Fiesta Friday

I’ve arrived in Queretaro, Mexico. It’s la fiesta de las iglesias, so there are fireworks in the sky.

I've just arrived at my lodging for the evening and have been welcomed by two true free spirits,
David and Zoe Sherill are wonderful people. He’s from Dallas, she’s from Ohio. The B and B is filled with handpainted tiles from Dolores Hildago, Handcarved wooden bed and mirror. This couple has retained the charm of a 300 year old casa while updating for guest use. Their knowledge of Queretaro has been extremely helpful and settling. I'm very glad I chose Quinta Zoe as my 1st stop in Mexico.

En Avion, on the air plane, I spoke with a nice college kid, in English, about Queretaro and San Miguel, but I stumbled over my fat tounge when I first tried to speak Spanish. So I went to the curb to “hail” a taxi only to stand there with a bewildered look on my face while everyone else was put into a taxi. Finally a nice senor asked, “tienes un boleto?” to which I replied, “aye, No” thankfully he didn’t laugh but instead directed me to the taxi desk where I became a stuttering Stanley, “bbbbbbbuenos dddddd noches” the lady is unimpressed doesn’t even take her eye from her cellphone and says, “donde vas”. Now I know what that means and how to reply to the question but my teeth, tongue and lips were revolting and refused to answer so I just handed her the paper with the address on it, to which she replied 160 pesos. Luckily my brains wasn’t on strike and I handed her the twenty dollar bill. My tongue decided to catch up but apparently not my vocal cords so I whispered, “dolares estan bien” aye aye aye, what a start. In the taxi I was too mortified by my mummified tongue to speak without out planning the conversation in my head, by that time I figured it was to late to just start blurting out the only phrases I had worked over in my brain. Luckily 15 minutes into the ride the lady with TB next to me asks “vacacione in Queretaro” to which I reply “Si”, it’s on open door so I run with my prepared phrases, “en la manana voy a San Miguel “ we have a short talk where I find out she has a sister in Huston but she herself is from Monterrey and is visiting a friend for 10 days. The cab driver was a handsome man who spoke way too quickly but had a kind face. At the end of our journey together the woman tells me that she has a dictionary for when she goes to Huston but doesn’t want to change ( I think she meant learn English but she could have been telling me she had cancer, I’m not certin) Near the end of our journey the woman turns to me and says “solo?” to which I nod yet again, smile and say “SI” I am alone in Mexico, now I’m going to see the fireworks.