Belize By Bus or Bust

It is amazing to think a whole wink week has gone by without posting...seems like it has only been a day or so. It has been an exciting week to say the least. Earlier in the week, we got word that J&L (sister and brother-in-law) are going to meet us down in Belize. So excited for them --- not to mention so excited for US! We will be taking a nightlong bus ride (6 hours) from Merida to Corozal, Belize. Then we have a 2-hour water taxi ride out to Ambergris Caye where the 4 of us will meet up. They will have arrived via air to Belize City a day ahead of us. So they too will be taking a water taxi to the Caye.
Terry and I are a little concerned because we keep hearing how expensive Belize is, but we are determined to keep our trip costs down. Example #1: we are staying at a quaint little place called Pedro's...advertised to have clean beds and cold beer. As Terry says: "What else could a man ask for?"
I can't wait to hang on the beach with 'em and have conversations in English with somebody in addition to Terry. I start laughing even thinking about this trip because I know it will be a hoot, and we are looking forward to seeing J&L. I wonder if they realize that us meeting up with them annual south of the border is now becoming a tradition?
 We are still a little confused about leaving a foreign country that we plan to return to, and not sure exactly whether we will have to pay additional fees upon re-entering...something that gets handled automatically when you fly. It seems that there are some new fees implemented in 2012, and the customs and immigration people at the borders are confused as to how they are supposed to handle it, so we are kinda at the mercy of the draw, and hope whoever handles our stamping paperwork likes us.

PROGRESO

We of course got our beach fix...went to Progreso on Monday. Since things have quieted down so much since Semana Santa, we now plan our Progreso trips around cruise day, rather than avoid cruise days. It was actually very quiet in Progreso considering there was a ship docked.  I got propositioned by a cute, little Mexican waiter when I left Terry to go rinse off before heading home. Brings me to a point --- I don't know about the rest of you ladies, but I don't mind a guy whistling at me, or telling me I'm beautiful every now and then. Mexican laborers still wolf whistle when you're walking down the street, a lot of times Mexican men will honk their horn when they see a hot chick, and they don't mind letting you know they find you attractive. A Mexican man named Juan told Terry he wanted to marry his daughter when Kim was down here visiting. There is no concern about potential sexual harassment lawsuits down here - that's for sure. You know what? I kinda like it!!!

CHELEM

We took the bus back to Progreso on Friday, and then took a collectivo over to Chelem...a small beach town just to the west of Progreso. We wanted to look around at houses on the beach. Both of us were disappointed that there was hardly anything for sale. Thus, what is for sale carries inflated prices. Somewhere along the course of the day, I think we both came to the realization that we probably couldn't ever really bring ourselves to buy a beach house knowing we would be leaving it to fend for itself during hurricane seasons. But, Chelem is a great place to visit, and the water is really pretty down there.

One of the main streets in Chelem

STAYING WELL FED

Pibil ingredients+banana leaves

Cochinita Pibil

We've been eating very well. Last night it was fettucini alfredo with shrimp. We also made cochinita pibyl that was the best ever. The trick to the great taste was that we were having cocktails and let the water steam out of the pot which made the banana leaves burn ever so slightly. Just enough to give it a hearty flavor. Won't be able to duplicate it if we try!

YOU MEAN JULIO?

Yesterday we met an interesting gentleman here in Merida named Jim. He is American and has lived in Merida for 5 years now. He came to Merida after spending 25 years as a vintage clothing store owner, most recently in NYC. I googled him later and found out his clients included some very famous people, including Nicole Kidman and Angelie Jolie. He also worked with the makers of the movie "The Titanic" to clothe the movie stars in authentic, period clothing.  And, he plays the pipe organ.

I always say "Merida isn't a very big place" -
In talking with Jim yesterday, he mentioned a friend of his that has an antique shop over in San Sebastian. I asked him: "Would you be talking about Julio?" I thought Terry was gonna fall out of his chair as he looked at me with that "who the hell is Julio look". Well, you see, we had met Julio one day when we were aimlessly walking around Santiago looking at houses and architecture. Julio has a house for sale down in the south part of town, and he could tell we were somewhat potential house buyers. MORE ON MEETING JIM LATER!