Kahanek...Mayan in the Yucatan

Living in South Texas, everybody knows the name Kahanek is "Bohemian". No questions there. In other parts of the US, Terry and I often get asked if it is Hawaiian. I can see how you might think that...I always kinda liked the idea of being married to a Bohemian...but, being married to a Hawaiian sounds pretty exotic. Well, never thought anybody would ask if we're Mayan! But, while in the Yucatan nobody has trouble pronouncing our last name...in the US a lot of times people stumble around when trying to pronounce it. The reason being - here, they associate it with Mayan words. And we have been asked more than once if we are Mayan. I want to say:"Go ask the 6-year old kid next door". Let me tell you - there isn't a kid in all of Merida that would mistake us for anything but American. I don't know how they know, but they do and the first word out of their mouth is always "HELL-o"...with the accent on the "hell". (they all know the word "hello".....kinda like us and "adios").

While dealing with the Notaria Publica (lawyer/abogado specialized in real estate) during the house thing, we had a conversation where Enna was talking about the seller's email name: mondochuck....Terry and I always forgot and called him "Chuck", but his name was Jim. Anyway, Enna laughed at his name and said in Mayan "chuck" or "chuc" meant to dunk...as in dunk your pastry into your coffee. I thought about all this early this morning because I had postres and coffee and did a little "chucing" ...like this -

Chucing (chooking)

 Feeling pretty chipper this morning---another mission accomplished! Hot water heater installed, gas tanque installed, gas line installed, stove arrived, gas installed to stove, and stove working. Thank you, Paulino. You are such a gem! And he's coming back manana to replace 3 drain covers that have this nifty little thing that makes it so insects can't crawl up from the drains....so no more scorpions, and I never even mentioned the huge spider in the shower!

Today, I have to go back out to the store where I bought the stove and try to get another little black thingy that covers the burner as one was missing. This should be a really good Spanish conversation. Shoot! I don't even know what you call it in English...how the hell do I say "black thingy" in Spanish??? Will be time for another game of charades.

Also, there was a gas line connector that wasn't in the stove box. When Paulino arrived he told me that "Boxito" have one...walk to Boxito. I walked the 3-4 blocks to Boxito (another interesting conversation) and bought one. While Paulino was working he left at some point and was gone about 20 minutes...never said why. Well, after he left I saw where the connector I bought wasn't the one installed behind the stove. He had left to go get the one he needed. I think he didn't tell me because he didn't won't to hurt my feelings.

It was back to work for Terry yesterday. He had a very good day and is looking forward to the project he will be working on. So that makes me happy too. Life is good! and I am feeling especially blessed today!

Making Progress....and Que Supresa - It's Ernesto! and Dean, Rog & Suzi!

I'm re-thinking the whole "Si,....manana, manana" thing about Mexico. Things have been moving rather quickly and smoothly around here (knock on madera). So far, have gotten garbage pick-up lined up...I think. They were supposed to come last night, but my trash is still outside.  I noticed everybody else's is still outside as well. Refrigerator - check. Set up water bills - check. Set up electricity bills - pending. Blacksmith work - in progress. Stove - bought yesterday and s/b delivered today. Bought sofa - scheduled for delivery Thursday. Bought Casa Kahanek sign - ready next week. Lined up "Yesenia" to check on the house twice per month while we are not here.The albanil (cement craftsman) came yesterday and made the little shelf for the water heater. Paulino will be back today to install the water heater, gas tanque, and gas line. Paulino is synomonous with gas tanque....he has a history of bailing us out when it comes to gas tanques.

The albanil using cement and re-bar

The albanil's cool truck



Yesterday I browsed around some furniture places and found a couple of possibilities for dining tables/chairs at an antique shop. And, they have free delivery! Furniture is actually very hard to find around here...with any quality at a decent price.
When I got off the bus yesterday from my trek out to buy the stove, I headed over to the Gran Plaza with a bottle of water to cool off. I was just sitting there when I looked up and there he was: ERNESTO! I went over and talked with him. Ironically, enough, I had just texted Terry earlier and told him I thought I may have seen Ernesto on Friday getting into a combi. But when I asked Ernesto about it he said it couldn't have been him. He recognized me immediately and referred to me as "his madre", just like last year. The first thing he asked me about was "his hermana" Kimberly. They had met last year as well. Then, of course, he asked about Terry. I asked him about the little bar that Terry and I knew had closed in Progreso. He had worked there last year on cruise days. He said the owners had gotten into some "bad trouble" and they shut it down. I didn't ask any questions. We chatted for awhile - he said business was slow, family life wasn't so good, and he missed his kids. He really didn't look well. He tried to get me to go to a "local bar" with him and have a beer. I declined. Then, he hit me up for 200 pesos - said he wanted to go see his family. I'm smarter than that and said "no". I finally gave in and gave him 100 pesos before hugging him and telling him "hasta pronto". Damn Mayan!!!...he got to me again!!!!
I've decided my Spanish really hasn't improved as much as I wished it had - the difference is that I just don't care if I speak in the correct syntax any longer. I'm sure I say some pretty crazy things sometimes, but I just can't care. It's a necessity in order to get things accomplished...gotta get over that shyness shit. Yesterday while trying to buy the stove, go through the Mexican paperwork (always) and and discuss delivery, I would revert mid-sentence to talking in English. I guess that is Spanglsih, right? My neighbors get friendlier and friendlier with me each day --- they ask me questions and have talked about me being the nuevo vecino (new neighbor).
This morning I woke up early and Terry and I chatted online while he was eating breakfast. I have  started checking the Galveston Daily News and the Houston Barnacle for news. I think it is part of my way of trying to integrate myself back into USA living. Afterwards, I got the idea to listen to Huston's one and only classic rock station "The Eagle"....Dean, Rog and Suzi. I sent Suzi a FB message to let her know I was down here listening online. All of a sudden I heard them talking about Terry and me on the radio...live....and here I am down in Merida. Chatting with my husband and hearing Suzi's voice made my morning!

Now, I'm just waiting for Paulino and the stove delivery guys to make my afternoon!

Just Ramblings About This and That

Now that I am here at KASA KAHANEK without Terry it seems like I have a lot of time to reflect on various things that have happened over the last few weeks. Thoughts drift in and out of my mind. Here are a few of the things I think about:

(1) CLAVE NO.
I think about the day Terry emailed Adrianna at Monex Mx. to tell her to transfer money from Monex to our Mexican bank account. The house was bought and we were ready to buy stuff...that's what you do when you buy a house. She had told us prior that all it took was an email. Sounded easy until she emailed Terry back and said in order to do it, we needed a CLAVE no. What the heck was a CLAVE no. Adriana said it was something we could get from the bank. This lead to a string of unsuccessul attempts to reach the bank by phone. We ended up walking all the way up to Paseo to a branch bank location and finally found somebody to look up our account and give us our CLAVE no. Terry and I discussed how we have developed a whole new appreciation for anybody in the US that didn't speak English trying to open a bank account. We said "Muchas Gracias" so many times to the bank clerk that helped us, I'm sure he wanted to throw something at us....and all with that stupid tone of voice we use when we are excited, grateful, and speaking Spanish.

(2) CUAAAANNNDOOO
Terry made fun of me more than once since our return from Belize over my use of the word "CUANDO", or as I pronounced it...."CUAAAAANNNNNNDOOOO" (5 octaves higher than normal) when I walked up to the ADO bus station ticket window and didn't have my question rehearsed as I was going to ask the guy behind the ticket counter "When is the next bus leaving for Merida?". I was trying to buy time, and formulate my question but CUAAAAANNNNDOOO is all I could get out. The young Mexican man behind the counter replied with a grin: "I speak English."


(3) TERRY'S LAST DAY
The day of our anniversary we really wanted to make it special yet it was Terry's last day in Merida as well. He had his list of things he wanted to get accomplished, I had my list of things I wanted him to get accomplished, and then there's reality. We were feeling some tension yet we were determined to not let it get the best of us. Things went good for the most part. And the last two things on our list were to go out to the north part of town and buy the sofa we had looked at previously, and pick up the patio set that was at Jim's house (the gentleman we bought the house from). All went well until we were waiting for the bus to take us out north. It was HOT! And the bus was taking a long time to arrive. Terry crossed the street to stand in the shade while I stood where the bus picks up. I was so scared I was gonna look up and he was going to be gone. He was hot, tired, and just wanted to go home. Thank goodness he hung in there and thank goodness they accepted my brand new, never used Mexican check card. We then had one hurdle left - pick up the wrought iron patio table and 4 chairs at Jim's. He had said it was no problem - he would just call his taxi friend that had a big taxi...it would fit. Wasn't gonna happen!!! So our last resort was to walk the 3 blocks (tired and hot) to Mejorado Parque and hope that the truck guys were hanging up there and wanted a late afternoon haul to La Ermita. Sergio was our godsend! Once we loaded up he and Terry started conversing in Spanish...most of it was way beyond my comprehension. Sergio was very honest about the foreigners he likes and dislikes....he liked Terry a lot! He said many of them are too bossy, and many of them stick to their own kind and aren't friendly. We ended up having a wonderful meal of shrimp with vergetables and rice with a bottle of wine sitting on the back terrace in our new to us patio furniture. It was an evening I will NEVER forget.

(4) WILBER THE HERRERO
And what are the odds of stumbling across the blacksmith's shop only to find out he's the same blacksmith that did the existing work that you are trying to match. So excited about his work! Wilber says his wife is the boss and he just works for her.

(5) TAXI BICICLETA
One afternoon we took a taxi from the house on Calle 70 over to the Chedraui. It was the day we cleaned up the house on Calle 70, locked the front grill, and threw the keys into the foyer before closing the door. Adios to Calle 70 and Hola to Calle 64A (pronounced AHHH). I was tugging around my roll-around luggage. While Terry was in the Chedraui I sat outside with my luggage. When Terry came out with several bags of groceries we decided to get a bicycle taxi the 8 or so blocks to the house. We had no idea it was more than he could really pedal!!! He only had one bicycle gear and it took all he had to pedal...at times we were barely moving. At one point Terry and I both leaned forward to help him out - literally. I was willing to get out and walk but Terry wouldn't let me. He explained it was best to let him finish his job. That was ok until we got to the house and he charged us something less than 10 pesos....considerably less than a dollar. Terry gave him 40 pesos!!! I don't know what he may have done with the money, but I hope he realized he truly deserved it. He never complained although he was sweating and very tired. It pains me to even write this. I will n6)evr forget him, and I will NEVER overload a bicycle taxi again!

(6) LLUVIA Y MI FAMILIA
Right now I'm sitting on the front porch and it is about to rain. It rained yesterday afternoon as well. Not all bad as I learned the drains are draining well, no leaks anywhere, and our house sits well up on the street that drains good. All day long activities have been going on across the street - it's a fundraiser for La Ermita Church. They just played a Michael Jackson song over the loudspeaker! I went and checked it out earlier in the day - lots of families, kids, clowns, food, and speakers. I would say it was like a Catholic Church bazaar in the US except they do NOT serve cerveza. I bought a taco and ate my first kibi from a food booth. I've wanted to try a kibi for quite some time, but I wanted to make sure they were fresh. These today were being made as I watched. Kibis are a patty of bulgar wheat and other stuff that are deep-fried then served with fresh onion and pickled onion. Although it wasn't much bigger around than a 50-cent piece it was very filling. My 'opinion - so/so. My favorite part of the day was seeing family time in Mexico - family is everything here in Merida. It's very beautiful. That being said - I do miss my family. Missing Terry. Missing friends. But I think I'll get a lot done within the next two weeks and it makes it exciting.

This is Jim playing the pipe organ at his colonial house - the high ceilings and thick walls make the sound really awesome!

CASA KAHANEK

CASA KAHANEK ----  Calle 64A, La Ermita, Merida

It's Saturday morning early (before 7) and I have been up drinking coffee since 5:30. Things get going early around here to make time for the 2-5 afternoon siesta time when every thing comes to a halt because of the heat.

Well, I'm no longer staying at Calle 70 and Terry flew back to Texas on Thursday morning. Let me explain - it is going to sound like it was a rash decision, but it really wasn't. We had been looking and contemplating buying a house here in Merida for quite some time.  We went back and forth between city vs. the beach/close to the beach, but logistics won out. We bought a house in the barrio of La Ermita in Merida Centro right across from the beautiful church, botanical gardens, and Parque de La Ermita. It is at the beginning of the brick street that leads to one of the sets of arches that are so historical and often seen in pictures. If location is really the main reason for buying a house - then we struck gold. I will take some pictures and post them soon....I no longer have the blistering fast CableMas service I had at Calle 70. Now I have to be on the front porch and I get my internet service "gratis" from La Ermita Parque. Just a couple of additional things about the location --- ironically, it is only a couple of blocks south from where we rented last year, and we actually watched the beginning of the renovation of the house at that time. La Ermita Parque is where we came everyday last year to get internet. Also, we have been told over and over since buying that a novela was filmed in La Ermita, and it is scheduled to start airing soon....even supposed to air in the US. All the Mexicans around here think it is a really big deal and they say we will be "famosa". I doubt that, and what I really hope is that it doesn't bring traffic down here since the quiet street is what we like.
We had made a "low-ball" offer (guys, you know Terry!) after seeing the interior of the house once, and the first offer was accepted with the words: "I was hoping for more money, but I accept your offer." We bought the house from an American pipe-organ playing gentleman that has been living in Merida in an old, magnificent colonial house for 5 years.

We shook hands via the internet and went to see an abogado the next day to start paperwork. We thought there would be a purchase contract, earnest money, etc., but we all agreed "what's the use?". A day for closing was set and then there was some panic on moving money, wiring it to Mexico,  and going from dollars to pesos. But, exchange rates have worked in everybody's favor and everybody is happy. Was a bit trying when the seller forgot to bring keys to the cloasing, and we were reading over the trust agreement and the deed all in Spanish!
What next? Moving day. That involved 2 backpacks and a roll-around bag so we sprang for a taxi for that. Presently, we have no water heater, no gas tanque, and no gas line installed, and we are waiting to get the mini-split a/c until later. The first thing we bought was a mattress and bedframe.

Have you ever tried to move furniture w/o having wheels? We got that to the house on top of El Puma's motorcycle taxi...I'm NOT making this up! The refrigerator was delivered to us in a real truck. We bought patio furniture from the seller, and flagged down "Sergio" at Mejorado Park. He charges 400 pesos to use his truck, but Terry got him down to 300 pesos. We really wanted to have a table and chairs for our 25th Wedding Anniversary dinner...that was Wednesday, May 23rd. Terry HAD to fly back to Houston for work so he left out at 7:15am on Thursday. Me....I'm here for awhile to get things done to the house. A sofa is to be delivered on Thursday, and Monday "Paulino" is coming to take care of the water heater, gas line, and gas tanque (those things continue to haunt me!). Before Terry left we walked by a blacksmith shop and talked with him about adding some additional grillwork/protectors to the front patio area and front window of the house. Come to find out - he was the blacksmith that did the existing work so he will be able to match it all perfectly. "Wilber" is so sweet and talented, and it is amazing what he is going to do for us. I'm still trying to get bills transferred over to us...this is a BIG DEAL in Mexico! And, I accidentally found a place that is going to make a "CASA KAHANEK" sign for us.
Needless to say - my Spanish has improved tremendously out of shear necessity. It's been fun mixed in with some frustration. Well, I say that but while talking with the young couple (in Spanish) about the sign, their 4 yr. old boy looked up at me and smiled and said "Hello!". He knew I was a Gringa!
Last night the electricity went off (not uncommon here!) and it was HOT; there was a 6 cm long scorpion in the shower. But, besides missing my husband (alot!), things are muy bueno!

A big "Congratulations" to Joseph (my nephew) and Chelsea...they are getting married today and I really regret missing their day. My wishes for them is that getting married on Memorial Day weekend will bring them the same good luck and happiness that it has brought Terry and me.

Also, "HaPPY BiRthDay" to my sweet little granddaughter "Maggie". She turns 6 today.

Just Some More Gringos in Belize

It's hard to know even where to start so we decided to break this trip report up between segments....

GETTING THERE WAS HALF THE FUN

Corozal

We were scheduled to leave out at 9:00pm on Tuesday night from the CAME bus station going from Merida to Corozal Belize. Sure enough...at 9pm the bus pulled out of the terminal with about 20-25 Mexicans onboard, a handful of Asians, and 2 Gringoes. We both had our backpacks, some snacks for the road, an adventurous spirit, and were pretty pumped up. We willed ourselves to get some sleep on the trip. About 2:00am the bus stopped at the Mexico/Belize border crossing....just a few miles from Chetumal, Mx. We had to get off the bus and go through customs to exit Mexico...we bribed the customs agent with 400 pesos so we could keep our tourist visa and not get a new one when we re-entered....that would have cost us about 800 pesos...pretty good deal...everyone happy...got back on the bus, crossed the border, stopped, had to get off the bus again and get all our luggage (2 backpacks, haha), and clear Belize Customs & Immigration....no problems & no bribes here....got back on the bus and went about 10 miles to Corozal...this was at about 3:00am...the driver stops the bus at this intersection and hollers out: "COROZAL!" We thought some of the 20+ people on the bus would be getting out with us...wrong...just the 2 Gringoes on board. We got off the bus and were  standing looking at the bus station in Corozal...we had pictured it staying open 24 hours...with restrooms....coffee....but nope, it was closed and vacant...felt a small pang of panic but we sat down at some benches out front and tried to take a nap. Along came this guy that looked like he was ready to take our money and cut us into little chunks for fish bait...haha...he tried to make some "friendly" conversation, but Terry cut him off and told him we were waiting on someone and they would be arriving any minute. Terry was trying to tell him to get lost before he and his imaginary friend had to kick his ass...it worked and he left! The bus station finally opened up around what we thought was 4:00am but we quickly learned that it was only 3:00am there...Belize no recognize daylight savings...got more sleep on these nice soft "hardwood" benches...there were a couple of black Belizean guys there and they where looking out for us...they even found a country/western music radio station to play for us while we slept...haha. one of them finally woke us up around 5:00am and said there was some fresh coffee and tamales around the corner and that we better get to water taxi early because it can get crowded and told us how to get there...so we did...talked to several people along the way and listened to their stories...very kewl!



Corozal Water Taxi

 The boat WAS very crowded but we had got there early and sat in the very back where we knew we would have a comfy ride...threw our backpacks down by some milk crates that where in front of us and somewhere along the trip Terry felt his backpack kinda moving around and saw some funny looking feet sticking out of one of the milk crates...there where chickens in the crates....haha. it took us about 2 hours to get over to San Pedro, Ambergris Caye where Larry & JoJo where there waiting on us in the golf cart...that was neat. They came in the day before and already rented a golf cart and had done quite a bit of looking around....they showed us around a little...we stopped and got a couple of beers then we headed to Pedro's Inn where we checked in, changed into swim suits and off we went. Our hotel was nothing to really speak of...just a bed, A/C, hot shower and TV.

Pedro's

We probably spent about 2 waking hours in the room and that was in the mornings waiting on the coffee to get ready. L & J's hotel was much nicer...they had an ocean view room where you could just walk out the back door onto the veranda, then down a couple of steps right out onto the beach and into the Caribbean sea...really convenient..they had a full kitchen and refrig...so we loaded it up with beer and rum....haha. We were pretty jet lagged so we just spent the afternoon laying around on THEIR beach sleeping, visiting and drinking beer....sounds familiar...lol. Went our for a seafood dinner at the Reef.

After that we forgot what day it was.

PLANNING AN UNCONVENTIONAL FISHING TRIP

The next morning we went to J&L's hotel for breakfast. While the four of us were having a scrumptious breakfast and discussing some of the things that were definites on our list of things to do while in Belize the conversation turned to fishing. A gentleman sitting next to us by the name of Doyle overheard us and said he wasn't really a fishing guide and neither was his friend, but his friend the bartender was a local and knew the waters well, and they would be happy to take the four of us out, and pretty much let us decide what we wanted to fish for and where. Hmmmmmmm.....do we venture off the path again? Of course. We made plans to meet Doyle and Oli at the Banana Beach dock the next morning at 8am. We spent the rest of the day just hanging out and we truly did get some R&R in. Larry fished from the docks while the rest of us watched. We had our first taste of pupusas and some unbelievable seafood burritos at a little place downtown called Warugama's.....or something like that. Also met a beautiful young couple, Freddy and Jess, from Round Rock, Tx. I just knew they were going to be friends of Kate's! She really needs to meet them.

Freddy and Jess from Round Rock, Tx

AN UNCONVENTIONAL FISHING TRIP

The next day we met up with the bartender/fishing guide we met...just as planned. Oli was the sweetest, most patient bartender/fishing guide ever. Terry and Larry caught some barracudas and all of us caught some snappers...We were thrilled with the amount of time we spent trolling for barracudas, then finished off the trip anchored and fishing for snapper until we used up all the bait. We gave some of the fish to the guys, and took some of the fish to a restaurant for dinner where they cooked it up 4 different ways...wow...best fish we could ever remember eating.

Bartender/fishing guide Oli & Terry

Oli & Larry

YOU-WHO...WHERE ARE YOU?

You-Who....where are you?

Each morning Terry and I would get up and go for a walk, get a cup of coffee, then start our day. On our second morning in San Pedro, we stepped out of Pedro's Hotel and the cutest little mutt dog that looked to have at least some retriever/lab or something in him, immediately started walking with us...I mean, like he went walking with us every day. He stayed right next to us until we got down to the beachfront then he ventured out somewhat. He took a little side trip into one of the nicer hotel open-air dining areas so we called him to come back. At the spur of the moment we named him "You-Who". You-Who was cool...he went into the water to take his morning dump as if he knew it wasn't cool to poop in the white beach sand. You-Who followed us down the beach and into one of the streets of San Pedro. He kept walking with us until we came across about 5-6 unsavory dog characters. That's when You-Who got a little skiddish. He turned back and we turned around once to see him following behind us, but about a half-block away. That was the last we saw of You-Who. Well, until a couple of days later when we were at the beach at Joanne and Larry's hotel...which was at least a mile farther south from our hotel and not on our regular beach walk path at all. You-Who comes running up to our lounge chairs just as happy to see us as if he had good sense!!! He hung around long enough to let us know he was ok then off he went. Joanne spotted You-Who again a couple of days later while she was out walking.
Like I always say....it's a small world. 
CAYE CAULKER

One day we took a water taxi over to Caye Caulker and spent the day over there sight seeing and swimming in the "Split"...I say swimming, more like sitting drinking beer and margaritas in the water. Caye Caulker is very small and quaint and somewhat of an old hippie/young backpackers' haven. The room and board is cheaper....and the best word to describe it is "QUAINT". Terry: "While we were waiting to get on the water taxi to go back to San Pedro, Larry and I got into a basketball game with two little boys, maybe about 8 and 11 years old...that was really funny...2 old white men about half cocked, but we held our own..thank goodness the taxi finally came...lol.

IT'S A SMALL WORLD
While cruising the south end of the island in the golf cart one afternoon we stopped off at a place called Joe's Cantina. It had a Texas motif and we were curious. We met Joe and talked with him for quite a while. He has made Belize his home for several years now, but had lived in League City and worked for Dow in his previous life.

This was the same afternoon Joanne had a little too many panty rippas and the saying became: "Well, butter my butt and call me biscuit!!!"

One night we ended up at a bar called Wayo's....it was like a Texas Family Reunion. We met several people from Texas. Terry realized that he had met two of the guys some years back while hanging with his ol' friend Kyle in Brenham, and J&L found out that one of them was a neighbor to some of their friends. They had also mentioned fishing with Kelly out of POC. They invited us to come to a bar named Fido's the following night to hear Dennis Wolfe...he wrote "Just Another Gringo in Belize" for Jerry Jeff Walker. We also got a look at JJW's house on San Pedro while cruising down south in the golf cart. Joanne told Dennis Wolfe about our celebration of 25 years of wedding bliss...almost....and he congratulated us over the mic and asked us if we wanted to hear a song...Terry said "Lady In Red"....he said they didn't know it, but that didn't stop him from playing and singing it...he did so perfectly, everyone got out and danced with us....was a very touching moment! We bought a couple of his CD's from him and talked with them for awhile...

We also were approached by a couple that asked us if we lived at Harborwalk. Both of us had a deer in the headlights look, I'm sure. They were in Belize chartering a sailboat. They had spent some time at HW on a sailboat across from us on D-dock. Each of us had a dim recollection of meeting and talking with them in the past. I was very surprised to think they could recognize us since we were so far away from our normal surroundings. ...I think there is a lesson to be learned here somewhere...

ADIOS...ALMOST

$40/night view from Ruby's

You know us, on the day we where supposed to leave, we checked out of Pedro's and instead of going and getting on the water taxi and going home, we checked into a little hotel right on the beach in the middle of San Pedro called Ruby's...this place has some history....again, very quaint and we fell in love with Ruby's...we upgraded big time, I'm talking splurged...got the ocean front 3rd floor penthouse suit with a three speed fan and running hot water for a whooping $40US/night...haha...this is where we will go if we go back...a super kewl place...much more personality than Pedro's....haha...of course it was $5 more per night so what do you expect?

JUST CRUISING

We spent a couple of days in the trip somewhere cruising the island. One day we made the trip south, and one day we made the trip to the north of San Pedro. This made for some interesting pub crawling, and stopping in the middle of nowhere to grab a beer or two. One of our favorite bars while pub crawling north was a bar called Palapa's.

Terry feeding the tarpon @ Sunset Grill

ADIOS
Next morning we got up early and caught the water taxi back to Chetumal, Mexico...much better way to go than the Corozal taxi...took about 80 minutes...got a bus ticket back to Merida and about 6 hrs later we were sitting in our rent house! It was nice to see parts of Mexico we had not seen before since this return trip put us traveling during the day.

Water Taxi dock in Chetumal, MX

The people and food in San Pedro were to die for. English with a sprinkling of Spanish and Creole is the official language of Belize. This means you can't understand their English nor their Spanish when you overhear them talking to one another. There were probably an equal amount of Blacks and Mexican/Mayan mixes on the island. We also saw quite a few people in traditional dress from the Far East. We had been told previously while in Corozal that Belize is a starting point for traveling north and eventually going to the US.

It seems each place we go, we later dream about a certain food we ate. In Belize I would have to say it was the pupusas. Joanne and I have plans to get together and make pupusas as we fell in love with them.

Water taxi to Caye Caulker

Palapa Bar

Fido's (pronounced Fee-dohs) Bar

Had to Get that Beach Fix

We had been talking about going to Progreso for several days and today was the day. Although tonight is when we leave by bus for the beautiful beaches of Belize, we just had to go to the beach yesterday. We LOVE Progreso....maybe because it seems the majority of people are ambivalent about it.
It was cruise day and something always goes down on cruise day in Progreso. We weren't disappointed. We got off the bus and were walking the 3-4 blocks to the beach. Just before we got to the malecon we heard a crash and looked to the street. There was a young, male, drunk American from the cruise ship getting up off the pavement. He had crashed on his scooter shortly after whipping out of the scooter rental parking lot, and he had the road rash on his shirtless chest to prove it. Well, he started screaming (in English): "My wheel was $^*&)(*&    UP.....My wheel was $^*&)(*&    UP.....". Lesson #1 down here is "It was MY fault". Blaming something on somebody else is only going to get you in trouble. Well, out of nowhere came a group of locals that basically were coming to get him to quieten down and not cause a scene. As in - Get out of the street, don't cause a scene, don't scare the other tourists, let's get you back to the scooter rental place and you can talk to them in private about this matter...

He started swinging fists and the last time I turned around the cops had arrived in full force. Terry always reminds me of what Ernesto had told us last year - you never see a thing...just keep on walking. And that's what we did.

We always go to the beach across the malecon from Los Arcos

The water at the beach was much warmer than just a week or so ago. And it was really pretty - clear and green. We went to our regular spot and did our regular thing. And of course, we saw tequila shots being poured and downed, followed by shouts and screams of "I'm drunk", followed by that one last tequila shot that pushes one over the top. Then, rubber legs, falling in the sand, puking in my beautiful warm, clear, green water. Nap time in the sand followed by "it's time to get her up and help her get back to the cruise ship". "ADIOS!"


Yes, this will fit in my backpack

 We laughed because the vendors now know who we are. When they walk by they say: "Oh, si. Manana, right?" and laugh as they just keep walking. They are all very sweet and always say hola and thank you. Oh! And I did buy something yesterday...a Mexican dress to take to Belize.
Well, for the most part the vendors are super nice and respectful, but just like anywhere else - there are some bad apples. Yesterday one guy came up to Terry and asked for 200 pesos. Hey, that's a lot of money no matter what currency you're talking about. Terry gave him a few pesos, and he got mad and said: "NO. I need 200 pesos."....Wrong thing to say to Terry...he almost reached in the guy's hand and took the money he did give him back. But, there was another vendor nearby that was aware of the exchange, and he immediately went after the dude. We had never seen this beggar before, and I'm quite sure we won't be seeing him again.

Don't think we will be seeing SKYY Vodka shirt guy again

Came home last night and ate up any and all leftovers we had in the frig. Our dinner consisted of eggs, relleno chili, onion, cheese, fideo, and refried beans...all mixed together. Nothing in the refrigerator so ---

TIME TO GO TO BELIZE! 

AND, we're very excited about meeting up with Joanne and Larry at Ambergris Caye.



Sometimes it's Just Not What it Seems

After waking up on Cinco de Mayo morning, we started hearing what sounded like gunshots. After we talked about it and decided it couldn't be gunshots because "nobody has guns in Mexico", we decided it was cannons. Oh...they were probably doing a re-enactment that had to do with Cinco de Mayo. That brought up the question: "What really is celebrated on Cinco de Mayo"? It really has very little significance in the whole of Mexico and generally isn't a big celebration....it is NOT a celebration of Mexico's independence from Spain, which is a BIG day and recognized on Sept. 16th. Cinco de Mayo signifiies a victory over the French army by a rather small group of fierce soldiers in the State of Puebla, Mx. Kinda a David vs. Goliath victory. The day has become a much more recognized day in the USA by Mexicans...where it really is just a day to celebrate their heritage and pride. Knowing this, it explains a lot to me...that is, I have asked Mexican friends in the past why Cinco de Mayo was celebrated and they could never say.

But, hey, I'm all for that....just another day to throw a pachanga.

We found the source of the cannons, and can only assume what we saw and heard had nothing to do with Cinco de Mayo...but we will probably never know for sure what it was all about. You see, cannons were being fired at Santiago Park and what we observed appeared very strange to us. There were a group of Mexicans carrying a large cross into the Catholic Church at Santiago. On the cross was a black figure with long black, curly, wily-looking hair. The figure was nailed to the cross similar to depictions of Jesus nailed to the cross. There was a group of maybe 50 Mexicans and some were carrying large colored banners - purple, white, or gold. It was a solemn affair and we felt a little uncomforable gawking and taking picures.

We left shortly and headed to the grocery store. We went to the Chedraui down south and bought shrimp and fettucini, avocadoes, and homemade bread for dinner. Terry made it clear he really splurged on the bread....7 pesos and 50 centavos...about 60 Cents! Seriously, the whole meal was about 20 USD which is a real splurge for us! It was the best meal I've eaten since leaving the US...my husband is THE BEST COOK EVER!!!

Fettucini Alfredo with Shrimp, Bread and Garlic/Butter for Dipping, and Avocado Salad....Terry is the BEST!

We took the yellow bus line out north to the Gran Plaza Mall and did some look-seeing in the afternoon. Then headed home where we cooked and celebated Cinco de Mayo and watched the biggest full moon ever. (although it was nublado)

Celebrate!...Tequila Shots on Us!

Feeling Very Mexican Today

Pasaporte....check
Two local references....check
Name of beneficiary....check
Copy of water bill or electricity bill that has a Merida address....check

And just like that we opened a Mexican bank account. Technically we didn't even have to deposit pesos in the account but what's a checking account without a couple a pesos??

It is a lot like knocking over dominoes. You realize each local person you meet connects you with another person. They are all of equal importance to you, and open the door to the next important person. We had been "referred to" Jesus by Adriana. Jesus opened the accout and didn't speak a lick of English!!!Historically, the references given is referred to as a Letter of Marque. Enna had given the Letter of Marque to Adriana.
We had decided if we plan on continuing to come to Mexico on a regular basis, it's advantageous to have a Mexican account. We avoid both paying foreign bank ATM fees and we avoid experiencing unknown exchange rates. We had only two simple choices in accounts - a "savings" account which is essentially a checking account with no paper checks or a checking account where you are given personalized paper checks. Since few people or businesses accept personal checks here anyway, we opened a savings account. Each of us was given an ATM card on the spot and we were instructed to go the ATM machine and change our PINs right away. Then, we used our ATM card as documentation for the account no. along with the depositing pesos to make the initial deposit into the account at a tell window back inside the bank.
We have heard that it can be difficult to open a checking account when you show up at a bank blindly...we don't know.
We do know - We are feeling very Mexican right now!!!