Last visit to the humane society

Today, I went to the humane society to visit Mary, a student in my English class who works there.  While at the humane society, I saw something totally unexpected! 

The humane society here in Cozumel has one central building.  The main entrance to this building leads into a small room with lots happening in it.  When I entered the small room to ask for Mary, I saw five small cats lying on a table.  Not moving, except for their breathing.  Some had freshly shaved bellies.  Yep!  They were still sedated from their spay/neuter operations.  It was really weird!  Most had their eyes partially open.  But they were definitely still VERY sleepy!  I was allowed to pet them.  Which I did.  But they didn't budge, even a inch!

Then I looked into another small room.  The exam/operating room.  There were two people in operating room clothes and masks, working on a dog who was mostly covered by pink sheets.  Only one part of the dog was really visible.  Her ovaries and fallopian tubes!!!!  That was even weirder than seeing the sleepy cats!  I'd never seen anybody's ovaries or fallopian tubes before.  But there they were!  Pink. And bigger than I would have expected.  She seemed like a medium size dog.  Each of her ovaries was almost as big as a walnut. Each tube was about 1cm wide and 4 inches long, flattened against the pink sheet.

The vet explained to me that they used to remove only the ovaries when they spayed.  But the fallopian tubes were susceptible to infection.  Now they remove them, the ovaries, and the uterus too.

When I saw Mary, she took me upstairs into her office / a little store.  She introduced me to Garfield, a beautiful and very affectionate cat.  She was happy because Garfield will go to his new forever home in a week.  But she was also very sad because she's become attached to Garfield and will miss him very much.

Photos:
#1- me with one of the puppies
#2 - Mary with Garfield
#3 - me with Garfield
#4 - a painting I made for Mary

Last day of class

Yesterday was my last day of class.  It's always so hard for me to say goodbye.

My last evening class was Wednesday night.  Thursday morning, I had my last morning classes, both volunteering in English and learning Spanish.  It's been lots of fun, and very rewarding.  All of the English students are so pleasant, and most work so hard to learn. 
All of them are also real people, with real lives.  It's easy to forget that a little bit sometimes.  But being with them makes it easier to understand that we`re all so similar, despite our differences. 

Some of the students that stood out for me where: Ernesto, a sophisticated TV and radio personality who often jokes about his relationship struggles;  Michelle, a pretty teenager who's planning to study piano in Europe; Gerson, a handsome young man who you might initially think could care less, but who works really hard in class and is very smart; Jesus, the youngest student at 12 years old and wants soooo badly to be taller; Yvan, an adorable young man who worries me a bit because he really struggled to invent a sentence that included the word "proud", and Mary who reminds me of me, and who works at the humane society. 

At the end of last night`s class, Barbara presented me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and got the students to sing "You are my sunshine".  I was so touched.

Today, I gave away some paintings, that I did while on vacation.  It was fun to paint them.  It felt nice to give them away. 

Photos:
#1 and 2- The beautiful flowers Barbara gave to me on the last night of class.  In my apartment, and on the way home in my bicycle basket.
# 3 to 5 - different versions of a rooster.  My cousin Linda sent me a photo of this rooster last year.  It was an awesome picture!   

Mexican Ferrari!

What a blast!  I've always wanted to drive in a convertible VW Beatle.  Yesterday, I got to do it!   As a passenger that is....

There are lots of VW Beatles (aka Mexican Ferrari's) here in Cozumel, in all sorts of wonderful colours.  Most are convertibles, in various states of disrepair.  But all of them have manual transmissions. I only drive automatic.  I'm sure I could learn how to drive standard.  But this is not the place to do that.  The Beatles here are not likely good learning vehicles.

Susan kind of confirmed that yesterday.  The wonderful blue convertible VW Beatle she rented shifted pretty well.  It even stayed in gear.  Which apparently isn't a sure thing here.  But reverse was pretty tricky to find. 

So I was a passenger.  But, one of the happiest passengers ever!  I sat in the back seat, which was totally open to the sky and wind!  I could have gotten into our 2 door VW by crouching into the front door and behind the drivers seat.  But no way!!!  I took great joy in climbing into the car, over the side. When I sat in it, I instinctively felt like I should put a helmet on.  Maybe because there were no seatbelts... 

We spent the day on the wild  side of the island.  It's so beautiful over there!

Photos:
#1 - Chris and I, celebrating our seat in the back of the VW
#2 - Chris, Susan, and Janet enjoying the amenities at Punta Morena, on the wild side of the island
#3-Blanca, a dog who showed up, hairless and lost, on the wild side of the island  after hurricane Wilma in 2005
#4 -Chris, Susan, and Janet on the beach at the Rasta bar
#5- do you see the fish / ray camouflaged in the sand in the water?  Very cool!

Death in Cozumel

It's a little weird to think about death when on vacation.  But, of course, death is a reality here in Cozumel.  Like every where.

There are at least two churches in Cozumel.  The newest ones, the Corpus Christi Cathedral, is located in my neighbourhood and gives my neighbourhood it's name.  Another church, San Miguel, is located downtown right beside a taco shop and a fabric store.  I don't know how old it is.  But it houses a 500 year old statue of St. Michael the Archangel, made of ivory.

I've gone by the San Miguel church many times.  But today was special.  There was a funeral service happening.  I didn't enter the church during the service.  Because it was full and it would have been disrespectful.  But I did enter after.  I'm not religious, but it felt especially spiritual.

I also went to a cemetery in town.  It has two sections.  An older and /or poorer section with mostly very small decrepit monuments.  And a fancier/newer section with family crypts.  Most with flowers and candles to honour the dead. I took these pictures during the day, when the gates were open.  I bicycle past the cemetery often on my way home from class.  At night, the gates are locked.  I'm not sure I'd go in then even if they were open.....

 Photos:
#1 - the pretty robust hearse outside the church
#2 - inside the church after the funeral service
#3 -the fancy part of the cemetery
#4 - the less fancy / older (?) part of the cemetery
#5 - flowers and candles in one of the mausoleums

Carnaval 2016

It's Carnaval time here in Cozumel.  The lead up has been "on" since early January.  But the official days of Carnaval are February 3-9 this year.

According to Cozumel's official Carnaval web site, Cozumel has been celebrating Carnaval every year since 1873.  It's a five day holiday leading up to Lent.  Just like "Mardi Gras" in New Orleans.

Carnaval include parades, music, dancing contests, tonnes of glitter, and five days of school holiday. Although there is plenty of drinking in the streets and parks, it's definitely a family event. Apparently, Cozumel's Carnival is the most authentic and popular Mexican Caribbean.

Last night, I attended the second of the three parades that happen at night.  This year, the parade started near my apartment.  The floats and dancers gathered in the side streets and made their way onto the main street. 

This is where one of the most interesting and scary parts of the parade happens.  In my opinion.   Several people on the float have long poles with a "v" at the end.  The people with the poles lift the electrical power wires that criss-cross over the streets, so the float can advance about 2 feet at a time, without electrocuting anyone on the float or street.  I kept my distance while this happened.....

Photos:

#1 - Me, in the mask behind everyone, some local friends, and a guy in an awesome costume!

#2 - One of the more "risque" floats

#3 - some toys you can win with by playing fair games, like at home, but mexican style

#4 - the dancers perform in the streets in front of homes who've "reserved and paid" ahead of time

#5 - a cute bead necklace vendor and my friend Brindle

 

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Roo-fles and Sangria

Carnaval officially started last night.  I fully intended to watch the first parade.  But I got side tracked by sangria.... 

What a fun night!  I had a "date" with Barbara to go watch the first parade of Carnaval.  There will be parades tonight (Saturday), Sunday and Tuesday nights. The plan was to meet Barbara at Tom's coffee shop near the main plaza, then walk to the main street.  Tom is Barbara's husband. 

I got to the coffee shop a little early and chatted with Tom and the staff.  Fun!  When Barbara arrived, Vincent, one of the staff members, invited Barbara and me to taste some desserts he made for the shop.  We shared a delicious peanut butter square (with raisins, apples, and nuts), a piece of key lime pie, and a truffle.  Yum!

Then we decided to sit at Woody's for a drink before watching the parade.  That's when the evening started to be different from the plan....It's been windy and cool all day.  While we drank our drink, it started to rain.  You know, it's not that inviting to watch a parade in the wind and rain, when you're perfectly comfortable sitting on a sheltered patio with a sangria in your hand and Pako singing.

Three sangrias later, I walked Barbara home.  We were both chatting like school girls, and likely wobbling slightly while navigating the "extreme" sidewalks.   When we got to Barbara's house, which is also the English school, I was hungry.  I couldn't resist the cheese flavoured Ruffles she has for sale at in the school's lobby.  In Spanish, they say "queso roo-fles" - like "roof-lets" without the "t".  Delicious and hilarious sounding!


Tom biked home with me, to make sure I made it safely.

Photos:
#1 Tom roasting coffee beans in his shop
#2 - the menu at the coffee shop.  I don't drink coffee, but the peanut butter coffee is very good.  Next, the mexican coffee!
#3 - Aaron, a singer who joined Barbara and me for a drink.
#4 - My queso roo-fles!! 

Arts and crafts with the ladies

It was cool and rainy today.  That might seem sad.  But it was actually a nice break from the sun and heat.  And it gave me, and the ladies, an opportunity to hang out and do some arts and crafts.

As in previous years, I brought some painting gear with me.  Because I have few responsibilities while here, it gives me time and mental space to do things I can't always at home.  This morning, I continued to work on a few paintings.   I'll show them to you soon.  But not yet.

This afternoon, I invited Susan and Chris and Brindle over to make bracelets.  With embroidery thread I bought at a local fabric store.  I learned how to do it last year, at the all inclusive where I stayed with my sister at the end of my trip.

We set up on my balcony, which is pretty large and well sheltered from the rain.  We each had our beverage of choice. I had 6 colours of thread.  Everyone mixed and matched based on their preferences.  We made bracelets and chatted for about 2 hours.  It was very zen and fun!

Photos:
#1 - My balcony.  Chris took a picture of us making bracelets.  I hope to add it soon.
#2 - On the left is a bracelet I made.  The one on the right I bought here.  It was windy on the balcony, so the thread got pretty tangled#3 - A big moth that was in Susan and Chris' apt.  We gently and successfully released it into the wild with the help of a broom.
#4 - a little cat that sneaks into our courtyard for a drink at our pool.  He didn't like me looking at him.  It made him nervous.