This is the view from my kitchen in Akumal.

The sea today is running hard to the south, this morning there were more fishing boats out on the reef than dive boats. That's not usual.

It's windier and at first I thought it was becoming more March weather but I've noticed that the wind is not off the ocean but from the back, the north. It is still very chilly at night so this is still the remains of this last norte. I hope it is the last one of the season, I suppose we may wish for a cold break sometime in May but now I would just like it to be warmer.

Although it is a little easier than a few weeks ago, it is still not very comfortable to use the internet here. We no longer bring over our sat dish and are relying on the wireless from the office. I don't have to stand in the bathroom anymore and hold the laptop up high so I think they have moved the modem a bit. We can sit in the guest bedroom by the window and get online... sometimes. It seems to go off at random times but hey, it is easier than setting up the dish.

Because of that, I've been reading more. A good thing I think. I had started a book here several months ago but left it behind. I've almost finished it now and I really recommend it for anyone who wants a better understanding of this huge country of surging peoples and religions. The Life and Times of Mexico by Earl Shorris is not a quick read, it makes you think and consider and ponder. I found myself putting it down and staring off into space many times. It is well written, it is well organized, it pulls you into the lives and worlds of many different people. It is like floating on a deep, wide river where the speed and force of the water seems deceptively slow and easy when it is relentless and powerful. You are drawn into eddies of lives along the way, I think that is one of the more powerful parts of the book - the intense dips into so many different lives.

I bought this book a couple years ago on Amazon at someone's recommendation. I wish I remembered who as I would thank them. It has moved along with us since we returned to Mexico and I didn't pick it up until last fall. I've been reading it in sections since then, leaving it here in Akumal and thinking about it while I'm gone. It kind of works on you and I found myself seeing things differently and looking perhaps for things I would not have known before. If you, like me, are always fascinated by the cultural forces of Mexico, if you wish you could see more clearly through the muddy and often conflicting traits that make the Mexican world so fascinating - read this book, you'll enjoy it.