Latin American Bloggers Meeting - Day 2

Friday morning and Paul, Nancy and myself met at a sweet little restaurant across the street from our hotel, Cafe Club, for breakfast. I laughed out loud when I opened the bread basket to find these little homemade delights nestled inside.




We finished breakfast and headed over to Lin's house where the first event of the weekend was to take place. We all gathered around and listened to various presentations. I led off with Posting Digital Pictures to Your Blog...Why or Why Not? I was followed by Ellen discussing How To Make Money from Your Blog. (or not). We also had Theresa discussing Finding Focus for Your Blog and Paul on Finding Inspiration for Your Blog. Here's Ellen captivating the crowd.




Followed by Theresa.




I was sitting in the wrong spot to get a good shot of Paul presenting.

This is a shot of our hostess' backyard, complete with heated swimming pool. I am so jealous!





One of Lin's cats. Since I am great Siamese cat lover, this one made my heart skip a beat.





Following the presentations, we walked a very long and hot 3 blocks to our lunch place. People, it was over 100F every day while there! We dined at a botanas bar. If you are not familiar with the concept, every time you order a drink, usually beer, you are brought plates and plates of free food to sample. Adding to the fun was the fact that everybody had to eat from the same plates!

Here's part of the group.




Just some of the array of food brought to us. l to r, starting at 6 o'clock; mystery item, pickled carrots, fish ceviche, pickled cucumbers, moving to tortilla chips and below that another mystery item. There was also guacamole and pumpkin seed dip and, of course, freshly fried pieces of pig skin.

The mystery item up close. Want to know what it is? Pickled pig's ear. I did not partake. I see no need to put animal spare parts into my mouth.

Afterwards we had a few hours of free time. I shopped a bit and then took a much needed nap!

We all met up with Theresa at the main town square for a walking tour of the zocolo area. I must say, Theresa knew her stuff and was an excellent tour guide. I have been to Merida many times before and thought I had seen it all. But I was in for a surprise. Look where she took us.

We were all like "an underground parking garage? why are we going down here?" Unbeknownst to any us, in the back of this garage is the entrance to an underground tunnel system! It was dark, humid and totally fascinating. I am grateful to Theresa for showing us this little known gem.

We also walked through the outdoor gallery of the Musuem of Contemporary Art. I am not a big fan of Modern or Contemporary Art, but some of the jun, er, art, is interesting. Take these for example.

Other than the tunnel, the highlight for me was finding a stand that sold salchipapas. A word derived from combining salchicha (hot dog) and papas fritas (french fries). A mound of delicious deep-fried goodness. I have loved this particular snack since first discovering it in Costa Rica. The vendor thought it funny that I wanted a picture so he insisted on getting in it too!

A close-up of the deliciousness.

During our tour we passed the Cathedral all lit up in her night time glory.

After the tour we headed out to a restaurant on the luxury street called Paseo Montejo. We had a rather less than mediocre dinner but our main purpose in being there was to listen to the band. Since the place was called Los Cubaneros, the band was Cuban. Great salsa music was enjoyed by all. Some of us even got tipsy enough to get up and show off our dancing skills. There will be no mention of names here!

Tomorrow: Saturday's entertainment, great mix-up and the goodbyes on Sunday. Stay tuned!