Harvey’s Reaction to Paradise — A Big Difference from Carol’s

Photo by Federica Bisso

My classmate and best friend while in high school, Carol, and her husband Joe seemed to have had a good time while they were visiting us at our winter home on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico just after Thanksgiving. At least Joe did; I wasn’t so sure about Carol. And because Joe absolutely loved our community and wanted a piece of it, and Carol not so much, they had some differences to work out between them.

Carol couldn’t get over the fact that being in Mexico’s tropics still meant having a lot of Mexicans around. I hadn’t known that she was such a prejudiced person when we were growing up together. But then, at that age, we hadn’t encountered anyone outside our little realm to see her reactions to the differences in people’s skin color, so I wouldn’t have known.

Her attitude about Mexicans was extremely bothersome to me. Would I have been biased had I stayed in that small town throughout my whole life? I would hope not, but then, who’s to say. I moved away just before graduation since my father was transferred to Georgia, and that changed my whole outlook on many things, about people and their color, especially. I couldn’t fault her, but then, I didn’t want to be around her much either. Her attitude was too maddening. But I hoped that Joe could help her make a turnaround in her way of thinking.

I wasn’t going to worry about their situation because our next challenge was Harvey and his wife Alice. As we drove to Cancun to pick them up at the airport that January, I kept wondering what they would be like. Harvey, and likely Alice also, had lived their whole lives in the same small community as Carol, so I braced myself for more cracks about the number of Mexicans, showing distaste for the area, and not liking our open-air palapa.

Upon the couple’s exit from the terminal, they seemed excited to be in the warmth.

“We had enough of that danged snow and cold,” Harvey said as we drove them to our community. “We are grateful to you for letting us come and stay a few days to get away from some shovelin’,” he stated.

When we arrived at our palapa and showed them their accommodations, they were both in awe. They kept looking around as if they had walked into a palace. Well, it is a palace to us, I reminded myself.

“Living outside like this,” Alice began, “isn’t it scary to think that someone would come in while you’re away, or while you’re sleeping?”

When I explained about the security guard’s routine, they both accepted that as being okay, which surprised me. Their attitude was so unlike Carol’s constant whining about her fears of possibly being robbed or killed in her sleep.

We took them to the restaurant on the beach that evening, which had the same effect on both of them as it had on Joe. They were stunned at the beauty while looking out onto the Caribbean and giddy with the pleasure of being in such a place.

“I had no idea it would be this beautiful,” Harvey stated. “Sure, you see pictures, and I did look this place up online, but it doesn’t begin to show what it’s really like.” He seemed both stunned and awed that they were sitting at this special place.

When we ordered our meal after drinking a margarita to seal the occasion, Mexican-style, I was surprised at their choices of fare, which was the catch-of-the-day. Carol had been very emphatic about not wanting ‘no stinkin’ fish’ because she had not been brought up eating fish, whereas Harvey told us he was a fisherman.

“We love to catch fish and cook it up fresh, which is usually bass or walleye. I’m eager to see what kind of fish is caught here,” Harvey told us.

Photo by Claudia Altamimi 

Mmmm, I thought, this couple’s stay might turn out to be better than I’d expected.

When my husband Jonny laid out the same plans we’d had for Carol and Joe, they seemed excited and accepted everything we’d offered for them to do with gratitude.

And so, the next day, we parted ways: the guys met the fishing boat down at the dock and us girls took the car to town shopping. Two days of new experiences for these two Midwesterners, and I was glad that they seemed happy to experience each new one.

On our drive to the strip of tourist shops on Fifth Avenue in the city, Alice and I chatted about our life here in this part of Mexico, and their lives back in the Midwest. When I drove down the same street that I had taken Carol, there were still a lot of Mexican shoppers walking around. But not once were there any slurs about the Mexicans from my passenger, nor questions about how we could live here with not much to do but hang out at the beach, nor ‘what am I going to do with myself’. There was just wonder and joy in her statements.

We parked in the same parking lot as my last trip to this area. I try to avoid coming to the city, unless we have company or we want to shop for something specific, because of its ungodly congestion of tourists. But it’s fun to show new visitors.

We walked to the pedestrian street of shops where cars were not allowed and wandered. Alice was interested in what she saw, and purchased a few souvenirs, but, unlike Carol, she wasn’t much of a shopper. So, after lunch at a quiet restaurant in a courtyard, which Alice loved, we drove around to see more of the city and then went back home. She wanted to get in some beach time.

“Whoa! Does your husband know this about you?” I asked her, remembering his comment about him ‘not seein’ sittin’ on the beach as bein’ a viable reason for bein’ gone a whole winter’.’

I told her what Harvey had said at the reunion, and she laughed. “Yeah, that sounds like Harv. He’s usually so darned busy on the farm that he can’t see that doin’ nothin’ is actually doing something.”

“Good one!” I told her. “That is so right on. But apparently, he makes time for himself if he goes fishing, right?”

“Right,” Alice said, “But that’s different. That is doing something. That’s putting dinner on the table, or so he states emphatically. I actually think it’s the calming of his mind that is the real reason for his excuse to go fishing because he is a different man when he returns home from a day on the pond. He’s mellower and more attentive to me. I like that side to him, and I’m thinkin’ that this trip is going to work miracles with our relationship — not that it’s been bad or anything drastic like that, he just gets too preoccupied with the farm, and I get ignored. Know what I mean?” she queried.

“Yes, I do,” I told her. “Let’s hope this is a miracle worker in many ways for you both.”

After an afternoon basking on the beach, Alice and I went back to the palapa to shower and get ready for a happy hour on the beach when the guys got back, which was soon thereafter.

“What a fishing experience!” Harvey exclaimed when they walked into the palapa. “I could do that every day.”

After Harvey and Jonny cleaned up, we carried chairs, a couple of fold-up tables, our drinks, and some cheese and crackers for our cocktail time and settled in to hear all about the men’s adventures on the sea. Harvey had caught a large Dorado. The fishing company that took them fishing would process and cut it into steaks to be picked up the next day. It looks like fish was on the menu for tomorrow night’s dinner, I processed in my mind. I didn’t know how to cook ocean fish properly, so I’d never cooked it.

But Jonny saved the day when he said, “We stopped at the restaurant and talked to Kalu about his kitchen staff cooking the fish for us. We told him that he could have the rest of the fish steaks to sell, and he said he would gladly do that. So that’s our plan for dinner the night before you two leave.”

“Sounds like a great plan,” Alice said and clapped her hands heartily. “This has been quite the trip, don’t you think Harv?” she asked, not expecting an answer from him.

He surprised her by exclaiming enthusiastically that this already has been an experience of a lifetime and thanked us profusely for the invitation. I caught a wink from Alice letting me know that things were working out well.

Photo by Aaron Huber

The next day was our trip to Tulum. The couple seemed eager to see what Mayan ruins were like, and after taking extra water and a backpack, we headed south.

It was a hot day, and we were grateful for the hats we all wore and the water we brought. We could always buy more at one of the vendor’s booths, but this was easier.

After their ‘oohs and awes’ from the overlook when seeing the sea from the cliff’s edge, the many stone buildings in the complex, and reading the plaques about each, we were all ready to head into town for lunch.

“That was a mighty interestin’ experience,” Harvey said, “But I don’t think I’d need to see another. And you said there are a hundred or more of these ruins around the Yucatan? That’s amazing.”

“And they are all different,” I chimed in. “Some are huge, with massive temples.”

“I find them fascinating and would love to see more,” Alice stated. “Too bad we don’t have more time here.”

That evening at the restaurant, we ate the fish Harvey had caught, which was deliciously prepared. But Harvey was unusually quiet. I was wondering where his thoughts were, and if he was truly having a good time or was just being polite with his positive comments. Time would tell.

Alice, on the other hand, kept raving about the wonderful time she’s had and how grateful they were for the experience and the invitation.

So unlike Carol’s attitude, I couldn’t help but remember and compare. I felt good about Alice’s words and was still wondering about Harvey’s thoughts, even though he concurred with his wife at her statements.

The next morning after breakfast, our guests took a stroll down beautiful Yan Ten Lane that borders the sea, something Carol wouldn’t do. They came back exuberant.

Apparently, they did more than walk, because, just before we took them to the airport, Harvey said they’d gotten some information about a few palapas for sale and were going to go home, work out some figures and the timing of things to see if they could swing winters in the Caribbean themselves. I was blown away. I didn’t expect those words to come out of Harvey’s mouth.

At the airport, we wished them a safe trip home and told them to stay in touch.

Driving back, we both voiced our surprise at the differences between the two couples and our expectations of each. We were thrilled at Harvey’s change of heart and his enthusiasm and wondered if they would, after a year, come through and return. We’d see.

I was really happy about the fact that we were instrumental in opening a door to a new world for those two couples. Would we see some of them again sooner than the next class reunion? I hoped we would.

Photo by Reiseuhu 

If you missed Part 1, click here to read I Don’t Know What I’d Do with Myself.

And if you missed Part 2, click here to read Carol and Harvey’s Adventures — Enlightened Or Unenlightened.