Once again this year we have a great bunch of kids…Abby from NY, Brooke from Kentucky, Crystal from California, Emily from Northern Florida and Melissa from TX. Jonathan, the chocolate boy will be arriving next week, from Boston.
Today, after several hours of devotional time, singing and cultural orientation, we met up with Alan, Melanie and Luis, some Mexican friends from the church, and took off in subway to the Basilica of Guadalupe. There is no better way to understand Roman Catholicism in Mexico than to visit there. Mexican Catholicism is extremely sycretistic, with polytheistic Indian gods portrayed in a large Azteca calendar and plummed serpent images, and with an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe superimposed on the astrological signs of the Zodiac.
Before that we grabbed a quick bite to eat at a nearby taco stand…20 pesos, about 2 dollars, for a huge plate of beef mixed with french fries and nopales (cactus) all eaten in a tortilla with tasty guacamole salsa on top. Hmmm…nothing better.
After visiting the Basilica we came back to the hotel, then went and saw a movie, which we ended up walking out on…not at all what we expected…then had “cena” at around 9. It started pouring while we were eating. Alan and Melanie, at my invitation, will be spending the night with us here at the hotel.
Now…maybe a game or two or five of Setters of Catan!
