Mérida, México: Lifestyle of the rich and the famous

Today I was living large!! My mom and I left the house in our cute little Volkswagen to go to La Ceiba, the golf course that my sister and brother-in-law live on! Wow... nice part of town!! Montse, Miguel and the kids have a fairly new house, complete with a swimming pool, lovely view of the course, and SO much space inside their house. It's a really nice home, beautifully decorated, and the have accent paint that is the same as our family room - reminded me of home :) We hung out a bit and then loaded up in their cars to go to Leti's family's beach house (my mom's sister) which they rent at different points in the year. It's down the beach from where I usually go with friends, in a residential area. Private beach, no vendors, no restaurants, no crowds! My mom and I swam in the ocean for a while then we retreated to the house where I swam with Said and Zahia (the kids) in the pool! This was the first day that the kids were most outgoing with me (in the past they've been a little more shy or just ignored me) so it was really fun! We played games and then Miguel joined in the fun and we were throwing the kids all over the place!! Leti has two young teen daughters that were with us as well! For lunch we had all sorts of seafood! Fresh fish, ceviche, and mariscos! So I believe I ate octopus, squid, among other things today... I can check that off the list now. Just hung around the home and visited before we headed back to Montse's house! There I was dragged to the computer to play Club Penguin (some online Disney game) with Said for a good chunk of time. This is one smart 6 year old - and so cute as he would always want me to choose what we did next/what button we pushed/and other things that I could barely follow! By the end of the day Said and Zahia were both sitting in my lap and we were all becoming exhausted! Miguel's family from Tabasco came over (as they're visiting for their vacation) so we all visited and then my mom and I came back home! A wonderful day of fun, luxury, and activities!!

I have yet to report about my latest visitors in my bathroom. Geckos/lizards, or something have continued to show up and pay me visits! So that's been fun - causing me quite a surprise the first time, still the second, but now I'm more used to it! I think it's the same little guy just coming back... but so far he's stayed out of the shower when I need to use it, so we're getting along pretty well.

Also my mom and I, as two women living alone, took on some challenging tasks as our internet modem was down and we had to try and fix it, then call the company (always a chore) which takes longer than you expect, but finally got it up and going! We battle bugs and other creatures, water and electrical problems, car troubles, heavy lifting, tree trimming, and now the internet! We go girls!!

5 Safest Places in Mexico - Check it out!!! Another pro-Mexico story! A thought along the same line... the Drug War is primarily taking place across the border... But are we fleeing or posing as much fear for the US cities that are equally as far away as those on the Mexican side? We may be - but it seems the majority of the attention and scorn is put on the southern side of the border.

Tomorrow we are going back to Akanceh to watch Via Crucis ("Way of the cross") or the Stations of the Cross/Passion Play for Good Friday. I am really looking forward to this - as Val says it's an unreal performance, not a tourist attraction, done locally, yet put together very well! We're leaving at 10:30am so we'll be out there in the heat of the day! This event takes place in the town square, ends at the pyramid, and takes a short "parade" through town! Val said she sometimes she feels like she's back in Jerusalem, with the vendors around, "old" or traditional way of life, and the major heat!!