Mérida Tercera Semana - Part One (Zoo)

During my third week, classes went very well - basically, more of the same exercises to practice my conversation skills. A few of my fellow students and I went to a local dance studio for a salsa lesson Monday night. It was extremely fun and extremely hot. However, sweating out half my body weight kept my skin slick enough to make the turns a little easier. Dancing has a huge presence in the Mexican culture and it's incredible how many people can keep the rhythm and move well. They definitely put us Americans to shame during that class.

Tuesday afternoon we took a group trip to the zoo. In reality, we have been a zoo ourselves so the trip wasn't all that necessary – but at least we got to see some animals. We went with our guides – my new one this week is Cristi. She's super smart and has a hilarious dry wit which is sometimes hard to keep up with in Spanish, but I do my best.  

The inhabitants were fairly typical of what you'd find in most U.S. zoos – zebras, giraffes, hippos, monkeys, alligators, etc.

There was a large variety of jungle cats but it was so hot most of them were either pacing or passed out in the shade and panting.

   

They also have an extensive, subterranean reptile house with all sorts of creepy crawlies – mostly large, venomous snakes – which I did not particularly enjoy and therefore did not photograph much.  

And some other odd characters.

The zoo has an impressive collection of birds, including a giant aviary where visitors could walk through (think Jurassic Park 3 with ducks instead of pterodactyls). I saw my first live pelican up close and personal – oddly, I think that was the favorite animal of my visit, although the baby monkey was quite adorable. Those of you who are familiar with my long and sordid history with bird (usually seagull) droppings will probably be just as shocked as I am that I left the aviary clean. Although we were narrowly missed two or three times.

 

 

Seeing the peacocks reminded me of the family's peacock farm in Knoxville, TN.  Maybe that will be my next trip....

 

After our time with our guides, Lauren, Maia, and I hit the pool at the Fiesta Americana. This time, we got busted for not being guests of the hotel but the staff was very nice and it worked out in the end. We even spent time in the hot tub before heading back home to the Casa de Las Finus.