The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. Song of Solomon 2:12

I went for a walk this morning. I stopped by the golf course to make sure the tournament was still happening. The putting green was busy with parents and their young children warming up before the official tee off. The day was warming up too. By the time I had walked a little loop in our country club the golf tournament was in full swing. I stopped to watch 3 young girls, maybe about 7 or 8 years old, putting on the first green. They were dressed in the latest fashionable golfing attire. Their pull carts were parked around the green, with big sun-umbrellas mounted on each cart. While the girls were making their putts, their pretty young mothers were waiting in their carts, parked on the cart path. Each of them was also nattily dressed, and busy swiping and tapping away on their iPhones. And at the next tee were three dads with their young boys, doing the same.

There are only two golf courses in Merida. One is just a mile or two up the road. It is a state-of-the-art Jack Nicklaus course. One of the top three courses in all of Mexico. Green fees are $275 US on weekdays, and nearly double that on weekends. Plus caddie fees. Our course is ‘the other’ course. It may not be as ritzy as the first, but the clientele here has money. There are some VERY lovely homes on our course, and looking at all the BMWs and Mercedes in the parking lot, there are a lot of rich folks from outside our country club who play golf here.

I walked through the front gate and out to the highway. Clouds were keeping the sun from making a walk unbearable. I stopped in at a Carl’s Jr, about a kilometre down the road. Air conditioning. Coffee. Wi-fi. I FaceTimed with Alex and Max — they were making the most of a “snow day”, cleaning up Max’s room, sorting all his lego into cubbies by colour and arranging piles of old toys and out-grown clothing for the thrift store. They had little sympathy for me and my complaints about the heat.

Back at the house the propane truck showed up. They took our empty tank away to get it refilled — they will return it tomorrow and expect cash on delivery. I sent Mario a message to let him know the terms. Then it was time for a quick shower. We had a 2 o’clock lunch appointment at a seafood restaurant in downtown Merida with Renan and his new bride. Renan was a former student at the SRSS. We’d had a very nice visit with him and his parents and two brothers about 12 years ago when Sue and I and the Driedgers were in Cancun for a holiday. Dave had made contact with him now again and arranged to meet him for lunch.

Our lunch was excellent. Renan ordered several different plates of shrimp and we all shared. He brought us up-to-date on his family, his work as a lighting designer, and his bride. Lizmar is a dancer and a dance instructor, with many teachers working for her. We discussed the bullfight (they had been at the same one we were at a week ago) and the possibility of going fishing out in Progresso. It was a fine way to spend the afternoon; neither of them had to work today, it being a National holiday here in the Yucatan.

We left the restaurant and walked a couple of blocks to a mall. Dave was looking for a New York Times Sunday paper but all we found were lots of Spanish magazines. We took an Uber back towards home, stopping at the big Chedraui grocery store to shop for supplies along the way.

I had a note from Mario — he had delivered the cash for the propane and left it for us under the cup on the window sill beside the door. Got it. We sorted the groceries and packed them into our fridge. Dave made gin and tonics and it was time to pick a movie for tonight. After much clicking and browsing through the hundreds of options on our TV, he decided we would watch the first episode of each of three different series and then vote on which series to watch. So that took up the rest of the evening. Ultimately we decided on “The Kominsky Method” and we watched the first TWO episodes. And then it was time for bed. Turn off the downstairs air conditioner. Turn up the bedroom ceiling fans. Open the patio door. The night air is still warm but sleep will come quickly.