Last Day Part 2: The Final Shoot

8/11/10 continued...

After the haircuts, we met up with Jenn and headed back to the house to pack.  Grueling and depressing.  Enough said.

Yet we still had some unfinished business to attend to before heading back to NJ.  One last video shoot for the EducaTE project.

As luck would have it, the program director for EducaTE had just flown back to Mérida the day before, after being abroad in Europe all month.  Perfect timing, as it would be a key interview to get some important on-camera insight about the organization.

The kids spent the afternoon playing in the pool while we recorded the interview at the house.  Having never met before, we got along great with Katrin, who proved to be yet another super nice person.  We chatted with her for close to three hours, and her dedication to the project, as well as her neighbors in Cholul, was evident.   Plus, she handled the interview so well, considering she was feeling jet-lagged from traveling the day before.  A video shoot is work, of course, but this was really a very pleasant experience.  We had met so many truly wonderful people on this visit to the Yucatán... so friendly, warm, and welcoming.

With the interview behind us, we all got cleaned up and dressed to head out for an early dinner.  Problem is, it was a bit TOO early, since most places were not yet serving food for the evening.  We wandered up and down Calle 59, sweating and baking in the sun, looking for someplace to eat.

We had planned on Pancho's for our final dinner out, but that wasn't going to happen today, I guess.  So we found ourselves at Café La Habana instead.  The food was fairly good and the air conditioning was cranked, so all was well.  Plus, the kids looked like movie stars, waiting in the front window for their paparazzi.

Afterwards, we headed back to the house (quickly) for our appointment with the property manager, then out to meet up with Cherie & Greenwood one last time.  On their recommendation, we all sampled some wonderful frozen treats at an ice cream shop they frequent.  Mmmm, delicious tropical flavors!

The kids had so much fun with our new friends on this trip, it was really difficult to say goodbye.  We are really going to miss them; they are such wonderful people and hopefully we'll be able to come back to visit them in Mérida soon.

Later that night, with the kids finally tucked into bed, Jenn and I headed up to the rooftop with wine glasses in hand, to survey the city and take in the warm summer breezes.  We spent a couple of hours reminiscing about our trip, reliving all the highlights of the month, and dreading the return trip home.  The time really seemed to fly by, and now we found ourselves wishing we had more time to stay.

How can that be?  Really?  After four weeks?