Saturday: Family Fun

While Maestro Pablo is outside teaching class, I hear a lot of this: "Uno! Dos! Tres! Vamonos ya!" On Saturdays, however, I hear tons of laughter.

This is the group that wins my prize of the season for having the most fun. They come every Saturday and spend nearly two hours working out. A family that plays together, stays together! We met Mildred, bottom right, in our Mayan language class. She brought her husband and brother to learn to swim. She also referred her nephew to Ko'ox Báab classes. That was last year. These folks completed the course and are comfortable in the water, but have come back to sharpen their skills, maintain a weekly vigorous exercise campaign, and enjoy some fun time in the swimming pool. We all also make an effort to use a little of the Mayan language we study, making it a constant learning experience. ¡Ko'ox Báaxal! or...Let's Play!


Left to right, Mario, Valentina, Alonso, Angel and Mildred.


Pablo always concocts a series of obstacle courses, races and contests both out on the warm-up mats and in the water. Here they are learning to work together by moving this hula hoop around the swimming pool. It is not as easy as it sounds, but it is "muy divertido" to see them do all kinds of silly things. They have such a good time, and they work so hard, I always make them juice or Gatorade to replenish them after their Saturday afternoon exercise.


Uno! Dos! Tres! Vámonos ya!

By the time I grabbed my camera I had missed the funniest moments, but still, this is a pretty good example of what I hear from my office, where I am usually battling with the computer while they are out there splish splashing away! I get a charge out of it, and it gives the feel for who we here at Ko'ox Báab.

All's Well With Ko'ox Báab

Theresa and Sak Boox at morning exercises.

Although I haven't posted here for months, Ko'ox Báab (Let's Go Swimming!) is alive and well. From November through March we battled cold weather. It was a cool winter for the Yucatán. One hard core swimmer/exerciser, Mike, came almost every day during the cold months. I sat out by the pool and cheered him on, enjoying hot coffee. But the rest of us chickened out, even with the pool slightly heated. The problem for me was the air temperature was 10-20°F cooler than the pool, so not only did you have to get used to the cold water, you had to get used to the cold air afterwards. Bah humbug!

We were operating the solar panels, which heated the pool up to 75°-78°F most of the time. Other folks with pools said theirs were holding steady around 68°-70°. We had many nights in the 50°F range. It may not sound like a cold night to a Michigander or a Buckeye, but imagine if you set the heat thermostat to 50°F inside your house. It would be cold, wouldn't it! Our houses are built to keep the heat out, hold the cool inside, so from Nov-Mar we were snuggled in sweats and covered in afghans most of the time.

April arrived with a heat wave. It jumped to 107° at the beginning of the month. Usually April is a little milder with a few showers. We have only had about 5 drops of rain in the past two months, no April showers here!

Some of our students from last season decided to come back. The parents tired of the ballet and tai kwon do lessons and returned to the pool. The kids get a good workout, get cooled off, and just as we exercisers say, generally eat and sleep better when swimming every day.

Pablo has a full schedule in the afternoons and on Saturdays.
This year, with the pool temperature stable in the mid-80's, he is teaching younger kids. He has students from 3 years old to 35 years old. They all have fun, including Maestro Pablo! He is a very creative instructor, always finding new games and obstacle courses for the people to enjoy. There is never a dull moment here. That is how we like it.