Cat in the Gulf

A beautiful day with a brisk wind in the sails. The emerald water of the Gulf of Mexico. Santana. Need I say more?

The saga of Mike and Judy continues

Today is the day that Mike escapes certain doom as dinner and goes to a glorious life at Pedro's hacienda as the head rooster. Since he has no idea what fate has in store for him ( his brain is the size of a walnut AND he's a chicken for cryin' out loud) he runs away. Here he is perched on the fence at Paul and Carol's house. That cat looks like a tasty treat, hmm?







Suddenly he makes a break for the street with Paul and Maya in hot pursuit.




There is Paul with the broom and Maya, who seems like she's cornered Mike.



Here is Pedro with Mike in the bag and the dogs begging for treats (like a chance at Mike)

OK, I'll take Mike out so you crazy gringo women can take our picture. Again. And finally,

Mike addressing his wives in the new coop.

In the following video Mike finally makes his first crow since he's been at Pedro's.
This video shows how little it takes to entertain us. Pedro and his son, Pedro Jr. were totally convinced we were insane by the time we left. Carol and I managed to sound like two chickens sitting on our perches or laying eggs. Mexicans have a different outlook on everything and I'm sure that we northerners are an endless source of amusement and speculation. In short, we are all muy loco in la cabeza.

Behind Bars

No, this little amigo is not in jail. His Dad works at the beer store, or Servefrio. He's pretty cute.Chief regretted not having him pose with a bottle of tequila, but this was probably better.

A day trip to Ticul

Since we have to have a mission to do anything, we decided that it would be a good idea to go to Ticul to get some pottery that the town is famous for, along with leather shoe factories. Since I didn't need any new shoes, darn it, we went for the pots. One of our big palms is outgrowing the pretty large pot that it currently lives in.
Ticul is south of Merida, which is pretty much south of us. It took about an hour plus a few minutes to get there. We went through some very picturesque little towns, Uman and Muna before we got to Ticul. They all had big imposing churches and nice town squares with trees and benches. Ticul and Uman had bustling marketplaces, Muna probably had one too, but we didn't see it. On the way back we passed an area of cenotes, which are bodies of water fed by underground rivers. The one that we saw frm the road looked pretty inviting but the gate was closed. By that time, we were ready to get back to the seabreezes that make life so wonderful at the beach. It was fun and I would go back now that we have the lay of the land.

Scenes from Ticul

This man is a maestro at relief carving of intricate ancient Mayan scenes. I'd love to have a table or headboard of one of his carvings. Tal vez proximo tiempo. ( Maybe next time)

Toting your furniture around on a handcart to sell it is standard procedure in this part of Mexico. This side-by-side wardrobe was 3500 pesos...about $240 USD. It was made from cedar and beautifully finished. If I hadn't just gotten done sanding and staining a chest of drawers from Home Depot I would have been all over this! The other object is a little kids chair in a Little Mermaid print. Too much.

How would you like to come out of any of these doors on a dark night?

This is a kiln at one of the pottery workshops.

Here is a cool sculpture in the town square, or zocalo, of Ticul. Since one of the main industries is making beautiful pottery, I think it's apropos.

Here are some larger-than-life staues of Mayan gods that are all over Ticul.

One of the thatched houses that are very common in Ticul.