El Cochito

We met a friend here in Mérida named Daniel.  He always hangs out with the groups that come from BYU.  He’s super smart-He went to the Mexican version of MIT.  And now he works at some super important Science/Invention center.  I really have no idea what he does but it has to do with atoms, and isotopes, and different plains.  Anyways, he took Rachel, Kyle, and I to this cool place called Cochito.  He told us that it is a raccoon reservation but I didn’t really know what to expect because he said there were places to swim also.  We drove to progresso and got in a little lancha that took us across the bay to a manglar.  

We got out of the lancha and we were on this little jungly island.  There were a bunch of little fresh water swimming wholes –which they call ojos de agua- all over the island.  So we went to one from another swimming, meeting people, and watching the raccoons all around us.  The raccoons are funny little guys.  They would climb up on the table and try to steal our backpacks but they were too heavy for them to run away with.

I couldn’t get over how cute they were.  They’re a lot nicer here than they are in the US. 

Right before we left we met a really nice couple who were visiting Mérida from Torrion-Marta and Alejandro.  They were very nice.  They told us all about their kids and their grandkids.  I love meeting people here…most people are so nice and willing to put up with our bad Spanish.  But actually these people told us that when they first saw us they thought “ oh ya, they are for sure Americans”.  But then we said good morning to them and they thought “oh wow! We were wrong…they’re just really white Mexicans!”  Best compliment thus far.  Saying hello is one big difference between Americans and Latinos.  Everyone here says hi to each other and the salutation changes depending on the time of day.  You either say “buenos dias”, “buenas tardes”, or “buenas noches”.  People here think that Americans are all stuck up because we don’t say hi to anyone as we walk by them.  It’s something that I’ve picked up here and I really like-I feel like a missionary!

Then of course we couldn't go to Progreso without going to the beach!  So we walked around the town a little and got some lunch.  While we ate, Daniel told us his conversion story and it was pretty cool