Out For a Stroll

With nothing special on the agenda yesterday, we went for a long walk down Paseo Montejo.  We were sort of looking for a 'difficult to find' Tequila and sort of looking for an ATM and sort of just looking.

The street is a wide boulevard that boasts lots of old historic buildings and many fancy hotels.  It is nice to look at, but not my favourite spot in Merida.

That being said, we did find an Irish Bar on the street that we had to check out!  Best deep fried Brie salad I have ever had.

On the walk back, Fred picked up Maggy and we spent a few quiet moments at an outdoor restaurant.

Ruins

Yesterday we decided to drive the 120 Kms to Chichen Itza to show Mo and Pat some of the historic Mayan culture.  The drive was easy enough on a toll road and for once the parking was convenient and within walking distance.

The whole area has developed so much since our last visit that it was mind blowing.  They have found temples under temples.  Constant digging!

Even so, the basic pyramid and temples haven't changed that much, except that climbing or even touching the structures is not allowed.  The first time we saw this place, Fred and I [mostly Fred] would climb to the top and roam through the rooms.  It was fantastic.

We saw a young couple try the "jumping/picture taking" routine and it didn't take us long to give that a try.  Coordinating the jump seemed impossible for us old farts!

The weather was perfect, just a tad bit too hot.....maybe more than a tad!  Nothing that a couple of bottles of water couldn't fix.

Tasting

The four of us decided that we should look for some special Tequila that "might" find its way back to Saskatchewan...of course, that requires sampling!

The best was the Jamaican type, which could be overly sweet if you didn't serve it on ice.  No purchases made, but we have a few more places to try!

Skyline

The skyline of Merida is something special.  These pictures were taken in the central square called Plaza Grande.  It is the place to be any day of the week, but especially on Sundays when they have regional dancers perform and vendors have set up throughout.  It is a day for the families to dress in their finest and stroll through the park.  Love it!  I will have more next week on the activities in the park.

A Little Rain

In the seven years we have been going to San Carlos we have had very few rainy days....it just doesn't rain there very often.

Merida has been just the opposite since we arrived.  It has rained often and hard, mostly at night.  Three days ago it rained off and on all day so we took advantage of that and did some shopping.  At times the streets were close to being flooded.

A Few Things Missing

Over the years we have carted down numerous household items to San Carlos and now have a fully functional kitchen, probably better equipped than Eatonia.

We didn't, however, make the effort to bring some of the items to Merida, assuming we would be able to buy what we needed.  Not so!

We planned on buying little things such as measuring cups and spoons, etc.  We have been here two weeks and we have hunted for two weeks....we have tried Walmart, Costco, Sam's, Mega and many, many smaller Mexican stores and not one has a measuring cup or even a clue as to what we are talking about.  We did have fun trying!

There isn't much coffee consumed at our house, but what Fred does drink has to be flavoured.  We searched the usual places and eventually found a small store in the market that had vanilla flavoured coffee.  We bought it, tried it and found out it is cinnamon and not vanilla.  But, it is flavoured coffee!!

We needed a short garden hose to bath Maggie...that was another chore.  Very little English is spoken in most parts of Merida so fluency in Spanish is a real bonus.  A bonus we don't have!  We are getting better, but we still have a long way to go.

Refinishing Houses

Many Canadians and American have been buying old homes in the Historic Centro Section of Merida and refurbishing them as retirement homes.

The three pictures below show only the outside of the homes.  Once you open that front door, it is a different world inside.

Now it is time to show you the one that caught our eye and interest.  It is in the Historic District, the same as our apartment, and only one-half block from our rental.

The rounded exterior is unique and appealing to me.  The front corner could house a car, which is rare in Merida.    Quite a challenge!