Celebrations and Work

At the end of the last Blog I told you about the Dias de los muertos ( Day of the dead) or as the Mayans call it, Hanal Pixan...  Here is an alter  a local woman set up to honor her aunt. Altars are usually more simply set up at home on a table covered with a white table cloth.  It is believed that the spirits of the dead return to bring blessings. Their favorite foods and candles and other offerings (ofrendas) are placed on the table along with photos, momentos, belongings. Family members spend time together sharing stories of their loved ones. 

                 What a wonderful way to dedicate time and effort to honoring the lives of those who have died.    

Marigolds and Pan Muerte ( bread for the dead) are part of the celebration; as is the Mukbil Pollo or Pib which our Mayan contractors made for us to sample... It is a tamale stuffed with chicken and a broth of corn, cooked in the ground .  We have been invited next year to watch how it is made and cooked which is quite an honor as this dish is the most characteristic of this celebration.

Halloween happens at the same time. The Free English School children from the village came trick or treating to experience what Halloween is like for children in Canada and the US... We volunteered to be one of 6 families hosting the trick or treaters.  I am the ghost handing out candies with scary music and jack-o-lanterns.  It was a dark, blustery night and they had fun running up our long driveway yelling trick or treat..

  THE EVERYDAY BUSINESS OF LIFE CONTINUES regardless of where we live.. Our state and federal -beach taxes are paid at the green municipal building in Progreso.

Opening our Mexican Bank Account....Unlike lots of other services where waiting in line means standing, standing, and more standing...this bank has chairs...  Hooray!   No service charges either if we keep at least 1000 Mx pesos ( about $85.00) in our bank account each month.) 

And the work never ends.... seashells to shovel

Protectores to be scraped and painted 

   

And of course... siesta time!

We met with our contractor and, with the help of a local interpreter,  have a plan in place for several improvements.  Sharing this part of our adventure with you will be fun and, hopefully as interesting for you as it has been for us to witness.  These hard working people work in flip flops, mix cement by hand, carry huge heavy buckets of stone on their shoulders, and bags of cement on their heads... Rough cement boxes become attractive haciendas. 

We leave you tonight with an introduction to our beach dog..Zeus. He was skittish at first, having lived on the beach and around the local hotel; kicked and yelled at, finding his food where ever he could find it.. He has turned out to be a very good companion making sure we get lots of walks.......!!