pot-bellied man who was aching to get her out on the dance floor. It was a wholesome, family affair though, well-attended, with mostly the elderly swaying and shuffling to the live band.

Most of the many plazas have some event happening at least once a week. Last night we attended a free concert at Santa Lucia Plaza. It was a genuine local event, not something staged for tourists, and although we didn't understand much of what was said by the emcee, the music was great, the ice cream cones were large, and the dancers were impressive, especially when they twirled about with trays of beverages on their heads.