Wednesday, 26 January 2022: Celestún

 

Cousin Mike and Michelle got up early and had already finished at least one walk on the beach before I started making breakfast.  I feel as if I’ve perfected my Hueves Montado so I was happy to serve that to our guests.   Cousin Mike was very interested in taking a “tricey” to town as he’d never ridden in the three-wheeled motorcycles.  

Justin and I were preoccupied a bit with Santos and planning to expand the bathroom in the family suite and add a kitchen there.  Ivan came to connect the new solar water heater and the new internet guy came at 1:00 to install his new tower.  Aholi came for massages at 3:00pm and by then we were all ready for her healing hands.

   

Santos prepped the location on the roof for the installation of the new water heater while Abraham replaced the screen in the door to the guest kitchen where the cats had made themselves welcome.  Damn cats!

Dinner of mushroôm risotto, spinach, pear,  blue cheese and walnut salad.  Cousin Mike travels with a large bag of candy that he doles out to hotel cleaners, etc.  (Yes, really candy.  He may travel with other “Candy” or at least gummies, but this is the real stuff with real sugar.). This year he also had Gihadelli Triple chocolate brownie mixes he shared with hotel staff.  He had two left over and since we are the hotel of the day and we are at the end of his trip, he left two packages on the bar.  I thought that would make the perfect accompaniment to our meal and then I saw a recipe on the back of the box for a Sangria Brownie Torte.  After adding red wine to the mix and of course I added nuts, that was in the oven.  Next step macerating strawberries,  black berries, raspberries and blue berries in red wine... great dessert...even sans whipped cream.

Abraham wrote before we headed home that the electricity was wonky.  Of course, no electricity means we can’t run the pump for water.  Is it just the way things are that that always happens when you have company?  Grrr...the electricity came back on but not on the oven.  What?  We have the refrigerators and the oven connected with fancy big-ole surge protectors.  Why isn’t my oven working?  Thankfully, I was able to use the new oven in the guest kitchen but that is not the long-term answer.  

Tuesday, 25 January 2022: Dzilbutun

Somewhere in the late morning,  we all piled in the car and headed to Celestún..  Our first stop was lunch at Alma Lima where I enjoyed huevos mottelenos...  Michelle had a salmon bagel.  Cousin Mike and Justin had a Spanish breakfast feast.  

Next stop...the ruins at Dzibilchaltun.  We were here a few years ago with Jordan and Erich.  They are legitimate ruins and really convenient for a quick day trip.  Dzibilchaltun was a large settlement and still occupied when the Spanish arrived during the 1500s. Archaeologists estimate there were as many as 200,000 inhabitants and 8,400 buildings during its hey day (artifacts date back to 700 – 800 A.D.)

Dzibilchaltun, a modern Mayan name meaning “writing on flat stones,” doesn’t have huge pyramids like Chichen Itza or Uxmal; it is more intimate.  Once a wealthy port and center of Mayan coastal trade the settlement was very active when the Spanish arrived.  Visitors will find Franciscan chapel in the middle of the Mayan ruins. Go figure!

  

After a quick stop at the grocery store, we were on our way home.  

We arrived back in Celestun in time to drop off our luggage and head to dinner at Los Pampanos to enjoy the beach and then sunset.

Monday, 24 January 2022: centro in Merida

Cousin Mike and his daughter Michelle landed in Merida yesterday.  Michelle started her morning in St Louis while Cousin Mike is ending his annual month-long winter trip to Mexico.  This year he spent most of the first three weeks in Oaxaca an he’ll round out his stay between Merida and Celestún.  This is Michelle’s second trip to Mexico; she met her dad in San Miguel de Allende a few years ago.  We travelled with Cousin Mike five years ago on our first trip down; we were all in Laredo, San Luis Potosi, Monterey and San Miguel together...that seems like forever ago.  

Mike wanted to watch the game so after checking, we went to La Padilla, a way too touristy, way too expensive semi-sports bar in the Centro of Merida. We were able to watch a bit of the game while we had dinner and began to get reacquainted.  The Chiefs were the only home team that won this weekend... what a show.  All four games in this divisional round were won, or last, in the last seconds.  One went into overtime. All I know is that since the Packers are out, I am too.  

Of course, now we get all the speculation about Aaron Rogers’ future... with the Packers?  With a new team?  Retirement?  And, of course, they are already talking about the draft which is more than three months away.  I think I’ll take a break.  

Today we headed first to San Benito market.  Justin and I were looking for new collars and lead clips for the dogs; Cousin Mike and Michelle just needed to look.  It is quite an experience.  I remember that last time we were here, at New Years, in was uncannily deserted.  Today it was the bustling souk that I’ve learned to expect.  We wandered down the aisles in the fish stalls reminiscing of Tskiji Market in Tokyo.  We watched a cat who should have had a hat out like a busker.  Can a cat be a busker?  She sure did capture an audience.  

Lunch at Museo de la Gastronomical Yucatan — yummy!  Traditional, delicious Yucatan food, open courtyard, attentive staff.  After a leisurely stroll through the centro on our way back to our hotel, we were all ready for a siesta.

Cousin Mike and Justin had plenty of time this evening to solve the problems of the world.  Local beer is required for this activity and our room provided the perfect balcony location.  Michelle had a Zoom meeting from 5:30-8:30 pm for the programming class she is taking.  I watched the to allow the boys their alone time. 

Saturday, 22 January 2022: Boston’s in Merida

Today is Lisa’s birthday.  If we met is second grade, that means I have been honoring this day for about 57 years!!! I might need to let that sink in.

Materials were delivered yesterday and this morning Albanil (stone mason) Santos got busy building the base where the tanaco will rest on the roof.  Ivan will install the new solar hot water heater as the next step.  With construction underway, we set off to Merida to meet with Sergio to select granite for the bathroom in the owners quarters and in the family suite...our next improvement projects.  

   

My next project, and I hope it will count as improvement, I’ve decided if Katherine and Monica can paint, so can I.  Mine may be more of a copy, paint by numbers deal, but I think I can do this.  I stopped at a local art supply store to buy paint, brushes, a pallets and some pallet knives.  I have identified a few subjects and potential locations in our house...here we go.  (Please don’t let me mess this up.)

After check in at our hotel, Justin could get back to the real business of our trip to Merida: football.  He watched most of the first game in our hotel room and then surprise, surprise, we headed to Boston for the packers game vs. 49er’s in the divisional round.  

Lambeau Field at kickoff it was 13’; they said it felt like 2’.   The temp dropped a bit during the game and there were even a few flurries.  It was nice and warm here in Merida.  

“When it is so cold outside that you can’t feel your fingers or toes, that’s when you find out who really wants to play football.”  Packer linebacker DeVondre Campbell

Jordan and Erich were at the game to witness first hand, the absolute meltdown of the Packers special teams unit and the excelling of the 49ers comparable group.  It was so sad...so sad.  So now, just like that...one and done...football season is over for us.

Wednesday, 19 January 2022: Casa Colibri

I try to work when workers are here. Then I can have a slower day when it’s just us.  Magui, our housekeeper, arrived about 8am.  Ivan strolled in mid morning; he is our plumber/electrician.  There is always something he needs to work on.  Jose Luis came by at 1:00pm to give us his sales pitch for new internet.   Antonio, our carpenter, is making bedside tables.  He arrived about 2pm and somewhere a new solar hot water heater was delivered.  Busy day at our house.

    

Saturday, 16 January 2022: Hotel Los Aluxes, Merida

It’s Wild Card weekend so that means football.  The Packers earned their bye but, as expected, Justin still wanted to see the other teams as they duke it out.  T

hat means Mérida for us.  First stop, Gran Mercado Hogar!  This is the mother store of all things plastic.  We’d been looking for this store as we head into Merida but couldn’t fed it.  We thought perhaps they’d closed during the pandemic.  Well, yesterday, there it was.  Perhaps the trees had matured and blocked our view...who knows, but there it was.  Kitchen stuff, garden stuff, all kinds of treasures.  We had a cart full by the time we were done and back on our way.

Then to Home Depot to try to sort out the solar hot water debacle.  Finally to our hotel for football.  Wait.  What do you mean the toilet doesn’t work?  They came up with a plunger and made some noises in the bathroom.  I think the guy used a screwdriver in place of a “snake.”  Well, now we move to a different room.  It is all good.  

In between games, we ventured out because we thought we heard a band downstairs.  Turned out, it was at a restaurant next door.  The music certainly wasn’t Jesus and Alina — “boy band” took on a whole new meaning.  An added bonus was that as I enjoyed my HUGE margarita, the music got better.  With caution to the wind we ordered a queso dip and nachos.  Justin said this dinner would have done a Wisconsin boy proud.  

       

In our conversations with Monica, she told us to check out Volaris airlines for domestic flights. Previously I had looked for flights to Oaxaca and found only options that had lengthy layovers in Mexico City.  Well, Volaris not only has non-stop flights but they also have a 40% sale going on right now.  So, texts are flying fast and furiously between Justin and Cousin Mike and between Justin and Bill.  We need to make decisions and we need to move out now!  Maybe we really will get back to Justin and Paula traveling.