Back to the Caribbean

It was a great trip for the most part - I think that everyone enjoyed their vacation. No major glitch... the only mistake was mine... the night we had a mariachi band for Jeanne-Marie's birthday... and I had the brilliant idea to invite them for dinner. Not good Julie.  The food and the beautiful set-up was not intended for extra guests.  Most definitely the winner for outstanding bonehead move of the trip - and I will have to accept all pokes about this for the coming decade no doubt. Well deserved - I own it. Except for that very awkward episode, everything was pretty perfect in Telchac Puerto.

We had a great time in Merida on Saturday night too, and I'm delighted that we could enjoy a typical festive evening Merida style. On that front the only problem was that my sister and I were never able to check-in our hotel - Luz en Yucatan - because nobody answered the darn door. It was about 40 degrees, and we were stuck on the sidewalk with our luggage. No fun. I decided to join our traveling companions at Hotel Caribe, a couple of blocks away, and we took a taxi because of our big load. Because we did not have an apartment with kitchen as planned, our stay in Merida ended-up being much more expensive than anticipated. I don't like having to eat in restaurants for all meals... especially not in the more touristy centre of town. Oh well. It's very very hot in Merida these days, 40 celcius +. 

Our travelling companions left on Sunday morning, and my sister and I enjoyed the Sunday festivities. Because of the heat, we decided to get out of town and make our way to the Caribbean coast as soon as possible. I had a meeting on Monday afternoon, arranged by Judy, and I could not have possibly found a better group of people to connect with if I tried to. Judy knows a lot of people, and she is a master at connecting ideas. Now I can move on and develop a teacher training project, with a great group of partners in Merida. We will explore government financing options from our respective countries, and shoot for a series of workshops sometime in 2013. I am thrilled! As soon as my meeting was over, we picked-up our luggage and took the bus to Cancun. It was a scorching 45 degrees when we left Merida yesterday afternoon.

We arrived in Cancun at around 8pm and checked-in a big beach front hotel near the Club Med... and about 15 min. from the airport. I thought it was an all inclusive deal but it's not. Crud... more expenses... and now I can't wait to go home. My work here is done and at this point it all seems like too much. Strange to be writing this with a fabulous view on the pristine blue water of the Caribbean - I guess it's not at all what this trip was about for me so I have no urge to run to the beach.

Leaving tomorrow afternoon, and looking forward to being with my family.