Dave: From Merida!

I was going to post yesterday afternoon, but got side tracked with some issues regarding the rental car. Seems there has been a substantial change in the exchange rate since the booking. So the rental car folks are cancelling reservations made more than 10 days ago or when you get there they want MORE money! So, we took a taxi back "home" and truly are living like a local for a few days as the credit card company tries to sort things out! Anyway, that is just one small thing and it is not going to ruin our trip, we had planned on living without a car later on, so we will just adjust and do it for a while now! Besides, the local market four blocks away is well stocked with produce, fish and meats and the prices are very nice. We have also found another "economical kitchen" only a couple blocks away so we can have home cooked food almost any time. Last night we had fresh tamales from the new kitchen, the cost was only about $1.75 USD for four huge tamales and man were they good!

As for the post for yesterday, I was up about 615am and the sunrise was spectacular! There was a cool breeze and sitting on the patio drinking my first cup of coffee decided to do some photos.

Looking to the east as the sun comes over the trees where the birds are singing, welcoming the new day!

Looking toward the coast, about 15 miles away!

This is one of the older sections of Merida. There has been a settlement here since the Mayan days so there are many homes that are very old. And they are build side by side as you can see. But each has a back yard, some a little larger than others but never the less, a place to sit in the cool of the evening or cook when the weather is very hot (February, March and part of April!)

This is a picture of the entrance to our second floor studio apartment. We have our own entrance through the small garden out to the street. I like this as we don't bother our host or they us. A nice arrangement.

As I said, each house has a back area and many grow fruits and veggies. Our neighbor has an orange tree and as you can see here, it has many oranges in various stages of ripening.

A shot here of the next street over. It is very much like our street, but it is a major roadway into the center area (Centro) of town. Many buses and Combis (small bus) run this route into the central area. It is very easy to catch a ride for about 50 cents and you can ride the end of the line for that price.

This is a picture of the wonderful trees that give us shade up until about noon and provides such a nice area on the patio for breakfast.

Okay, enough for now! Since we are going to be living like locals, we need to get showered and dressed then off to the market (mercado) to get some supplies. One MAJOR item we need is COFFEE! Our host provided enough for a couple days, but given the way we drink it, we are in need!

More pictures to come from the mercado later today or early tomorrow!