Merida, Girls' Road Trip

Merida
      coffeeshop...

Guess they have great poetry readings here on the weekend.  Maybe someday I'll be able to attend.


Meanwhile, good smoothies and beer.

Good company...
     Sall & Rosy....

it was a 'girls' getaway, I guess, as it turned out...
and we had a lot of fun :)
Rosy procured the truck, and we were off!  She had put it in a parking lot on the Cancun side.

We filled up at the PeMex in Cancun& started off down the toll ('cuota') highway, 400 km to Merida.


We made it in good time, no problemas....
We wasted no time in getting ourselves comfortable in Rosy's lodgings (her brother's Merida house).

Then, off to get some liquid refreshment.
I love how the courtyards in Merida have the feel of old world charm--sophisticated & elegant & comfortable.  Here, Sall & Rosy are enjoying , or should I say, recovering, from the trip.

This courtyard was just typical of any you'd find...not that much of a standout but just what was needed after a long trip to Merida--I guess 4 hours....? via the cuota highway. 

we considered the free road, but maybe next time 

(we took it in Feb with Denny, but it can easily double the time...)

Anyway, it's really very doable, and a wonderful highway--just rather boring crossing over the peninsula, through the scrub jungle.  But it's cool to think you're leaving Quintana Roo, and crossing over the Yucatan.  Just the sound of 'The Yucatan' is enough to put one in a different frame of mind.

We had a 3 days, and 2 nights in Merida, at Rosy's brother's house, and took in some music and some shopping--pics later.

 But, coming back, and another reason for the trip, with a truck, was stopping at this Carpinteria shop in Temozon, outside Valladolid. It's an area full of carpenter shops, where they would probably try
to make anything you ask for.





It was fun looking and thinking how things would work out in rooms, on patios, etc.
We did end up getting a truckload, and making good use of the truck, the purpose after all.

And, we have some ideas for down the road.
I liked the tree trunk as an idea for a table base.
I loved the rocking chair with caning, and it's not too different from one I have on the farm, so I don't feel I really need it on Isla.

I did opt for some lounge chairs and a couple adirondack chairs. The wood they're made of is called 'zalam' which, I think, has special properties and is immune to termites, besides being striated and lovely to look at.

 These stools were something we both thought we would like in future. We especially liked the leather covering, and oddly (since this is more ranch country here) it made them much more expensive. But, I guess it was the treatment they give the leather, which is time consuming, and the little decorative nails, etc. It all adds up.

We both wanted something a little taller, to fit around a kitchen island, so maybe on a future visit, he'll have them ready. But Rosy got some other stools which were almost as nice, just without the leather, and with wood strips. We each also got a small coffee table made out of wood slats. It really almost had an 'Arts & Crafts' look to it (from Prairie School wood architecture, I'd say....  will put pics up later of that...

 Eventually, we made our way back, beating a rainstorm..hadn't thought of that, and not wanting a load of wet furniture.  Then, we worried about making the 5:30 car ferry, esp as they had to drop me off at UltraMar so I could meet with my attorney & get my temp visa, which she had ready. wow...talk about multitasking. We really try NOT to multitask on Isla, as that has been our prior life, and we'd like to get away from that in future.
So, I got to Isla before them...and waited at the car ferry landing for them.  Above is a pic of the 2 car ferries which operate on Isla, a photo I had taken  from another time.
Personally, I have yet to ride on the car ferry, a crossing of 45 min., vs. UltraMar's 20 min. or so.
It's cheaper for passengers, and therefore, a lot of Isla folks are using it lately as main transportation.

And here are Sall & Rosy arriving, after a successful crossing, and having made the 5:30 crossing.  Otherwise, they would have had to wait until the 8:30 crossing, and  we really didn't feel like unloading furniture in the dark.

 So, there we were.

3 women and a truck.
We did it!



Took lots more photos from the trip, but since I've been home, have been involved in a time-consuming tutoring assignment.
So, more trip photos soon. 


 

Whale Shaks & Lobsters....

So, have had a super busy couple of weeks on Isla, and am back already! whew.
Took care of new FM3 immig. application (which will require my return in 60 days for the permanent one), hosted & toured my sister-in-law from Fort Worth (surprising Texas connections on the island...),
Oversaw some work on new wall builing, had a 'Road Trip' to Merida for 3 days, coming home with a back end full of handmade furniture from a Carpinteria shop in Temozon, out past Valladolid.

Oh yeah, and we did the whale shark thing too, which almost seems like an afterthought now....!

My second time to swim with the whale sharks. Sall's first time.  She found how difficult it was, especially with a knee replacement!  Still, great effort...and a day spent in an unforgettable venture...
It was a long day out on the water, in the wind and in the sun.  
 Thought I could work out a foto with underwater camera, but no way.
I was lucky to just be able to swim alongside.  The best pics, and in most cases, the best views, of the whale sharks are from in the boat, where one can take in their whole long bodies from a higher perspective that allows you to actually take in the whole specimen in one glance...!
Hopefully, I may someday be able to swim alongside & manage an underwater camera....
But, another unlikely event was meeting up with these guys on the way back.  Guess they were out diving for lobster, and what a boatload they had...   yum...yum...

Some money, and some lobsters did exchange hands.  I won't say who on our boat was the paying party....

 I wish I had been prepared with more pesos aboard to take advantage of this opportunity....
doubt if it happens too often,
or, maybe it does?
I'll be ready next time....




We had Capt & diver and 10 passengers...a mixed crew, representing several countries...perhaps a typical mix...

We did though have fresh ceviche, made on board, on our return trip.
As a ceviche lover, I appreciated that.
Have some pics of that somewhere...
maybe next post...

The lobsters are a little more impressive looking than the ceviche, which was delicious & fresh.










Below is our boat...you wouldn't think it could hold 12 people, passengers & crew, and fly out across the ocean, bow flopping up above the sea as we motored out to the whale shark area.
But though I think it all went like clockwork, it was anything but routine for us.

I don't particularly like coming to Isla in the summer heat & humidity, but being on and in the water is lovely.  

Anaranjado

The little orange flower is doing its job... blooming where it was planted....Now, if more will follow...  who knew?

Punta Sur coast

Morning walks along the South Point, Punta Sur
Remind me of Maine,  especially Acadia Park, Maine...where I used to walk many years ago, when we lived in Winter Harbor, Maine.      Winter Harbor...how could a place be so different from here,
and still have so much in common?     a rocky coast, tides, gorgeous water... different latitudes...

and then there's the bay side; it's always a Q of which is the better view....
my son says looking toward Cancun, you know you're on an island.

But I'm liking more and more the feel of the open sea, and my memories of Maine...