Wednesday,14 November 2018: Merida

When we spoke with Erich yesterday he told us big waves were headed our way, or rather big waves for us. As it turned out, it was quite the storm. Mountains of wind and rain meant that we were without electricity off and on through the night and this morning we had no water. We had planned to go to Merida anyway but first we needed to pick up laundry and Justin needed to go to the hardware store with Jonathan. Ivan made a list of all the supplies we needed to install lighting in the courtyard and extra outlets and switches in what will be our bedroom and bathroom.

I had an unexpected but necessary trip to the pharmacy that forged its way to the top of my list of things to do.  I learned that yes, you need to have a prescription to get antibiotics in Mexico but, not to worry, the doc is available, right here.  Twenty minutes later, after a thorough interview and cursory exam and with my self-diagnosis confirmed, I paid MXP $132 and walked out with my two scripts filled. Yes, that’s less than seven dollars for a doctor appointment, a series of antibiotics and an analgesic.  I felt better already!

Now it was time to be on our way to Merida.  It was a rainy and muggy day and it was tempting just to go to our hotel and take a nap.  Instead, our major stop was Home Depot where we got keys made and shopped for toilet seats (no luck again- we need round, white, I want slow close.  The only ones we can find are padded.  But, yes that's better than wooden and certainly better than nothing.), light fixtures, stove tops, kitchen for our quarters and exterior paint colors among a dozen other items. These trips and these conversations take a long time.  Both Justin and I have pretty clear ideas of what we need, what we like and there’s always the what we can afford factor.  Labor is super cheap but supplies are still necessary.  And then there is timing.  I can’t select paint for the kitchen until we know what we are doing with lighting and cabinets.  It is fun... and endless.

After a quick stop at our hotel we headed to our favorite spot, La Negrita.  The music was great.  This singer was exceptionally strong.  We had a small dinner and headed home for the evening.