La Panaderia Jam Sessions (also Where the Wild Things Are)

The priceless thing about travel is that by stepping out of your everyday routine and voluntary immersing yourself in an unfamiliar locale, you almost invite the unexpected.  In a foreign country, your mind cannot contain the infinite number of permutations of what might be possible.  But if you choose to be open and embrace the unknown, beautiful experiences make their way to you. 

After a satisfying desayuno in una panaderia local in this rustic Yucatan town, we were invited to sit down with another traveler for some big talk over coffee.  We were on holiday; I mean, what else were we going to do?

And what ensued after an hour or so is quite extraordinary.  A stranger with a guitar sat by us, uninvited, and without any warning started strumming his guitar and singing, screeching, "I feel goooood!".  It was only our first morning in town and yet, there we were, on a small Mexican sidewalk bakery listening to an impromptu live show by "James Brown".  Meanwhile, the rest of pueblo life continued before us.  It was a hot and humid day.  Mexican mothers walk without pause under umbrellas dragging along chiquitos still too young for school.  Passenger-laden tricycles zip by.   Pick up trucks with huge speakers loaded on the truck bed drive by with blaring campaign music (it's pre-elections for el presidente de municipio, from what I've gathered).  The pandero would look up from his unstoppable dough-rolling once in a while to chuckle at these silly tourists lingering and lapping up "James Brown".   An occasional tourist walking past or buying bread would halt and grin as they too recognize how removed this scene is from their experiences back home. 

Aahhhh... 

Este es mi Mexico.  Y estoy Enamorada.