Good Day Off

Did my laundry and my taxes in the am and saw all of the sites this afternoon.  Merida really is an interesting little city.  The scale and setting of the amphitheater (like the Roman Coliseum only smaller) makes it feel more real than the Roman one.  It has nice signs in excellent English that explain where the gladiators entered, who and what they fought, etc.

Adjacent to it is the actual 'theatrical' theater.  It's so close, and the complex is so well preserved that it gives you the feel for how well thought out the civic entertainment was back in the days of Augustus.  AUGUSTUS!  The first Emperor right after Julius Caesar.

That's the amphitheater wall just past the theater.  About a half mile away is the 'circus'.  We're not talking about Ringling Brothers here.  It's the 'circo', or circuit where chariots raced.  It's almost a half km long and the access you have to it really gives you context of how big and important chariot races were.  I was able to walk all the way around the grassy area and that really puts it in perspective.

 Merida really is a mini-Rome.  Most of these ruins were only excavated in the past couple hundred years.  Everyone knew they were there because it was so well documented.  The signage even tells you things like 'this portion isn't original.  It was rebuilt in 435'.  The 'all access' pass cost 15e and was easily the best money I've spent here.

Have you ever read the book 'I Claudius'?  It's what first got me interested in ancient Rome and is one of those books that really impacted me.  So readable and interesting.

So after my big day of laundry, taxes and sightseeing I checked my pedometer and had walked 19,890 steps.  I had already taken my pants off but figured I should walk up and down the hallway with my phone to bring that number to a round 20k.  As I asked myself 'what could go wrong?' I remembered that the fantastic young woman named Barbara at the front desk had a bank of security monitors in front of her.  I was wearing a t-shirt and my boxers when I said 'uh-oh' and looked up to see this.  Hi Barbara!