Bonus Months in the Yucatán

Wandering in the time of Covid!

So many plans so many cancellations and permutations. How do I count thee???

It seems that many of my plans to go somewhere, (South America, San Miguel de Allende and Oaxaca City for example) meet up with someone, and do something new and different just haven’t been possible, reasonable, or safe, at least in part due to COVID. A surprise? Not really after two plus years of pandemic practice I think we’re all better prepared to handle dash of uncertainty with a smidgeon of chaos.

I’d like to say that I’ve held a sunny que sera sera disposition throughout it all but I’d be lying. I am a planner and not being free to plan, enact and relish travel has caused a few frayed edges. Having said that I want to clarify that in spite of it all I am more than happy to follow public health safety measures and have the greatest regard for those who are keeping us safe.

At any rate this is a travel blog and I digress but a point I’d like to make is that if you expect to leave COVID behind when you travel during the pandemic that is just not the case. Adaptability, flexibility and rebounding with plan B remain the hallmarks of travel and are only intensified during the time of COVID!

So here I am, enacting plan B with spending two and a half months in the Yucatan, a place I know and love, remembering to count my blessings.

Spanglish – Leaning into Spanish

I have been fortunate enough to have had several very good Spanish teachers over the years. I studied at the University of Havana and had a great tutor named Ernesto. In Progreso I’ve studied under Luis Angel Cervantes at ”Speak Up Progreso” and have even had Luis and two of his local english language students, visit me in Canada. I’ve taken a few weeks of lessons in Nicaragua and in Puerto Escondido and even at home in Nanaimo. I am most grateful for all of these teachers and for my wonderful, thoughtful and patient Spanish speaking friends who forbear (Sandi, Ale, Rangel, Nora, Caty) while I butcher the language. With the minimal amount of Spanish I have, I feel comfortable enough to get around and survive quite nicely on my own in most parts of Mexico. Additionally, I feel that it is my responsibility as a guest in Mexico to make the effort and since there are so many different options on-line and face-to-face, there is no excuse not to invest some time.

Luis Angel’s Language School

“Puebloing”…when a noun becomes a verb!

Things to Do are endless in the Yucatan and I have written about many of them in earlier posts, beaches, cenotes, mangroves, bird watching, Maya Ruins and the city of Merida all offer great days out when you want to tear yourself away from your pool at Kurt’s place.

After many years of renting cars and driving the backroads of the Yucatan to visit various sites I began to appreciate the Pueblos you see along the way. With a rental car and maybe some companions you can do something I call “Pueblo-ing.” Much like “garage-salting” it is a made up word which can be defined as “driving the backroads of the Yucatan specifically to visit the towns, all of which have their own special characteristics”. Each Pueblo has a main square, a comisario and a church (I call that the main event) but from there they are all unique.