A Busy Week

This trip to Casa de La Lechuzas has been interesting and busy. A lot has been done, but new ideas about future possibilities with the house have us dreaming again. It hasn't been all work, however. We've managed to eat dinner at two new restaurants and have enjoyed Rescoldo's twice. I repeat myself when I say that I could live off their Greek salads and thick, warm, open oven-baked pita. Add a side of tzatziki and roasted red pepper hummus and I'm in heaven. The cooling effect of cucumbers, strained yogurt, mint, dill and Greek olives makes Mediterranean food perfect for this hot climate.  The ever changing gelato flavors are not to be missed -Toasted Coconut, Cranberry Almond, Dulce de Leche, or Honey Lavender. Lavender flavored gelato, you say? Delicious. Now, if we can just find a great Thai and Indian restaurant, we will be happy.

On the work side, we have accomplished a few tasks with many more remaining after we are gone and just before we arrive in September. Painting will be completed, pasta tiles polished to a spit shine and electrical issues will, hopefully, be resolved. The electrician wants to investigate further and probably redo some of the lines. It is nothing major, but annoying things like dimmers not working. The configuration of outlets is confusing and we still have to press one toggle switch after another to turn on the lights that we want. We would like to simplify the operation. It's tough getting older.

Did I mention that it has been a bit warm in Mérida this week? We have enjoyed the pool this trip much more than other times. For once, it is being maintained properly and the heat has made the water temperature comfortable. The pool is fairly large and warms up slowly but seems to cool down quickly after the sun goes down. A swim just before midnight last night was relaxing and refreshing.

We managed to meet a few new friends and neighbors as well as seeing an old friend. Our stay finally coincided with that of these two guys, both extremely nice and comfortable to be around. One is a deep Southerner like me, the other with an unmistakable accent from a land far down under and away. Then, there was a neighbor from around the corner ( a reader of this blog) who stopped by for a nice chat and with whom we hope to have many more conversations. Finally, we met a new Facebook friend with an opinion (his words).

More to come...

My Top Best Ways to Beat The Heat in Mérida

The heat and humidity can be challenging this time of year and it is important to know just how to beat it. This is especially true for those of us who are in town only sporadically and have not yet acclimated. With that thought in mind, I would like to share my favorite ways to cool down and remain at least relatively dry.


1. Sit all day at the computer with a floor fan no more than 3 feet away, pointed directly at you and turned to the high position.  It helps if there is also a ceiling fan directly overhead. If you have to have food, make sure it is cold -celery and carrot sticks with your favorite dip, a nice crisp salad with sliced cucumber. Hint: if you would like to rest your eyes for a few moments, move to the bedroom along with the floor fan, grab a couple of cool cucumber slices and place over your eyes. Relax and think of those cooler days.

    -this works equally well with reading, writing, or cross-stitching.

 Downside: you're stuck inside and not really enjoying the sights of this fabulous city.

2. Get in your car or call an air conditioned cab and head for the mall. Stay there for several hours, window shopping and sipping a cool drink. At least with this option you can kill two birds with one stone - staying cool and getting exercise by walking around the mall. Hint: Wear sensible shoes. When you return home, go back to number 1.

    -you could also try hopping from one air-conditioned restaurant or coffee shop to another, but be aware that staying too long in either of these establishments obligates you to spend money.

    Downside: see number 1.



3. Jump in the pool, if you are so fortunate as to have one, and stay there. Come out only for potty breaks (don't be tempted), grab a cool drink and slide back in. If your skin starts to look like a well-dried prune, recover only in a shady spot. If your space lacks a shady spot, sit on the edge of the pool with a cool drink in one hand and a large umbrella in the other.

    Downside: although more enjoyable than numbers 1 and 2, you're still not taking advantage of the sights (or sites).

4. This is the best and my favorite way to beat the heat. Get yourself down to La Michoacana on Calle 47 y 60, right next door to Comex and just across the street from Parque Santa Ana. It is a small, walk-in store selling cold drinks and frozen treats, but not just ho-hum treats. The frozen fruit bars are, in a word, divine. They come in a variety of tropical fruit flavors , my favorite being lime (I'm saying OMG here). Don't just buy one or two. Take a small, hand-held cooler and fill it up. Keep your freezer stocked with these frozen wonders and keep your cool.

   hint:  enjoy one on your walk back home or to your chosen destination.

Trouble in paradise...

Our blogger friend at Imagine Mérida just reported this. Yes, potential Mérida homeowners, things do go wrong in this delightful slice of heaven in Yucatán.  I just spoke with our property manager and he informed me that the studio air conditioner was not performing well enough for the current guest. I thought this was supposed to be the cooler time of year, when ceiling fans and open doors and windows are enough to stave off drenching sweat. I mean, I spent a week there in July and never once turned it on. I did, however,  spend an inordinate amount of time in the pool. Alan and I were both there in November and used no A/C.  Ruben informed me that the guest complained of dampness and I do know that it has been unusually wet this 'dry' season. The A/C's were all checked in the spring and were in good working order. I thought perhaps it could be a freon (or whatever gas they now use) leak. He tells me that the repairman took the unit to be repaired. Let's hope that it is repairable!

I haven't received the bill for this yet, but I can tell you that normally the costs of repair in Mérida are considerably less expensive than back at home. That is some consolation because the frequent breakdown of any electronic device in this heat and humidity can be frustrating.

Another consolation. The guest pays for any electricity over and above a set usage that is considered adequate. This is a policy that many rental casas use and one that we adopted after a particularly nasty electric charge by another guest.

The moral of this story? Go with the flow, expect the unexpected, and enjoy your slice of heaven.

photoArt by John Bradshaw

Spring Has Sprung, Fall Has Fell...

Winter's coming, and it's cold as .... usual. I saw a tee shirt with that logo and I wish I had it! Actually, we've had no fall to fell, so far, in Virginia. The high today was 58F with a low of 45F expected. That is not all that cold, but it sure feels like winter to me. If this keeps up, 90F in Mérida will feel very nice. The weather is consistently fickle in southeastern Virginia (even without climate change) and we occasionally have a year with what seems like only two seasons - hot and cold. One thing we've had in common with Mérida this year is heat and humidity. It's almost as if we have been living in a cloud for the past few weeks. Hurricane Irene brought over 10 inches of rain and it seems as if it hasn't stopped.

Speaking of climate change; we no longer refer to it as global warming - too Al Gore or too scary for many people?

Here is an excerpt from a DC Poetry Slam piece by "2Deep the Poetess."

...Enchanted by the thought that she [Mother Nature] will

images from Google

always be there for you
Unfortunately
There will be no lullabies to calves
Or education to angel fish
as the schools are empty below the sea
Which is rising,
Slowly
Turning continents into Stationary
Titanics
As they too
Never saw the iceberg
Because it was rising at their ankles...

--From Mother's Nature, by "2Deep the Poetess"