Hello ol' Friend,

A few years later; countries discovered; a sense of acceptance that leaves no haunt; 70+ has a way. A way of grabbing one back to the beginning. A way of seeing the mountain in the mirror, in the reflection of your own mortality.

What a joy! I've waited and wondered, knowing the life of curiosity, survival, deepest failures and now, now, now? 

Turning the light on, I wonder why it never went out; turn the light on and let that bulb run; turn to see your feet and turn to see they're still there; turn to see they are slowing but steady and firmly turning.

My trusted and dedicated darling dog husband... ever adorable, ever patient, ever protective. What a lucky dog! Such a moment of spontaneousness turning into my field of magic.

The places, so rich in power they can hold no account; the wealth of mystery, passion and steadfastness that holds firmly to the invisible past; 

The people, language, pain, strength, endurance that bring us to know each other, see each other, understand that we are the same;

The level of life, that umbilical cord that delivers, nourishes and transports us to ancient memories; allows us choices of this side or this side; forever speaks to us with ripples of shimmer and embedded whispers from the East.

Philly, 7.15.23

Exit Days

Leaving Puerto Morelos for United States is a bit of mixed feelings. 

So much discovery and joy here! From my beautiful yoga and meditation friends, dining friends, lunch friends, quiet friends, funny and confusing friends to the thousands of birds I listened to and tried to communicate with each day. I will miss each group yet this is exactly what is drawing me back.  I look forward to the next chapter of experiential learning in Mexico.  

SUKHA yoga with Fabi and Luna has been the highlight.  On Mother's Day they presented a ritual in honoring 7 generations of 'mothers': our mother's mothers and our father's mothers. As Luna explained, we, individually are the portals to all the Mothers in our lives and are able to contact.  Our soul knows who they are even though we don't know their names (Ancestry project?)... their fertility, depth, struggles, strengths, joy, nurturing, protection which is undeniable yet varied in scope.  Where as Fathers are hidden, unknown, distant yet present. Primarily, one may never know who the Father really is, yet is it certain we know our Mother!

 

The ceremony was about 2.5 hours, all women, surrounded in red (representing love, blood, power). We were given a chart, beans/beads/seeds to layout the number of women we possess in this 7 generation DNA ritual. With each bead we chanted a short prayer and placed it on the chart giving each spirit value and honor.  This took quite a while. Then onto a deep 'uterine' breathing exercise which became a bit scary! 16 women all deep breathing, rapidly, in the nose, out the mouth, with increasing audible attention. Mind you, I was in this group of women I basically did not know, doing a ritual I'd never done before with instructions in Spanish, of which I would only grasp meanings... a bit mind blowing!  At times I thought some were going into full blown orgasim or final dilation of childbirth! But, I felt I got the impact and had my lesson with Luna the following day to review and ask questions.

This ritual is to be repeated for 1 year at the beginning of the new moon.  This I will do.  The purpose is to connect with our ancestral Mothers, ask for their wisdom and give them any pain, struggle, confusion, as they have experienced the same and their collective knowledge will nurture, sooth and allow healing. 

Next, the Covid test for travel.  While it was being processed, I just sat on the beach and PRESTO a show!

The dancers just walked down the beach, set up the 'stage', blew the conch shell and began a Mayan dance honoring fire.  It was great.  They work for tips and afterwards brought out the placard with jewelry. I gave.  ;)

Then over to the new location where I'll live when I return to store a few things.  It is 2 blocks from the water and, I'd say, very close to a 60's commune overtone. THIS will be interesting. 

My entrance to the 'bungalow'.

The main house with a roof perch and a view of the water on one side, jungle on the other.

After dinner stroll in Colonia. This store had everything and anything!

Naturally, the children's stuffed animals were all in glass cases.  

Final Secret Supper with Emily, Daniele and assorted friends. 

Early morning flight from Cancun on JetBlue and onward to that big, bad, USA.

See you in the fall... Adios.

Murals

Strolling and driving around Puerto Morelos, both La Colonia and Beach-side, there are murals that need to be shared!

They come for a variety of reasons. They are for advertising, political purposes, art for art, embedded with functional hardware, ocean messaging, etc... a lively and quiet distraction to just stop, look, think, absorb.

Water spout within the wall and mural.

"Once a species goes extinct no law can bring her back."

Visitor

At exactly 3am, I was spiritually shaken to WAKE UP. 

When this happens, I roll over, grab my phone, turn on the flash, close my eyes and take photos around my bed. Nine times out of ten, I'm able to capture beautiful images.  This is what I got that night.  Never such a beautiful color, so large and defined. You can see how it traveled with my camera, always to my right.

What do you think?

What do you see?

What would you do if you had a visitor like this?!

I'm working with a beautiful guru from whom I'm learning a whole new lesson.  I showed her this and she got so excited and told me 'who' it is.  Even though there really is no name, it makes 'us' feel more comfortable giving it one. 

:)

DETAIL

I think my meditations are moving along! :)

Puerto Morelos

Quincy has been the BEST travel mate!  But, he's a bit exhausted and, honestly, so am I.  It is a bit of work and a lot of effort to figure out where to go, how to get there, where to stay, and then to get going!

Plus, in Merida, he went to get a bath and passed out on the table.  They used heavy duty tick/flea shampoo which is toxic and routinely killed dogs! WTF???  The vet there had to take blood to make sure he didn't have anything major going on.  The couldn't find a vein in his leg so went for the jugular! WHAT??

Poor Quincy!

So, I got him back to PM and to the awesome vet here, Planned Pet Hood, and they diagnosed him with acute dermatitis.  Sooooooooo, every 3 days, a 10 minute shampoo/massage for one month.  At first Q was a bit annoyed with the whole idea, but then realized it's not so bad! lol

Staying on the pet theme, PPP had a weekend of CNR (catch neuter release) for strays and domestic cats and dogs. They needed volunteers, I'd never done something like that so, now's the time.

I arrived at 10am for the domestic day.  They assigned me to dog recovery. My duty was to clean the incision, cut the nails and clean the ears.  Being mindful of the tube down their throat... when they'd start to cough or breath heavy, it's time to remove the tube.  

Eeeeeeeekkkkkkkkkkk.

First couple of dogs were ok, I managed them. As soon as one had the tube removed and placed on the floor with its owner, another dog showed up, or two or three or four.

One pit bull little girl came and she was very pretty.  Gorgeous coat and the color of caramel. I trimmed her front nails only, as the back ones were really worn down. Cleaned the incision area. Went for the ears.  I didn't know what I was looking at. I asked the vet what it was and she said, oh, ticks.  One was so huge it was white then, deeper in the ear a whole family or colony.  I. Thought. I. Was. Going. To. Vomit!  Seriously, the feeling was so powerful that it was all I could do to pretend manage that.  They said just put vaseline in the ear and pull them out. OH god.  I got out as many as I could and waited a few minutes saying my time was up and had to leave. I managed 2.5 hours there but this one just freaked me out!

When I left there were still bringing dog after dog to the recovery area. This is a wonderful thing to do and I certainly found a profound level of respect for doctors and volunteers who can do this type of work.  I then thought of C-19 and all those nurses and doctors and the unending stream of unimaginable need and care. 

It shook me for several days.

I learned one dog, after being spayed, started to go into distress.  They had to open her up to see what was going on and her belly was full of PLASTIC. They rushed her to the vet hospital and she passed.  The owners were accusing the team of killing her.  That argument didn't get one bit of conversation. 

I tell ya, this is for real and watch your friggin' plastic! Don't buy it and if you do, recycle in the best way possible.

All the guys here were so happy when they woke up!

 

Trying to stand and just flopping around like little perros borrachos.

Merida

Merida, the capitol of the state of Yucatan, its largest, boasting a population of nearly 900,000.

Three popular conquistadores founded the city in 1542 and named it Merida after a city in Extremadura, Spain.

Situated in the Northern part of the Yucatan, it has Quintana Roo to its East, Campeche to its West and the Gulf to its North. Being that it is located in the lowlands and inland it tends to get very HOT and stays that way for extended periods of time. Did I mention mosquitoes???

Having a multitude of cenotes and Mayan pyramids close by brings tourists and Ex-pats in by the droves. 

The spectacular Colonial architecture is well maintained and standing beautifully in the side streets and surrounding neighborhoods. 

At the turn of the 20th century, Italian and French-style architecture was popular.  Driving along Paseo Montejo, the main avenue in Merida, one would see this style  of architecture. It was reflected in many single-family dwellings which boasted family status, wealth and intended to pave this wide route, emulating the Champs d'Elysses.  Today these gorgeous buildings have lost their home status and are now office buildings.  If I didn't know I was in Mexico, looking at these buildings, I could well believe I was in Havana, Cuba.

Museums, theatre, symphony, ballet are all found in Merida which gives it this rich cultural, architectural and historic beauty.

It was a beautiful day but Quincy wasn't feeling good, at all... So, I became a real 'tourist' and jumped on a double decker tour bus and took a 1.5 hour tour.  I'd never done this and must say, I got a real bird's eye view.  The commentary was in Spanish and for the most part, kept up with where we were and what we were seeing. 

A street closer to Paseo Montejo:

Further into the neighborhoods: 

Out door theatre a short distance from where I was staying.

Round about in downtown area...

Bull fighting on the way home?