Mexico Day 12

Today is our 55th anniversary so my blip is then, Ednam House, Kelso, and now, today in Uxmal, the most impressive Mayan site so far. We’ll toast ourselves with a margarita tonight. The site was more open than yesterday’s and is stunning with lots of carvings, dating from 500-800AD so not very old. We saw the pyramid of the Magician, the nunnery quadrangle which had long elaborately carved facades, and another ball court. The stone hoop was a replica - we saw the original in the archeological museum in Mexico City.

Unfortunately there was an incident in the night and Keith, a 76 year old member of our group, was taken ill with chest pains. Our guide took him to hospital where angina was diagnosed and he got pills. However this afternoon he felt worse and Nick and Lesley, the GPs in our group, said he must go to hospital. The guide got a cardiology appointment for him at the hospital here in Merida and arranged for a representative from his company to take Keith and his wife. However the GPs think it’ll be the emergency stents. Poor souls. So awful to be ill away from home.

After looking around Uxmal we had lunch in a family place where they baked chicken with achiote paste and wrapped on banana leaves in a smokey pit, polo pibil. I had a bit of it as I’m keen for a bit of protein. We’d all have been happy to forgo lunch to get Keith to hospital but I suppose Francisco couldn’t risk it in case someone in the group complained. (Everyone is very nice and I’m sure they’d not have).

We are going for a quick wander round to the cathedral, built from Mayan stones, and to see the old colonial style houses, apparently being bought by Americans as holiday homes. Our hotel is pretty with rooms off a central courtyard which has palms growing up to our second floor room.

Latest is that Keith has had a heart attack and in the morning they are going to put the dye through to see what procedure needs doing.