Update!

ok, I think I finally have things working. There are two new posts with photos from our last two weekends. Enjoy - more to come soon!

Renting a Car in Mexico

Well, we took our first trip around the state of Yucatan and we had a great time. We rented a Tsuru with a/c and it drove fine. Paul navigated the streets of Mérida calmly while I was having little internal heart attacks at every intersection all the while smashing my right foot into the imaginary brake pedal on my side of the car. But it was fine, totally fine.

We took off around dinnertime on Friday and made it to Ticul in just over an hour. It was raining a bit so we went a little slow on the roads. I was just beginning to relax about half way there when we saw some police lights ahead. (Mind you by now it is dark.) We drove around a bad accident and kept going, a little slower. About twenty minutes later we passed another bad accident. yikes! Speed is a problem here especially when the roads are wet and it is easy to lose control of your car going slow. We arrived in Ticul about 8:00 I guess and stayed in a hotel on the square.

After some pizza at a place I remembered from last year (the pizza is good but the service is still terrible a year later) we headed back to our room to watch the Tigers hand the World Series to the Cardinals. How disappointing was the series? I feel bad for the Cardinals b/c the press they are going to get isn’t going to be that they won, but more like they beat a team that played worse than the Durham Bulls with their three stars suspended from the game. That’s bad…

The next morning I awoke to find out my dream had come true: The lady at the hotel served us pancakes and fresh fruit salad and said, “You know Ticul is having a shoe fair this morning and all of the shoes are discounted.” I said, “I’m sorry, I haven’t had a full cup of tea yet today, could you repeat that?” Unfortunately for Paul, we had cash and the ENTIRE square was full of shoes. Then I found out my second dream came true:

I knew from a friend in Mérida that shoe sizes are different here than in the U.S. and that a size 9 (I’ll hear you if you snicker) in the States was closer to a 6 here. But there was a chance she was just being polite. So I went to the shoe fair and tried on A LOT of shoes and the man helping me says, “No, no, those are too big, why don’t you try a size 5.” “I’m sorry, but could you say that, like, 100 times while I stand here and listen…” A size 5. (wicked uncontrollable laugh-snort)

Well, I didn’t buy the 5s, they weren’t me, but I did buy a rock-out pair of chunky heels with open toes, black, for dressing up because EVERYONE here wears heels. (Maggi, you know what I’m saying.) Those cuties (size 6) set me back $12.00 and then I bought a pair of fake braided leather flip flops with a lower heel. Those (size 6) cost $7.00. Really they cost less than that but I can only do a 10 to 1 ratio in my head. It was incredible fun. Paul was beside himself, but only until he found the leather belt dealer and bought a really cool embroidered belt. Then he ran into a group that does promotional stuff for Mayan culture – then I had Plenty of time to shop.

Finally it was time to make the 8 mile trek to Santa Elena. We arrived without a hitch and couldn’t believe how much the town had changed since last summer. The Bonilla’s cinderblock house is almost done though I am glad they are keeping the original hut that his father built. It is fabulous, catches the breeze, which keeps it cool.

We chatted with them for a long while and they fed us even though we tried not to let them go to any trouble. Mariano assured us that they happened to have shot a wild turkey in their milpa (farm land) the day before and had a special treat for us. We had wild turkey cooked in a pumpkin-corn sauce. It was fabulous. Doña Fidelina’s food is always yummy.

After the Bonilla house we spent a few minutes with Kristine and Santiago at the Flycatcher Bed and Breakfast and then headed back to Mérida. Paul maneuvered through the city streets once again and we came home and passed out – after I wore my shoes around for a good 15 minutes or so!

I don´t know what you did last weekend...

but Paul and I sat on the beach and drank beer. The weather was warm, the wind was nice and the view was great! We swam in the ocean, walked the beach, ate seafood, saw some flamingoes at a nature reserve, you know, your basic weekend at the end of October. (Are you drooling yet?)

Also, we have friends! Woohoo! Do you know how you can tell? We’re both finally in a picture together! Our friends Guillermo and Kimberly are awesome. Paul met G at (surprise) a bookstore. G’s uncle runs a used bookshop not too far from our apartment. It turns out his girlfriend Kimi is studying English at the university to be an English teacher. So the two of us get together for coffee or ice cream a couple of times a week and I practice my Spanish on her and she practices her English on me. So they decided to take us to Progreso for the day last Saturday and that is how we ended up at the beach. Did I mention they like dogs and G’s aunt has an Estetica Canina! ha!


Let’s face it, you know by now the story isn’t complete without some news about another cute dog. This one really stole my heart, really. Apparently Chico (that’s what I named him) lives at the flamingo reserve (not bad for a homeless pup) and likes to chase the other birds that hang out on the beach – the seagulls and such. He came up to us as we were leaving. Super cute, super polite, and super docile, which convinced Paul that Masha would take to him. But no, we didn’t bring him home if that’s what you’re wondering (but trust me, had we been in our car, he would be ours by now…)

We’re off to Santa Elena this weekend (for real this time). We’ll let you know how our first adventure with a rental car goes… eek!


More soon

better late than never

Finally! Here are a couple of the photos from Independence Day (yes that was over a month ago) but I jut now got it to work. I also posted a new blog earlier so be sure to scroll down to read it. Thanks for all the comments!! Keep them coming. More soon. M




















This last photo was taken at the same vantge point as the first photo taken earlier in the evening. Lots of people, huh!? 

Quick Entry

Here is a quick entry while I am waiting for Paul...

Our TV is broken. Luckily Mexico is not a place where you throw out everything that breaks, you take it to the repair shop a half block from your house. More on this developing story when more news is available. Hopefully it won't take long and we'll have the playoffs back on.

In the mean time we have resumed our Rummy Game! Remember our rummy game? Well, if not I'll bring you up to speed. On our first trip abroad together we started an ongoing rummy match-up. That was in Auguest of 2000. We have played this rummy game all across Europe, China, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Guatemala and now Mexico. As of last night here is the score, remember first one to 100,000 wins: (Wins what ou ask? I have no idea, bragging rights, I guess) Paul: 70,380 Melissa: 70,290

Oh yeah, I don't think I ever mentioned the ant wars. Apparently there are ants at war around our apartment. At night they come into our apartment and fight - to the death. At first I thought maybe it was a mating ritual thing but now I'm not so sure. It seems to me (though I am not an ant war or mating expert) that they usually both die, which made me think it was a war, not mating. To tell you the truth I have no idea what it is but I do know that in the morning I sweep at least 10 ants out the front door... weird.

That's all for now except that weve been invited to party this weekend, in a little town outside of Merida. Oh boy! We might rent a car too and go visit our friends in Santa Elena. Hope that works out! eeek!

a few notes that may or may not add up to a post...

1. I realize that it is probably the same in the U.S. but Halloween is in full force here. There are electric pumpkins for sale everywhere and pumpkin candy baskets also for sale everywhere. The only thing that is weird about this is that Halloween isn’t a holiday in Mexico. (ok, some might say it’s not a holiday in the States, but there is a tradition there somewhere, whether it is linked to the devil isn’t the point right now…). The holiday here is the Day of the Dead, which takes place on October 31, November 1, and 2. I will certainly have a post with photos about the festivities – I have heard they are a must see especially in Yucatán because the people here celebrate the Day of the Dead the way the Mayans do here. More on that in a few weeks. My point is that the lovely “You must buy something for this (non)holiday” has infiltrated here as well. I mean, you’re just not Mexican if you don’t have an electric pumpkin in your yard, yikes!

2. In keeping with the Day of the Dead, there is a type of bread you eat around the Day of the Dead. It is a yummy sweet bread and it is in every panadería here. We bought our first one two days ago. Be looking for a post very similar to the Patria Donut post, we will have photos of the bread soon. It is important to enjoy it now because I am told after the Day of the Dead there will be no more bread like this until next year.


3. This might be funny to SOME of you: So it is sort of a funny thing (not to me of course) to people around here that Paul cooks and I don’t. It clearly makes me less of a woman (and I’m crying, can you tell?) and gives Paul super-awesome points. Anyway, said super-awesome husband locked me, poor, helpless wife, out of the apartment one day. Luckily the Ramirez’s were around. They had just finished lunch and I told them what happened and Señora had an extra key. Phew. So I chatted with them for a while and Señora all the sudden turns to me and says, Paul’s not home? I say, no. She says, he won’t be back for awhile? I say, not for awhile (mind you it is lunchtime). And she says, do you want me to make you some lunch!? So I had to (in Spanish, of course) explain that I CAN ACTUALLY COOK, but Paul enjoys it and is better at it than me so he cooks – not because I am physically unable to light the flame and heat up a quesadilla or two. Geez!

4. I guess it is only fair to mention that said super-awesome husband rescued his helpless wife yesterday. I had gone to my Spanish class and then headed across the street to print out some stuff for my next class. Well, the printing cost more than I thought it would – but I paid for it and left. I was walking to the bus stop and remembered I had bought dinner the night before (the BEST pizza al pastor, BTW) and had 2 pesos to my name (4 50 centavo pieces no less). I didn’t have enough money to get home! Ooops! So I had to call Paul to come get me and pay for my bus ride home! Ok, before you get all sappy about how nice Paul is, he got cash the night before this mishap and didn’t give me any of the money so while it was “super-awesome” he came and got me, it was a bit his fault I got stuck at school completely broke in the first place, just for the record…

5. Well, I have to get back at some thesis work because my/our day ends at 4pm today. Why, you ask? Are you going on a trip? Maybe another booze fest? No, no sillies, Playoffs! (If not interested in Baseball skip to number 6 now.) Paul has a lot of complicated reasons for wanting certain teams to win (something about pitching yaya and getting killed by the Mets, yaya) I have a much easier system: Go Tigers b/c they seem like the underdog to me and let’s face it, they have cool colors. Sorry, but the Oakland caps are super ugly and that bright yellow bill makes the pine tar painfully obvious. I’m just saying… Also for the record, I really wanted to pull for the Dodgers but Paul reminded me that both my Dad and Fer are really far away and I am living in a one room apartment with a Mets fan. Enough said… Sorry! OK, so go Tigers until they play the Mets, then Go Mets! Woohoo.

6. P.S. Very jealous there is no UNC alumni club here for UNC BBall games, and yes, I checked… might need someone to Tivo them…

7. P.P.S. Quickly running out of my tea (without which I may not survive). Let me know if anyone can find it: Yamamotoyama Gen Mai Cha / Brown Rice Tea in tea bags.

ok, Thesis stuff… more soon!

Cubans in Mexico

where to start...

There is a woman in one of Paul's classes who is a little older than we are (most of the students are quite a bit younger), she is really nice and invited us to go to a party with her. All we knew was that the party was in the campo, we would stay for a few hours and come back to Merida that night and she would drive. So off we went!

After an hour on the road we arrived in a small town called Tecoh, which is something like half the distance between Merida and Mayapan. We arrive at this hotel that has been converted into this woman's house. She is (Mexican) having a party for her friend's mother's arrival from Cuba. The relationship between all the people at the party was a little unclear, so bear with me on the details. What we found out later was that the woman, whose house/hotel we were in, was the former municipal president of Cancun. Basically that means she is super PRI and super rich.

Ok, so we arrive, one of the first people to get there and they proceed to stuff us full of amazing Cuban-Mexican food. We had all kinds of stuff including venison tacos, beans and pork, chips and salsa, and much more. We also had way too much to drink!

We had the best mojitos ever, which makes sense because almost everyone at the party was Cuban. (No offense to the great Mojitos Mo' Problems party! those were the second best mojitos we have ever had!) Then we had a drink, I forget the name, have to ask Paul, but it is bascially a really good, really spicy bloody mary, but better. Yummy and dangerous because they weren't skimping on the alcohol if you know what I mean.

Then the DJ arrived and it got a little confusing. Apparently (we found out later) they hired the DJ (who was almost blind) by telling him they were celebrating a quincienera (a girl's 15th birthday). That was sort of funny because I was the closest one to 15 at the party, ha! They thought he'd never know becasue he's blind, which was not cool, but I'm sure they paid him well. So we danced.

Then the mariachis showed up. They were great! Everyone (but us) was signing along with them and everyone was getting very drunk very fast except (luckily!) our ride!

So we had more food, more dancing, and then I knew it was time to go when everyone started getting up and telling dirty jokes. Now, I know A LOT of bad things to say in Spanish (thank you Paul) and I was lost. These jokes were out of this world, and women were telling them too! Things were getting a little crazy and I noticed one of the sons, who was carrying around his 3 month old and 1 year old at the same time and was taking shots of tequila like I have never seen. He would lean back and his mom, yes, mom! poured tequila down his throat for 5-10 seconds. The guy has to be dead - anyway- I hope he put the kids to bed before he started stumbling!

So we left and came back to Merida and passed out! We've been watching the playoffs this weekend. It was great to see the Yankees lose yesterday. Woohoo! More baseball tonight too. That's about it for now.

I'm in my new favorite cafe that has wireless so I can actually work on my computer while sipping tea (my favorite thing to do). It is funny b/c there are bunch of dressed up older men here and me in my tank top. It's hot here!

Much Love

Well that´s just what I get...

for saying that things here were pretty calm - not much to report except the chupacabras.

I was cleaning out one side of our closet the other day and noticed some interesting dirt, shall we say, on the wooden book shelves. Turns out we have termites and they are gross. Even though I was beyond my limit of grossness and whinning a lot about my clothes, some of which had tunnels in them, we only actually lost one book. The book, thankfully, was bought here and it will be easy to replace. My clothes are fine, just dirty and need to be washed.

The problem we then faced was how to tell the senores we have termites and what their solution might be. Luckily, they are wonderful people and had someone fumigate the very next day. We hungout outside for most of the morning and afternoon but were able to sleep in the apartment that night. Phew. They will come back to fumigate once more in a week but we think we are rid of the little buggers.

In good Paul and Melissa form, the books that were once on the shelf are now sprawled out everywhere across the room, which somehow (?) bothers me A LOT more than it bothers Paul. You don´t even want to know how many books he´s bought in a month.

Anyway, although it could have been terrible, our termite problem looks to be a thing of the past. Happy Day. I´m off to meet some chicas for coffee. They are studying English and so we are going to have an intercambio so to speak.

BTW a couple people were asking me how big the city of Merida is: I just read in the newspaper that there are 912,000 people in the city. So, it´s not small.

Melissa