So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and made a feast. Genesis 29:22

We had a bit of an early start this morning. Dave and I thought we’d really beat the heat and get out there BEFORE seven. As it turned out, I think we made a wrong call there. I turned out that it was incredibly humid and we were sopping wet almost before we started. And we had to tee off on number 10 because the front nine was so busy! And we had to wiat for a foursome ahead of us right off the bat! We waited and waited at number 10, number 11, and finally at number 12 we jumped ahead to hole 16.

When we finished hole 18 we continued on to hole number 1. Somewhat surprisingly, once the sun came up it got more comfortable! It seemed that the sun heated up the air so the humidity decreased, and a gentle wind made conditions way more manageable.

After golf we went home just as MaryLou was leaving for the gym. We showered and read for a while.

For lunch I made a grilled cheese ‘deluxe’ (as in, it has sandwich meat on it too) sandwich. My afternoon reading was interrupted by a couple of short naps. At 4 o’clock Dave fixed us happy hour drinks. And then it’s time to get dressed and order an Uber to take us into town. We’re going out for dinner together with the Neufelds.

We leave the house at 5:45 in order to catch an Uber at 6. The roads into Merida are busy and the ride takes 45 minutes. We arrive at a nondescript-looking exterior of a private home. We’ve got tickets for a fundraising dinner to raise money for the English library here in Merida. Inside the house is dark, with candles set on the tables. We exchange our tickets for “reserved” notes that we are to place on the plates where we want to sit. It’s a huge home and there are settings for about 80 guests here tonight.

We wander around the 3 or 4 large rooms that have big round tables set for tonight’s dinner. It’s dark — the only light is the candles on the tables. And it’s very warm in the house — so we’re looking for the ‘coolest’ place. Either right by the front entrance, which will be busy, or right at the back, next to the patio doors leading out to the swimming pool. We settle on the latter.

Soon the place starts filling up. Lots of elderly English library enthusiasts. We put our ‘reserved’ tickets on the place settings on either side of us to save a spot for Ken and Kaaren. They will be our ‘buffer zone’. Already we’ve had to explain that we’re saving seats to a number of interested (and interesting!) guests.

A man from, well, he’s originally from California but he’s NOT from California but he’s lived in Montreal but he’ll soon be living in Merida for 10 months of the year, joins our table. Then a couple from Sarasota takes the remaining two seats. By the time Ken and Kaaren arrive the place is full! And we thought it would be a small affair — MaryLou had ticket #12!

Drinks are included, and so before the dinner officially begins we are served wine and beer. And at some point the lights come on (must be a circuit breaker problem — they go off and on again later in the evening). And the air conditioner above us fires up. We’ve chosen good seats, here next to the open door where we’ve got a nice breeze every once in a while.

Finally the dinner begins. We are called, table by table (oh no, we’ll be one of the last tables!) to come to the centre courtyard where a ‘buffet’ of food is available from a big round table.

The food is not too bad! The drinks are good. The Neufelds do an admirable job visiting (mostly listening) to the people beside them, but eventually the conversation around the table splits into two groups: Americans and Canadians.

Dessert is served. A little glass of rice pudding with sliced almonds (or at least that’s what I thought it was). And then people begin to leave. And soon we do too. Dave orders an Uber and soon we’re back home in La Ceiba. No time for a movie tonight. We’re booked for an all-day tour to a hacienda and a cenote pool tomorrow and we’ve got an early start.