Today had a late start. I just could wake up and the kids didn’t want to stop watching cartoon in Spanish. After yesterday slow day I had hoped to see a little bit more of Merida but happy travel is all about flexibility. So everyone ate honey nut cheerios in the room and watched Plaza de Sesame. We finally began walking to the city zoo. A zoo is a great stop with kids and I’d 
read it was pretty fun. It began as a botanical garden in 1910 and added animals a few years later. Lots of lovely tropical plants and kids rides, a huge – HUGE – play area with numerous play sets (old metal and rusty side-by-side with new wood and plastic). The kids really liked the Cessna with slides coming out of it. Vacation needs to be about fun, so does travel. Sure it’s just a playground but kids need to play.
We finally meandered into the area with the animals. Lots of cats (lions, tigers, pumas, panthers, jaguars, etc) and different types of deer/antelope type animals. While I didn’t really like the small enclosures and old wire fencing, it was amazing being so close. Usually you don’t really get a sense of how large some animals are. The kids tired out pretty quickly and we went to ride the train. It’s a train that runs around the zoo. Very fun.
C was not happy not getting to pick the seat; luckily ice cream heals most wounds at the age of 5. It was hot and we’d been walking so everyone got helado. Part of practicing our minimal Spanish is having the kids order simple things themselves just like they would at home. Helado de chocolate is easy; so is huevos con jamon; por favor, gracias, agua, pollo – all easy words to work on. Chocolate ice cream on a park bench is always a good thing.
Walking out of the zoo, we tried hailing a cab. We had walked part of the way to the zoo and got a taxi at a taxi stop near a small plaza. In front of the zoo all of the taxi were whizzing by full of people. I walked a little way around the corner to see if I could catch an empty taxi and someone on the street walked up and began to talk to me. I had a camera and they told me I should go into the zoo to take pictures. When I said I already had they said I should walk through the beautiful Parque del Paz, which means Peace Park. I told him we were trying to catch a taxi and maybe would see the park later. He began tell me to take a bus but I said I didn’t know where the buses went. So off he walks to a row of buses telling them we want to go to the center of town and 10 pesos ($1) later all five of us are on the bus. I just can’t imagine this happening in reverse – the Mexican tourist standing on a corner in the USA and having someone stop to chat, practice their Spanish, point out some local areas of interest and then help get them back to their hotel. Getting of the bus was another example of the amazing friendliness we’ve experienced. B had gotten ahead of me and I had my hands full with a backpack; the steps on the bus were very steep and she has very short little 3 yo legs. A total stranger who just happened to be walking by on the sidewalk stopped held out his hand, helped her off the bus, smiled at me as I got off and just 
went on his way.
After siestas and lunch, we headed back into the main square to walk around. We tried honey candies – dulce de miel – yum. Honey is a very big thing down here. We danced to music in the main square and walked through all the booths. They usually have a big festival every weekend but they are having artisan crafts from around the Yucatan throughout the month of December. From there we decided to talk a horse-drawn carriage ride. We’d already toured the city by bus, but the kids wanted to ride the horse. So we rode in a big open carriage – B thought she was a princess – and got a short tour of the town.
Finally back to the hotel and to bed for the kids. The grown ups sat up and watched the moon from our back porch. You can’t beat that.
