Yucatan Rebirth

Let's Go To The Fair!

larry.baker@gmail.com (Larry) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:03:00 +0000

November means many things in the state of Yucatan. It's the end of hurricane season which saw Category 1 Ida slip between us and Cuba, heading north to the States as a rather benign tropical storm. It also means the end of oppressive heat and humidity and the start of Norte (storms from the north) season and cooler weather. And it means the nearly month-long state fair at Xmatkuil (pronounced Eesh-ma-quill) is here.
In honor of Indra's birthday, we headed down there this morning to see what was new and to do some Christmas shopping for our unsuspecting relatives.
This is the front entrance....

The admission price went from 10 pesos last year ( about 85 cents) to 12 pesos this year (about 97 cents) but we sucked it up and didn't give the ticket agent any sob stories about being Senior Citizens living on a fixed income, etc.

Once inside we were introduced to the fair's theme, sort of a winter wonderland thing...

"o.k" we thought, "It's 82 degrees out, but we can roll with that. We soon found out that this winter theme was being promoted throughout the fair grounds and imagine our surprise when we ran across this...

A crowd of school children witnessing their classmates engaged in a....SNOW BALL FIGHT!!!

Much tamer than I remembered from my childhood. I mean we didn't have protective headgear and goggles or a net to prevent ice missiles from hitting us smack in the face, but these kids were having the time of their lives. And it's probably one of the only times they will see snow in their lifetimes.

And next door....

A snow hill where one can ride down on these tubes...

It was early in the day (shortly after noon) by Mexican standards, so the big crowds would not arrive for several hours yet. Good for wandering around, but bad for photo ops. We did, however, find Santa! And we had a kid to sit in his lap!

I don't know how Santa could come all the way from the North Pole and wear that heavy suit, but I had the feeling that the snow wasn't the only thing melting.

Even the landscaping had the winter/Christmas thing going on...

Like most state fairs, this one also featured the farming and agriculture aspect including these really fine tractors which appealed to me, I being raised on an orchard in Washington State....

Among the tractors was a small pen holding what looked to be a wild pig. What he was doing there, we don't know, but he was so cute we took a picture...

Speaking of livestock, they always have a good selection over in the beef barn.

Here is a very nice looking Brahma Bull...

And even though she was trying to sleep, I cowed this one into letting me take her picture too...wait a minute...that's a bull.

For three years now we have been unsuccessful in locating the poultry barn. We asked these chicks, but they didn't seem to know anything either...

We concluded that perhaps the poultry barn does not exists.

We did, however come across some adorable little piglets snoozing in their pen..

The area schools bring busloads of children to the fair, all dressed in their uniforms, being overseen by harried-looking adults whom we did not envy...

As the day wound down, so did we. But before we left I took these pictures of some very interesting hand-made furniture that was for sale. Quite unlike stuff you see at Levitz...

So that was our day at the fair and we'll go back next year as we never know what we will see then.

More later,

Larry

Hurricane Ida

larry.baker@gmail.com (Larry) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 21:43:00 +0000

We were feeling pretty smug that with the end of November in sight we would escape the effects of any hurricanes this year. Well, we just ended four days straight of downpours that we can attribute to the outer system of hurricane Ida. According to recent reports from the National Hurricane Center U.S., the tropical storm will gradually increase its speed in the coming days, which alerted the population of Yucatan, Quintana Roo, and Campeche which are now under Yellow Alert. That means to basically be on alert for the Red Alert (how many times can I use "alert" in a sentence?) and to expect high winds and rain.

Ida moved to 15 miles per hour north and is expected to turn toward the northwest "with a gradual increase your speed in the coming days", the statement of the U.S. agency, based in Miami.

Its winds have accelerated and now reach 95 mph, with gusts up faster. It is expected to gain more strength and could become a hurricane on Sunday when Ida reaches the Yucatan Peninsula.

Here's how she looks today:

Here is a shot of Cancun today and the ADO luxury buses that we take when we go there:

We'll keep you posted.

More later,

Larry

"Why Can't We All Just Get Alawn?"

larry.baker@gmail.com (Larry) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:40:00 +0000

This is one of those "the way things work around here" stories. As we came to the end of another rainy season, we faced a rebirth of the jungle in our back yard. Everything turns green and grows like weeds which is, in fact, what they are.

Indra was keeping her eyes open for someone to stop by and offer to weed out the place and, sure enough, day-before-yesterday a group of four from Merida stopped by the fence looking for work and were hired. Negotiated price: $2500 pesos ($191.00). And to work they went.

Indra then negotiated an new job: prune our two big trees of some offending branches. Another $500 pesos ($38.00) which included a very large, extremely low hanging monster. No power saws, just machetes which they took turns swinging...

Then there were some branches that were coming very close to growing into the guest bedroom. No ladder needed....

So, with the back yard squared away for the next few months, the hombres were preparing to leave out the front gate when one of them suggested we hire them to install a lawn. This has been one of those thing we have needed, but have kept putting off. Being all sand in the front, there is an inordinate amount that gets tracked into the house not to mention the heat of the sun being reflected off of it on a daily basis. They brought out some samples...

And Lex the Coon Hound immediately gave his seal of approval...

Measurements were taken after which the price quoted came to $3500 pesos ($267.00) materials and labor, work to commence the next day. As they were preparing to leave, it was made known to us that the clutch in their truck had given out. So they off-loaded all their equipment and stored it in our back yard. Later that evening a tow truck stopped by and hauled their truck off. We started wondering if the next day's deal was off but then reasoned that since we had all their tools, lawnmower, weed whackers and so forth in our back yard, they were sure to show.

Sure enough at 11:00 a.m. the next day (only an hour past the appointed time which isn't bad here), the work began.

The grass strips were placed with gaps of about three inches between them which were then filled-in with black soil, the idea being that since this type of grass is also a ground cover, the spaces will be filled in. Takes about 4 weeks. You have to be careful that red soil is not used as it is mostly clay and will harden into something unusable. Anyway, the effect from above looks like a maze...

Thelma Lou the Coon Hound checking out the progress...

We were stoked to finally have some green in the right place for a change when in became appearent that a sand walkway just wouldn't do. No problem, negotiation time. For $400 pesos worth of cement block ($31.00) and $600 pesos for labor ($46.00) the job could be done. Blocks were purchased at the supply place about a mile up the street.

And when finished.....

I included prices in pesos and dollars because I have found that people north of the border are naturally curious as to whether or not one can actually get things done for less here. One can. And also this is a perfect illustration that when opportunities present themselves here, it's best to grab them. Gotta go water the lawn.

More later,

Larry

A Small Beauty

larry.baker@gmail.com (Larry) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:12:00 +0000

Sometimes the beauty here comes in small packages...like this little butterfly Indra spotted this afternoon. I grabbed him and he was nice enough to pose for some close-ups....

A "stop and smell the roses" moment.

More later,

Larry

Cruise Ships and Tourists

larry.baker@gmail.com (Larry) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:47:00 +0000

When we go out onto the upper deck of our house, we can always see when the cruise ship has arrived. This happens roughly twice a week and I wondered what they actually see when they visit Progreso. As I have mentioned before, this is not a resort town in the model of Cancun or Mazatlan, but a fishing town which just happens to have a stretch of beach that caters to the tourists when they arrive on the cruise ships. So off I went to see first hand what the tourists see.
First of all, the pier where the ships dock is also the port for shipping of goods to and from the Yucatan. The next major port on the east side of Mexico is in Veracruz. Due to the wide, limestone shelf, the Progreso pier had to be built five miles into the Gulf to get to a water depth that would accommodate cruise ships and freighters. Here's a shot from outer space:

I went out to the Progreso cruise terminal located at the end of the pier via Auto Progreso, the same bus company on which I used to commute when working in Merida.

By the way, this is the only way we locals can sneak out onto the pier. It is pretty heavily guarded..

I wandered through the shopping plaza that is also in the arrival area, and there she was: The Carnival Line's pride and joy, the "Behemoth of the Seven Seas"...

O.k., I know it says "Fantasy" on it, but it is big.

Now a look at the shopping plaza at the cruise terminal...

By the way, everything here is sold in dollars, not pesos.

I'm not sure what the "Summer Clearance" thing is all about as it is pretty much summer all the time here.

I imagine this is as far as some of these folks go, buying a souvenir and then back on to the safety of the boat.

So, onto the bus and into town where the shopping is more interesting.

The main plaza in town converts to a bazaar selling the usual trash and trinkets when the ship is in....like pipes for your smoking pleasure...

And jewelry...

There's even a clown selling balloon animals...or hats...or something....I wonder what this discussion is all about...also, he should watch his placement of the lower balloon...

One thing you're sure to run into is the Cuban cigar salesmen hawking very nice wood and glass boxes of Cuban cigars. However, these are fakes, made in Honduras. The Cubans are very selective about who they let sell their cigars.

For us locals, the people watching is great sport. Here's a good looking group...

I pray she just sat in something wet. Nice sombrero, though...

One thing I've always wanted to do was ride the touribus that scoots through town while a guide gives valuable information such as who founded the town, when the lighthouse was built and so forth. So for a mere 20 pesos I decided to take a ride. The funny part was when the tour guide, Julio, looked at me and said. "But you live here. Why do you want to go on the bus?" I explained that I was freelancing for National Geographic, blah, blah. He just laughed. I just told him it was for this dog and pony show called my blog, so he wrote down the website so he could see it later.

This is Julio..

The bus...

Julio was right. There wasn't much new to learn on this trip. Nevertheless, it was a beautiful day. Here we are on the malecon or main beach boardwalk..

Passing the "wedding cake" house...

Cool ride.
So, what did I learn? Not much except that this commerce is necessary to supplement the economy here. Fishing and tourism each by themselves cannot sustain this town. Together, they can, but it's still economically touch and go most of the time.

I had a nice conversation with a young man from Atlanta who, when asked what he thought of Progreso replied, "Not much going on here." "Exactly", I smiled.

More later,

Larry

The Birthday Party

larry.baker@gmail.com (Larry) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 01:09:00 +0000

This has a small back-story. Our friend, neighbor and cleaning woman, Debora, always brings her daughter Kimberly with her when she cleans the house. Indra has grown quite fond of Kimberly and last year she was invited to the little girl's birthday party. It was held in a tiny house and it was very crowded. This year, Indra volunteered this house for the festivities.

Thursday night was set as the date, and that day Debra started delivering the party supplies first thing in the morning.

Including Snow White, the pinata...

Later, Kimberly arrived to help decorate and set things up. Indra swung into action.

Let the decorating begin!

We didn't really know how many to expect, but when a pickup truck arrived and dropped off 50 folding chairs and two gigantic steel tables, we had an idea that this fiesta was going to be big.

It's not like in the U.S. where you drop off your child and come back later to pick them up. These children arrived with their moms, dads, siblings, aunts, grandmas, babies, everyone turns out.

We had everything set up in the back, but as it got darker the consensus was to move everything into the front yard where we have better outdoor lighting.

We figured there had to be 40 kids and about as many adults.

Of course there was food. The main dish was a huge pot of spaghetti and a lot of small sandwiches. And a cake!

The last official act of the evening was the Snow White pinata....Here she is posing with the birthday girl, 11 years old.

I was under the impression that the kids would be blindfolded, given a big stick, and start taking whacks at it. Instead, each was given a turn to pummel poor Snow with their fists. This proved to be ineffective and eventually Snow was ripped open and, to the shouts of "Aqui! Aqui!", the candy was thrown to the little ones.

As you can imagine, there was quite a bit of wreckage left over after people headed home. No problem as Debra and her crew took over and picked up everything. And the next day she came over and cleaned the downstairs. A fun and interesting evening.

More later,

Larry

The Morning Walk

larry.baker@gmail.com (Larry) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 23:42:00 +0000

Sometimes it's fun to take a camera along on one of our morning walks just to see what pops up. That's what I did today. We walked to where the marina opens into the Gulf...

We sat down to watch the fish jumping out of the water, and the fishermen heading out to make a living. We enjoyed the fact that these boats carried two smaller boats on them...

And all the while we were observing, we were being observed....

These are the dreaded Giant Brain Sucking Lizards of the Yucatan and are quite harmless during the day. In fact, when approached, they disappear into the rocks. But at night, if one should find you sleeping, they silently creep up and....o.k., I'm making this part up. They're harmless.

As are the pelicans. We found this handsome fellow taking in the sun....

At the end of the road we were offered this nice look at the new Progreso-Chelem bridge which was built to cut the drive time between the two towns by about 30 minutes.

A nice way to spend a Saturday morning.

More later,

Larry

It's The Cops!

larry.baker@gmail.com (Larry) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 21:46:00 +0000

"Larry, the police are outside and their guns are drawn." Thus, Indra ended what was starting to be a pleasant afternoon siesta yesterday. After performing a mental checklist of my past transgressions, I ruled out the possibility of said guns being aimed at me, and we went out on the upper deck to check it out.
What we found was a common site here, although not on our street: the drug and guns checkpoint.

These stops can be quite unnerving at first until you get used to them, even when you know you don't have any guns or drugs even though you might want some.

As you can see, even the people on the lowly mopeds are not immune from searches. I used to be searched when on the bus from Progreso to Merida going or coming home from work. In fact, I was usually the only person on the bus being searched as I was the only Norte Americano. I just smiled and went along with it because...

...well, you get the idea. After 2 1/2 years here, they don't even bother to stop our car anymore as it is well known as the only Subaru in Progreso.

So, we watched the action for about five minutes with Indra cautioning that if the lead started flying, we were to duck for cover. When we checked about five minutes after that, they had vanished. We don't know if they set up this roadblock for anyone in particular or what the deal was. Just part of life south of the border.

More later,

Larry

The Bank Token

larry.baker@gmail.com (Larry) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 23:11:00 +0000

This is one of those things that sort of grabs you as another, "this is so different" moment. When you open a bank account in Mexico, at least at Banorte, and you want internet access to your account, one of the things you are given is a "token". Take a look:

Cute, huh? What you are seeing is a personal electronic device that is getting a signal from a satellite. Every 60 seconds that 6-digit code automatically and randomly changes. If you look carefully on the left hand side of the display you can see a series of lines that act as a countdown to the numbers changing again. Each token has a serial number and when you go on line to set-up your internet banking, the system wants that serial number, your user name and your password. Once activated, this is what you need to log on with the most current "token" number being displayed, so it's different every time. They say that this will operate for 5 years before the battery runs out and there is no extra charge for it. Unless you lose it.

I tell ya, these third world countries...!

More later,

Larry

How To Build A Wall Part 4

larry.baker@gmail.com (Larry) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:40:00 +0000

We're on the home stretch now. The guys have really been working long, hard hours and yesterday, Indra was so impressed with the progress, she gave out beers and they worked into the darkness. One of our coon hounds, Thelma Lou, has loved visiting the house construction site multiple times each day, primarily looking for food handouts or discarded food wrappings to snack on. So this morning when she woke up and went outside panic ensued.

She paced the wall, whining and looking for any entry point. She's seemed depressed all day. That's her in the above photo still disbelieving what has happened.
So the final stage of the project involves placing long boards on either side of the rebar uprights in preparation for pouring the cement posts that will bind everything together. Again, it's nothing fancy, just recycled lumber. Here's how they do it:
First, they knock some small holes in the blocks on both sides and run a heavy wire through. Then, after the wire is twisted tight on one side, a worker on the other side does the final tightening by driving in wooden shims with a hammer...

This is made very tight because it's going to be holding a lot of weight when the cement is poured in. That mixture is heavy in gravel as well and when the whole thing bonds with the rebar, it will add up to a strong fence that will probably outlast us.

I promise to do more colorful and interesting stories in the future. It's just that I find this process so damn interesting and the use of physical labor and available materials makes me question some of our notions about work ethics and thrift.

So 56 meters, or about 184 feet is a lot of fence. Guess who gets to paint it?

More later,
Larry

"How's that wall coming along..,.?"

larry.baker@gmail.com (Larry) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 15:28:00 +0000

Glad you asked. It's getting there. Understand that this is a very disruptive situation. With workers and material deliveries showing up at any and all times, and four dogs running around looking for any excuse to escape onto the street through a carelessly open gate, we pretty much have to stick around the house. A few days ago it became apparent that the foreman, William, had called his crew off the wall construction and set them to work clearing the jungle and tiling the house.
Indra had a contentious confrontation with him and made several calls to the project owner stating in no uncertain terms that the wall took priority. William the foreman and his hombres embrace the old-world tradition of machismo and it was pretty clear that they were not happy being told by a woman (and a "gringa" woman at that) what they should be doing. This was also passed along to the owner who must have had a talk with William and his muchachos because the next day they attacked the wall with great alacrity. They obviously picked the wrong woman to disrespect.
So let's take a look at some pictures.
This is how they make the forms for pouring the base that will eventually be the starting point for cementing the actual blocks. It's scrap lumber and wire. That's it. And, of course, the ever present fishing line to keep things straight.

The cement for these bases is mixed to a very soupy consistency so it settles evenly and doesn't require special smoothing or leveling.

Six sections out of eighteen have been completed as far as laying the blocks go. You can see the remnants of the trees that have been cut down. A very large truck took a load of this out last week and next week it will be back to get the rest of it.

I think I started this wall report saying that the estimated time to finish the project would be two weeks. Think five or six. As we like to say here, "T.I.M."....this is Mexico.

More later,

Larry

Mice and Mousetraps

larry.baker@gmail.com (Larry) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:29:00 +0000

We've had a mouse in the house. This is our second one (that we know of) and the first time we had to go hunting for mousetraps. Here, they do not have the spring-loaded, killer version of my youth instead opting for a more humane (think PETA), small plastic pad coated in a sticky substance that I suppose the little rodents find attractive. And for our first mouse visitor it worked.
This new guy is apparently smarter than that and we see him occasionally darting about out of the corners of our eyes. The dogs have tried to sniff him out, but to no avail. We can't use a cat because the dogs don't want to share the space in the house
So it was back to the sticky traps. Unfortunately, they trap indiscriminately.

Sure hope this wasn't Lenny...

More later,

Larry

El Pulpo

larry.baker@gmail.com (Larry) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 12:49:00 +0000

Progreso for all it's efforts to be a tourist destination for cruise ships, is a fishing town. And the main harvest here is pulpo or octopus. When we first arrived we were told the harvest was robust and the pulpo was a major export to Spain and Japan. When we would walk our beach we passed scores of pulpo boats that had had arrived from fishing and lined the beach. Last year, they disappeared. Over fishing and poor management pretty much wiped out last year's harvest and this year, while supposedly improved, it still expected to be light. Here are some shots of the boats that have come back this year.

Only about a half dozen could be found. I asked one of the fishermen if they were catching much and he replied "very little".

These small skiffs are rigged with long bamboo poles fore and aft. From these hang fishing lines and the fishermen use crab as bait to lure the octopus onto the line.

Word on the street has it that there are many poachers fishing the pulpo illegally this season and they are being hunted by the authorities. We hope they get nailed because this town is poor enough without these hard-working souls being robbed of their livelihood.

More later,

Larry

How To Build A Wall, Part 2

larry.baker@gmail.com (Larry) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 21:05:00 +0000

Well, there seemed to be a lot of interest in the process, so here is an update on how the wall is coming along.
As you can see the newer section's foundation has been raise to allow for the natural slope of the land.

At each break in the wall they are setting upright rebar they call castillo (which means castle) in cement to provide support for the concrete posts they'll eventually pour.

Meanwhile, down at the lower part where construction on the foundation started, the workers are setting the forms and rebar to pour a level base where they will begin to lay the blocks for the actual wall.

So, you see, retirement here isn't all sitting on the beach and swilling beer. It's just as entertaining watching these guys work while we're sitting on the back deck swilling beer.

More later,

Larry

How To Build A Wall

larry.baker@gmail.com (Larry) — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 16:25:00 +0000

The property for our home belonged to a family and was divided amongst four family members. When Indra bought it, only three of the family wanted to sell and the other one was a holdout. Now, he's decided to build on his thin, 7 meter lot and that has necessitated the construction of a wall dividing our properties. This is a labor intensive undertaking that, like most construction in the Yucatan, is done without the use of any powered machinery and I thought you might like to see the process.
First, the raw materials:
Gravel and sand to mix with the cement:

And, a lot of rock to use for the foundation. These are brought in by a large truck and dumped, 7 cubic meters at a time in a large pile.

These are carried by hand over to the trench where they are broken apart by a guy using a small hammer. Then, they are arranged and cemented in.
Here's the trench, again all hand dug:

If you are going to have a house built here, it's the same procedure for that foundation too.

Meanwhile, there is a cement mixer at work. The cement is prepared on the ground using a bucket for water and a shovel to stir and mix. Measurements appear to be made by eyesight, sort of imprecise but it works.

The cement is then loaded in a bucket and carried to the guy in the trench who has been busy busting the rocks.

And this is the finished work. If you look closely you can see a fishing line on the front edge of the foundation. This runs the entire 56 meter length of the project and is their way of keeping things straight and level. They check it every so often to make sure it hasn't been moved by our dogs (and me) tripping over it.

Every couple of meters is a gap. After the the actual wall is built with cement blocks, it is there that a tall pieces of rebar will be placed with forms around them to pour the upright posts.

The construction time for this 56 meter wall is estimated at 2 weeks at a cost of $48,000 pesos which is about $3600.00 USD, each property owner paying half.

To all you do-it-yourselfers out there one word of advice: Don't.

More later,

Larry

Let's Talk About Hammocks

larry.baker@gmail.com (Larry) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 21:23:00 +0000

If you are thinking about moving here, or are moving here, you are going to want a hammock. And there will be plenty of places willing to take your money. The places that are most obvious and accessible are in the tourist areas such at the main plaza in Merida or the malecon in Progreso. We got our first hammock on the drive down here from the States at a toll booth waiting in line. At $200 pesos (less than $20.00) it seemed like a great bargain and it did the job for a while. Then, we became more educated on the ins-and-outs of hammocks made in the Yucatan.
These are sold at more out of the way stores specializing on the locally made product. My hammock came from Hamacas WMS (With Mexican Style), a socially responsible, local industry promoting Yucatan goods. Visit their website here. And forget the $200 peso price tag. Yucatan hammocks go from $650 pesos on up.

My hammock is strung between the back porch and a very large and strong tree. Most people have hammock hangers in the house but we haven't done that yet. Yucatan hammocks come in cotton or nylon, but the cotton are the most comfortable. This one is cotton with nylon end threads. They are hand woven locally.

It's all very delicate work, but don't let that fool you. Indra and I have gotten into this hammock together and it held us with no problems. We've seen hammocks that will hold a family of four!
This is how they attach to the tree. The rope (provided) is fitted with a steel "S" hook. Simple.

Now, let's look at a store. We found this place quite by accident while we were lost in Merida looking for Hamacas WMS. No matter, we went on in because we were getting ready to head north to the States and Indra wanted to get one for her son for his birthday.

Note that they advertise sales, repairs and cleaning. Full service.
There is no end of sizes and colors......

And you can get hammock chairs.....

The saleswoman was very helpful, unwrapping and showing the sizes and colors.

So, if you're approached by someone selling hammocks on the street, think twice. Spend a little more money and get the real deal. They are comfortable and, with the proper care, will last a very long time.

Now, for a very detailed look at the Yucatan hammock, I'm going to steer you to a site called Hammocks of Yucatan. This guy makes my effort look puny, but I figure why plagiarize or reinvent the wheel.

Happy relaxing.

More later,

Larry

Retirement

larry.baker@gmail.com (Larry) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:09:00 +0000

It doesn't seem real. Retirement seemed so abstract through the years...something "old people" did. And yet...
Those of you who read this regularly may have noticed I don't use this blog to air my deep personal thoughts or musings. No one would care to read them, nor should they. Instead, falling back on my years as a news reporter, I try to convey the experience of day-to-day living here in the Yucatan, throwing in some humor to spice it up a little bit.
That said, I do want to share some things on a personal note today. The other day one of my co-workers remarked on my retirement and told me I was "lucky". "Not so fast", I thought and informed him that putting in 44 years of labor did not constitute "luck".
But further reflection caused me to concur that there has been some luck involved in me being here. First of all, I've lived long enough. I have friends who didn't, due to war, accident or illness, so even though the odds are stacked against all of us, here I am.
Secondly, I would not have made it to this wonderful life-style had I not met my partner Indra. She and I shared this dream together and without her, it would have remained just a dream for me.

Now. I have been asked many times in the past few weeks just what it is I plan to do with myself. We've all seen the stories about those poor souls who retire only to find their lives meaningless without their workaday routine. That is not me. What do I plan to do? Well, you're looking at one of the big ones. I will be spending more time submitting articles to this blog and for that, I need your help.
Do me a favor: down at the bottom of this, click on "Comments". Then, please, let me know what kind of stories you'd like to see. Day-to-day living? Navigating the beauracracy? Mayan ruins? Let me know. And further, let me know where you are. I'm always curious who reads this thing and were you are living. Are you planning a vacation here? Are you planning a permanent move here?
And finally (and this goes under the heading of Long Term Plans), let me know if you think a book detaling retiring in the Yucatan specifically, would be useful.
That's your assignment, friends.

More later,
Larry

Merida Then...and Now

larry.baker@gmail.com (Larry) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 01:27:00 +0000

Sometimes good fortune falls in your lap and you just have to share it. This good fortune came from a co-worker of mine, Armando, who was sent a series of old photographs of Merida by his sister. And he shared them with me. Another co-worker, Tony Pacheco, suggested that I give him my camera and he would take pictures showing what these areas of Merida look like today for contrast. And that's how I'm going to share them with you. The time of the old photos is in question. Some came from the early 20's I'm sure. Others, by historical dates, are earlier. But rather than try to pin that aspect down, I think it's just fun to look at the city and what is gone...and still here. If you double-click on these to enlarge them, you'll see more detail.

This is a favorite of mine because it utilizes two then-emerging technologies: Powered flight and aerial photography. An amazing picture when you consider all that.

Of course the most predominate feature is the cathedral and Plaza Grande.

This is a shot of Calle 65 and 56 which at the time was known as "la paseo de las bonitas" or the beautiful ladies walk.

And how it looks today...

If you've been in el Centro, it's a good bet you've ventured into the Mercado Lucas de Galvez. If you haven't, you should because it's an all out assault on most human senses: sound, sight, smell. As it looked in the 20's...

This entrance is long gone, but if you look in the background, you'll see los Portales. They are still there...

Here is a look at the army which was stationed at what is now the San Benito market. If you look in the distance you can see what is now the mercado pictured above. The lower part of the tall, black water tower is still there. Since this is a shot of Benito Juarez with the troops it has to date pre-twentieth century.

See that building in the background center? The first floor is still standing and in use...

On the west side of the main plaza, across from the cathedral, is the municipal building known as El Olimpo. This is how it looked in the 20's..

And it's still there today, or so I thought. It turns out this building was torn down to make a parking lot. And the version we see today is a replica. Here it is..

The main cathedral is arguably the most historic building in el Centro. This is a look at the interior and alter at the turn of the last century. Very ornate, lots of gold.

Today, much more subdued....

There are probably many reasons for the transformation, not the least of which occurred during the Mexican revolution in 1915 when a Communist general by the name of Salvador Alverez set fire to the cathedral. And all the gold went missing. Here is a picture of the aftermath...

The church remained closed for 15 years as repairs were being made.

Here is a look at the north side covered in vines back then...

And today...

Directly south of the church is an alley that is the home of artisans selling crafts to the tourists. And to the south of that, the Macay Museum. But it wasn't always so. A look at pasaje a la revolucion and the roof, now gone, cristales y hierro (crystal and iron):

And today...

The army use to be headquartered next to this alley...This is probably the best contrasting shot of this whole exercise..

Now the Macay museum...

The Hotel Madrid...Calle 63 y 64..

Today....

Calle 65 y 60....

Today, the Del Sol...

The Bank of Mexico...Calle 59 y 56..

It was torn down and replaced with this unattractive, utilitarian, Banamex building..

Finally, a look at Santiago Park and the Nicolas Bravo Elementary School..

These days, people gather in the park on Tuesday nights to dance under the stars to a big band orchestra. And the school is still there. And it's still the Nicolas Bravo Elementary School, proving that some things in this world remain the same even as the inevitable changes go on all around them.

Thanks to my friends Tony and Armando for their help with this.

More later,

Larry

Sometimes living nearer the Equator has its drawbacks....

larry.baker@gmail.com (Larry) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 23:23:00 +0000

Lenny the Lizard

larry.baker@gmail.com (Larry) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 23:15:00 +0000

Just a picture of our resident lizard, Lenny. He hides behind pictures on the wall during the day and comes out in the evening to eat any bugs he might find around the house. He can walk on glass blocks. He chirps like a bird. If you live here, you must learn to love these guys.

A Night At The Opera

larry.baker@gmail.com (Larry) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 01:29:00 +0000

Ask anyone who has known me a few years and they will tell you. When it comes to my preference in music, it's primarily good time, get-off-your-butts and dance, rock and roll. By example, from about 1979....

But that's not to say I've not been open to other kinds of music. Jazz, blues, country, Latin, as long as it's played well, I'll listen.

So last weekend I surprised Indra with two tickets to the opera being presented at the local classical theater of choice in Merida, Teatro Peon Contreras. The opera: the well-known (by those in the know) Barber of Seville.

It's an Opera Bufa, which means "musical comedy". The tickets were available for Sunday evening and wouldn't you know it: the the handy-dandy senior discount card got us 1/2 off.

Dressed in our opera finery, we composed ourselves and drove into the big city, not knowing what to expect except an interesting evening.

Before we get to the music, let's take a look at the hall.

This is the theater on Calle 60, between 57 and 59. Built 102 years ago, it is the showplace for the Yucatan Symphony, opera, ballet, and many other performing arts.

The seating layout shows the arrangement of the almost 700 seats...

Our seats were located on the first balcony, section six on the right of the diagram. Each of these had a separate entrance from the hallway in back and contained 6 chairs which could be arranged as we needed. For my 6'7" frame, this meant I could make my own leg room which was a treat.

I made this panorama shot from here. Double-click on it to get the full effect...

Looking across at the little cherubs that separated the first from the second balcony, we noticed one was wearing a derby! This shot is a little grainy...

So we all settled in and listened to the orchestra in the pit tuning up. There wasn't much else to do but people watch and leaf through the program to get a sense of who was singing and what they were going to be singing about...

A glance upward to the ceiling brought on certain "Phantom of the Opera" vibes....how appropriate...

Then, the lights dimmed and we were underway.

This is the star of the show singing the part of Figaro, Jose Adan Perez, a Mexican native who is now with the Los Angeles Opera. His story is a fascinating one, and my friends over at Yucatan Living have a great interview with him you can read here.

The bad news was, being written by a guy named Rossini, the whole thing was sung in Italian. The good news was that subtitles were projected above the stage. The bad news was they were in Spanish. No matter, we got the gist of the story and it didn't affect the full-throttle sound of the Yucatan Symphony blending with the wonderful voices entertaining us.

I'll leave it to the experts to comment on the musical and technical aspects of the performance. I would encourage anyone who is interested to periodically check into what performances are on tap and take in a night at the theater.

More later,

Larry

Celestun

larry.baker@gmail.com (Larry) — Sun, 10 May 2009 19:24:00 +0000

Or, road trip part 2.
Once we finished "El Camino de Diablo", we hit the main highway and headed west for 20 kms to Celestun, home to the 147,000 acre Parque Natural del Flamenco Mexicano or the Celestun Biosphere Reserve as it's also called.
We headed into town and to the beach to enjoy a picnic lunch before looking for the flamingos.
The beach...

Then we worked our way back to the ecological park which is easy to spot from the highway..

There, we were greeting by a nice guy who spoke English. He took us into an area that had a topographical map of the ecopreserve and he offered us the choice of a two hour or one hour tour. At this stage of the game, we opted for the one hour.
He then led us to the dock where there were many boats, no waiting.

The Skipper Gilligan

We headed up the estuary for about 20 minutes and then they came into view.....(note: click on pictures to enlarge for best viewing)

Hundreds of flamingos feeding on the special plankton that are nourished in this area by the unique combination of salt and fresh water. The Skipper cut the engine and then the breeze caused the boat to silently drift towards the birds.

After about 20 minutes of observing, we continued on our way and into a passage that led us through the thick mangrove jungle surrounding the estuary.

I mean thick...

Where termites build their nests in the trees....

After a short cruise through here, we headed on to a fresh water spring area where we docked and walked through admiring the crystal clear, fish rich sweet water.

As we were leaving, this beautiful bird came walking by us. The skipper told us it was a "Mangrove Chicken" although since we weren't allowed to eat it, we cannot confirm this name. We'll have to take the skipper's word for it.

A fabulous trip, and highly recomended for fellow expats and visitors alike. Just make sure to stay on the main highway.

More later,

Larry

Road Trip! (Part 1)

larry.baker@gmail.com (Larry) — Sat, 09 May 2009 15:21:00 +0000

So, the brakes on the car checked out fine and it seemed time for a road trip. For this particular road trip we decided to take the road less traveled. And, eventually, we would find out that it was less traveled for a reason. More on that later.
We headed out westerly in the mid-morning towards the border of our neighbor state Campeche, armed only with a map, a picnic lunch and a full tank of gas. According to the map we were headed into hacienda country which we felt should afford us some good photo ops as well as a look into a very important part of the Yucatan's past.

Haciendas

The haciendas, or ranches or plantations, were basically land grants given by the Spanish monarchy to wealthy patrons. These huge plantations were worked by native Mexicans under a feudal system (basically slavery) whereby the workers, or peones were born, worked and died serving the owner's interests. The plantations in the Yucatan were processing one thing: henequen.

The fibers of this cactus were (and still are) extracted through a process of shredding, drying and weaving to make rope which, for the better part of a century and a half, was a very lucrative business. The plantation owners in the Yucatan were, at the time, some of the wealthiest people on earth and their henequen plants were called "green gold".

These haciendas were small cities unto themselves with churches, living quarters for the owner and his family and for the workers and their families. Of course, the workers bought all their food and goods from the plantation-owned store using plantation printed money.

Hacienda Santa Rosa

It was the Peon family that owned most of the land we were traveling through and they owned it for several generations until 1937 when the newly formed democratic government redistributed all the land to the peasants.

This is Hacienda Santa Rosa outside of Chunchucmil. Once abandoned and in a state of decay, a group of investors spent the better part of three years reconstructing and restoring the main plantation mansion. It's now part of the Starwood Hotel group of "luxury resorts". The work was done by the local descendants of the original peones, and when the work was done they were also trained to work as staff members in the resort.

The old church...

We're not sure about this building. It was huge and looked like there were many concrete cubicles inside.

Although the rope is no longer produced, the henequen fibers are still processed on a small scale in the area and we were fortunate to run across some local artisans using their skills to make wonderful items.

The bundled fibers look something like sheep's wool...

Articles are woven by hand in a process handed down from each generation to the next...

Next door, the artists were busy making silver filigree jewelry working with torches, hammers, pliers and...rocks.

All items were for sale and we did purchase some of the henequen woven items which were surprisingly heavier than they looked.

Then it was off to Kochol where we found another hacienda. This one was not, nor will it most likely ever be, restored. But at one time, it was very impressive...

Kochol

I tried and could not find any information about this hacienda on the internet. But by looking at it, it had been an impressive operation in it's day.

These are the smoke stacks indicating the drying kilns with a work house behind them..

The main mansion. It appears that there were servant quarters under the main house. We had to be cautious walking around in this structure as there were collapsed floors testifying to its decaying condition.

And in the back courtyard of the mansion, a swimming pool. We could only imagine the parties that were held here...

Change of plans...

Our next stop was to be Chunchucmil, an archeological site we hadn't heard of, but wanted to check-out. When we got to the town of Chunchucmil, the road came to a "T" and we had no signage to indicate which direction to turn. So we went north. It soon became apparent that we were headed in the wrong direction, so we made one of those on-the-road decisions: Since we were headed in the direction of Celestun, why not go up and see the flamingos? Good idea! And, according to the map, it was a straight shot, 25 kilometer, piece-o-cake drive to get to the highway that would take us there.

O.K. Think of what most North Americans imagine all Mexican roads are like. This is what we were on.

One-lane. And this picture was one of the better stretches. I am not exaggerating when I report that we had to dodge hundreds of potholes, downed trees, road apples, you name it, rarely getting out of first gear. And I kid you not, we were being tracked by vultures in the trees above. And little indication of civilization anywhere within eyesight.

So this little 20 or 30 minute jaunt up to the main highway ended up taking about an hour and a half of some of the most nerve wracking driving I've ever done. Avoid this so-called road at all costs.

But we made it, and in Part 2 of Road Trip, we'll show you those flamingos. They were magnificent.

More later,

Larry

Gimme A Brake!

larry.baker@gmail.com (Larry) — Fri, 08 May 2009 01:24:00 +0000

We brought a new 2005 Subaru Outback with us from north of the border. It seemed like the perfect car to have in an area which may experience driving problems from time to time, say during a hurricane. With All Wheel Drive and a ground clearance of nine inches, it is a rugged vehicle and quite favored by drivers from the Great Pacific Northwest. Yes, it is a law that we from that region of the country have to say "Great" before we can say Pacific Northwest.
The problem is this: when taking this wonderful example of Japanese engineering into a local Yucatan auto shop, one might as well be pulling up in the Mars Lander. Subarus are rare in Mexico and seemingly even rarer on the peninsula. Fortunately at the local tire shop in Progreso Llantica, they do our oil changes with no problems having found a suitable oil filter replacement that isn't exactly Subaru genuine but seems to do the job just fine.
This week, however, a little bit bigger task was at hand.
The brakes started making that grinding sound that indicates new pads are in order so we took it into Llantica in Progreso to see what they could do. In short order, they said they could do nothing but no problem. If we went to the Llantica in Merida (the big city), they could help us there. Well.....yes and no.
The hombre in charge at the Merida Llantica sadly informed us that he could not do the job. However, he steered us to another place, Clutchs y Frenos Chuburna. They deal with clutches (clutchs) and brakes (frenos). This was not in Chuburna the little fishing village, but Colonia Chuburna in Merida. For the uninitiated, Merida is made up of many colonias or small neighborhoods and driving around town is very, very confusing as the street names and numbers change from colonia to colonia.
The hombre in charge obviously could see my confusion from the open-mouth stare I was giving him, i.e "this gringo will never find this place on his own", so he commanded one of his muchachos to get on his "moto" (motorbike) and lead us to Clutchs y Frenos!
All of this day so far, by the way, was being conducted in Spanish. Sort of makes it a little tougher, but not impossible.
So off we went.

...for about 4 blocks before he ran out of gas.

No problem, he informed us and went trotting down the road with his moto to get some gas.

One thing you quickly learn about Mexicans. Most things are "No problem" even when they are a problem. So we waited. And, about 10 minutes later, back he came and we were on our way again. We never saw the gas station where he refueled....

Eventually we came to Clutchs y Frenos.

We bid farewell to our guide, marveling at the helpfulness of the guys at Llantica. Before we headed out to the brake place we had asked the head hombre to quote us a price for a full tune-up which he did. Do you think he earned our business? Damn straight! We will have that work done there.
At Clutchs y Frenos we were warmly greeted by the Gerente de Servicios, Mario Can Cuevas. We told him we were possibly looking for a set of rear brakes as the front brakes appeared just fine. He assured us he would have a look and to give him a call bout 2 p.m. This was a 10:45 so we had some time to kill.
Let's look around Clutchs y Frenos.
It's a very basic and busy shop.

The machine shop complete with nudies on the wall...

And evidence of mucho clutchs replaced.....

So with over 3 hours to kill, we hot-footed it (literally it was a cooker in Merida today) to Avenue Technologico and caught a combi bus to the Gran Plaza Mall to have lunch and do some shopping. If you've never ridden in a combi, you're in for a treat. They have no shock absorbers. That task is performed by your spine.

Only 3 pesos for a ride on a senior rate (see senior card)
And when you hit a topes (speed bump)

...it's a lot of "pow for the peso".

After lunch and shopping we opted for a 40 peso cab ride back to the shop to spare our senior skeletal system further combi abuse and prepared for abuse of another kind: the dreaded "repair bill". Sr. Cuevas met us at the cashier's window and they presented the tab: $350 pesos (about $30.00 U.S.). Indra immediately sensed something was wrong and they didn't replace the brakes as we had requested. Sr. Cuevas calmly informed us that the car didn't need new brakes after all, just a cleaning and adjustment. And sure enough, there is no more grinding sound.

I don't know of your past experiences north of the border with this type of situation, but Indra and I agreed it probably wouldn't be too difficult to find a repair shop that would have just replaced the brakes, and probably would have given us a scary story about a soon-to-fail master cylinder to boot.

Two plus years into our Mexican adventure and we continue to be amazed on a nearly daily basis.

More later,

Larry

What Flu?

larry.baker@gmail.com (Larry) — Fri, 01 May 2009 15:26:00 +0000