After picking up our pulled pork from the little tienda across the way, we headed off to Ticul with C and F, new friends who own a condo in the complex. Ticul is about a 90 minute drive from Progreso and is known for its pottery and shoes.
After passing through Uman, where we had to ask a police officer for directions, and Manu, we arrived at the absolutely charming town of Ticul. The streets aren't very wide and we saw a large number of those tricycles with the passenger seating in front. The lack of garbage lying around was one of the first things we noticed. Perhaps the more residential areas are littered, but the main road into town, and the downtown area, were neat as a pin.
We decided to stop for lunch before we went shopping. Carmelita's Restaurant and Cocteleria was the first place we found so in we went. It's located right on the corner by the main square. There's a huge, old church that we could see across the square from the restaurant.
The food was fabulous, probably the best we've had anywhere here. F had a plate of ceviche, C had a fish dish, Senor B had garlic fish and I had garlic chicken. The botanas were plentiful and we could barely eat all our lunch. While the guys finished their beers, F and I decided to go check out the market that we had spied on our way into town but we got there only to find them closing up for the day. We got an awful lot of looks from the locals, as if we were an oddity in their town. I've read about trips to Ticul on other blogs so I was a bit surprised by the stares.
Back to the restaurant to fetch the guys and then we were off to the pottery stores. Oh my. Such a selection. Vases of all shapes, sizes and colours. Suns, moons, frogs (lots and lots of frogs), butterflies, crosses and other things to hang on the wall. Bowls, trays and coffee table decorations. Every store was just a bit different. Same, or similar, items but in different colours or shapes.
There was a beautiful metalwork wall hanging that held small pottery vases that I would have liked to have bought but the vases didn't come in a colour that worked with my decor. I also found a lovely flamingo that I wanted, since we live on the Flamingo Coast. However, it only came in a set of three and I only wanted one. I just don't have enough space for all three of them. The pretty bird that would have looked great on the top of the kitchen cupboards had to be left behind because it was too heavy. I was worried that it would pull the cupboard off the wall. So all I ended up buying were a few small decorative bowls.
Ticul is a really cool place and I hope to get back there again.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Beach and Nightlife
The weather was fantastic today. I don't know what the temperature was but they were forecasting around 29C. I'm sure it was that warm but the breeze off the Gulf always tempers the heat. Merida doesn't get the breeze that we do so it gets a lot hotter there. I don't know how the folks there survive.
We decided to go for a walk on the beach. It's so much nicer this time of year than it's been on any previous visits. The water has more green and turquoise and there isn't nearly as much seaweed on the beach. The breeze was stiff and the sun warm, the perfect combination for a nasty sunburn if a person isn't careful. I was careful. I got up close and personal with every redhead's best friend...SPF60.
We met up with another couple staying at the complex and chatted with them while we all strolled back to the laneway to the condo. Along the way, we briefly met Jessica who runs a Kite Surfing business. We haven't used her services so I can't offer a personal endorsement, but I did want to give her a mention in case anyone might be interested. Senor B and I both have bum shoulders so I doubt we'll ever be doing any kite surfing. It sure looks like a lot of fun, though.
Oh, that wind. Wanna know what it does to curly hair? Eek! Remember Scary Spice from the Spice Girls? My hair isn't as curly as hers but it was just as wild and unkempt looking. And once curly hair has gone wild, there's just no taming it. Good grief.
After we got back, we had to go for a beer and coke run. There's a cold beer store a couple blocks away and we got the coke at the little tienda across the street. It's just so darned cool to have these things nearby. I've read about street vendors who walk the streets calling out whatever it is they have for sale...fruit, veggies, bread or what have you. Sadly, we live on the back side of the complex with no sidewalk, so it looks like a back alley and the street vendors don't come our way. Imagine being able to buy much of what you need right at your doorstep!
After supper we headed uptown to see what was going on. I've read, on other blogs, about the nightlife at the parks near the bloggers' homes, so I was anticipating some music and dancing. Nope. There was nothing going on. We heard 60's music but it sounded like it was coming from a nearby building that we assumed was a bar so we didn't go over.
There were a few food vendors selling churros, fries and marquesitas. There's a place with tables where you can buy a coke and sit there, if you'd like. You can get your shoes shined. The taxi stand is there. Kids were zipping around on their skateboards and bicycles. We bought a bag of churros (my favourite treat down here) to share and sat on one of those cool two seater benches where we could face each other.
Things are so much calmer downtown in the evening. It's not frenetic like it is during the day. Because it's so much cooler in the evening, we thought this would be a better time of day to do our uptown stuff. The grocery store we've been going to was open, but the big market was not. Nor was our favourite hardware store. So I guess we'll still have to brave the heat of the day to do most of our running around.
We wandered around for a while and then headed back to the condo.
A couple of bars have opened up across the street. Luckily, being on the back side, we can't really hear much noise. Just the beat of the bass. We've gotten used to the neighbour's dogs barking at 6am so we can sleep through that, now. The bass is a new sound so I suppose it'll be a bit bothersome tonight. Thank goodness they're not open during the week.
We decided to go for a walk on the beach. It's so much nicer this time of year than it's been on any previous visits. The water has more green and turquoise and there isn't nearly as much seaweed on the beach. The breeze was stiff and the sun warm, the perfect combination for a nasty sunburn if a person isn't careful. I was careful. I got up close and personal with every redhead's best friend...SPF60.
We met up with another couple staying at the complex and chatted with them while we all strolled back to the laneway to the condo. Along the way, we briefly met Jessica who runs a Kite Surfing business. We haven't used her services so I can't offer a personal endorsement, but I did want to give her a mention in case anyone might be interested. Senor B and I both have bum shoulders so I doubt we'll ever be doing any kite surfing. It sure looks like a lot of fun, though.
Oh, that wind. Wanna know what it does to curly hair? Eek! Remember Scary Spice from the Spice Girls? My hair isn't as curly as hers but it was just as wild and unkempt looking. And once curly hair has gone wild, there's just no taming it. Good grief.
After we got back, we had to go for a beer and coke run. There's a cold beer store a couple blocks away and we got the coke at the little tienda across the street. It's just so darned cool to have these things nearby. I've read about street vendors who walk the streets calling out whatever it is they have for sale...fruit, veggies, bread or what have you. Sadly, we live on the back side of the complex with no sidewalk, so it looks like a back alley and the street vendors don't come our way. Imagine being able to buy much of what you need right at your doorstep!
After supper we headed uptown to see what was going on. I've read, on other blogs, about the nightlife at the parks near the bloggers' homes, so I was anticipating some music and dancing. Nope. There was nothing going on. We heard 60's music but it sounded like it was coming from a nearby building that we assumed was a bar so we didn't go over.
There were a few food vendors selling churros, fries and marquesitas. There's a place with tables where you can buy a coke and sit there, if you'd like. You can get your shoes shined. The taxi stand is there. Kids were zipping around on their skateboards and bicycles. We bought a bag of churros (my favourite treat down here) to share and sat on one of those cool two seater benches where we could face each other.
Things are so much calmer downtown in the evening. It's not frenetic like it is during the day. Because it's so much cooler in the evening, we thought this would be a better time of day to do our uptown stuff. The grocery store we've been going to was open, but the big market was not. Nor was our favourite hardware store. So I guess we'll still have to brave the heat of the day to do most of our running around.
We wandered around for a while and then headed back to the condo.
A couple of bars have opened up across the street. Luckily, being on the back side, we can't really hear much noise. Just the beat of the bass. We've gotten used to the neighbour's dogs barking at 6am so we can sleep through that, now. The bass is a new sound so I suppose it'll be a bit bothersome tonight. Thank goodness they're not open during the week.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
The Pampered Chef Comes to Yucatan
This afternoon I went to a Pampered Chef party at D's place. D lives on the floor above us. It was your typical PC party. Lots of good food and good company. If I understood D correctly, Aura is the first consultant in the area. And, wouldn't you know, I forgot to get her info to pass along to my Yucatan readers. Aura speaks pretty good English but her accent and rapid speech got in the way of me being able to understand her well.
Since we share our condo with others, I didn't want to buy any larger, pricier items and risk having them spirited away, so I puchased a couple of small items. I'm a consultant for Princess House so it was a bit awkward to attend since we pretty much compete directly with each other. Still, they have items we don't and I wanted to support a fellow female entrepreneur.
In other news, we went uptown today to pick up a few groceries and to see if our bank card would work. We went to a different bank from the first 2 and we were successful in making a withdrawal. Hurray! And we were smart enough to go early in the morning to beat the heat. We were back at the condo by 10:30.
The bank we went to is near the big green building I mentioned the other day which is called City Hall, not the Municipal Building. I discovered that the school isn't housed within. It's actually in a building right beside it. That's why I got confused. I will try to be a better reporter.
The internet was down last night but you all didn't miss anything. The highlight of the day was spending the evening with another couple in the complex. Fun for us but not really worth writing about. Oh, wait. I just did...lol.
Since we share our condo with others, I didn't want to buy any larger, pricier items and risk having them spirited away, so I puchased a couple of small items. I'm a consultant for Princess House so it was a bit awkward to attend since we pretty much compete directly with each other. Still, they have items we don't and I wanted to support a fellow female entrepreneur.
In other news, we went uptown today to pick up a few groceries and to see if our bank card would work. We went to a different bank from the first 2 and we were successful in making a withdrawal. Hurray! And we were smart enough to go early in the morning to beat the heat. We were back at the condo by 10:30.
The bank we went to is near the big green building I mentioned the other day which is called City Hall, not the Municipal Building. I discovered that the school isn't housed within. It's actually in a building right beside it. That's why I got confused. I will try to be a better reporter.
The internet was down last night but you all didn't miss anything. The highlight of the day was spending the evening with another couple in the complex. Fun for us but not really worth writing about. Oh, wait. I just did...lol.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Best Day Ever
Well, in the top 10, anyways.
Yesterday, we were introduced to Sochi. Not sure of the spelling but it's pronounced so (like toe) chee. Sochi does massages, manicures and pedicures so we set up appointments for full body massages at 10am today. She asked if we were allergic to anything or if we had metal parts. She uses a magnetic something-or-other and needed to know.
Sochi lives a couple of blocks down the street from here. Friends had told her they would pick her up but they forgot. Oops. She doesn't have a vehicle so she loaded her folding table onto a hand truck and rolled it over. What a gal! She's known within the complex so someone let her in the gate. Her cheery, "Hola. Buenos dias!" at the door let us know she'd arrived.
We moved the kitchen table to make room for her bed and she went to work. ohmygoodness. She's amazing! She uses scented oils which was intriguing. She started with a menthol smelling one, moved on to a lavender one and then used something very warming on my bum shoulder. I was so relaxed and "into" the whole thing that I didn't think to ask her what she was using. I have to get a monthly massage at home to keep myself limber enough to continue working, and hers was as good as any I've had. Senor B enjoyed his massage, as well.
Sochi showed me a couple of exercises to do for my shoulder and one for Senor B for his neck. She doesn't speak much English but we managed to understand each other.
Our massages were about an hour and twenty minutes each. Wonderful fragrances and a couple exercises to do. All done in the comfort of our home. For the fabulous price of 250 pesos/$19CDN each. We gave her 600 pesos/$46CDN for the two of us. My massage back home costs me $80 for one hour. No fragrances and I have to do the travelling.
We're going to try and book her before we go back.
Yesterday, we were introduced to Sochi. Not sure of the spelling but it's pronounced so (like toe) chee. Sochi does massages, manicures and pedicures so we set up appointments for full body massages at 10am today. She asked if we were allergic to anything or if we had metal parts. She uses a magnetic something-or-other and needed to know.
Sochi lives a couple of blocks down the street from here. Friends had told her they would pick her up but they forgot. Oops. She doesn't have a vehicle so she loaded her folding table onto a hand truck and rolled it over. What a gal! She's known within the complex so someone let her in the gate. Her cheery, "Hola. Buenos dias!" at the door let us know she'd arrived.
We moved the kitchen table to make room for her bed and she went to work. ohmygoodness. She's amazing! She uses scented oils which was intriguing. She started with a menthol smelling one, moved on to a lavender one and then used something very warming on my bum shoulder. I was so relaxed and "into" the whole thing that I didn't think to ask her what she was using. I have to get a monthly massage at home to keep myself limber enough to continue working, and hers was as good as any I've had. Senor B enjoyed his massage, as well.
Sochi showed me a couple of exercises to do for my shoulder and one for Senor B for his neck. She doesn't speak much English but we managed to understand each other.
Our massages were about an hour and twenty minutes each. Wonderful fragrances and a couple exercises to do. All done in the comfort of our home. For the fabulous price of 250 pesos/$19CDN each. We gave her 600 pesos/$46CDN for the two of us. My massage back home costs me $80 for one hour. No fragrances and I have to do the travelling.
We're going to try and book her before we go back.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Productive Day
This morning we went uptown to exchange our rental money (USD) to pesos so we have money for now. Senor B tried to call our bank in Canada, via MagicJack, but he didn't have a very good connection so nothing got accomplished. Based on info we've been given about some banking glitches and procedures, we're (naively, perhaps?) confident that our situation is temporary. We're optimistic that everything will work out.
Then we went to pay our taxes at the big green building, whose name I don't remember, at the main square. I think it's called the Municipal Building, but I'm not certain. We can see that there are different things housed within its colourful walls but the only ones we can identify are the tax office and a school.
I've found that a good ice-breaker is to say, "Lo siento. Mi espanol no es bueno." "I'm sorry. My Spanish isn't good." It always makes people smile. Maybe I'm saying it all wrong and it amuses them? Anyways, they're always very helpful and patient. So I said this to the lady at the tax office as I produced the cedula catastral, the legal document needed to pay taxes. She smiles and says, "No problem," as she takes the papers. She does her calculations, writes the fee on a sticky note and hands it all back to me. Then it's over to the cashier to make payment.
I believe taxes have to be paid by the end of Feb to avoid penalty. I have no idea if we incurred a penalty or not. We paid 263.63 pesos/$20.41CDN. Twenty bucks! For the year! If we got penalized, well, we're sure not gonna complain.
Then we walked around downtown a bit. Senor B wanted to get himself a tank top. Our friend, Dave, who came down with us in Nov, said they're much cooler to wear than a t-shirt. Senor B and I have known each other for 26 years and I've never seen him wear a tank top. He's really been stepping out of his comfort zone as he's getting older. These shirts are colloquially known as wife-beaters but, lest I use a term that isn't in favour, I Googled and learned that they're also called A-shirts, the A standing for Athletic. Ummm...Senor B and athletic in the same sentence? Ummm...sure. Why not? LOL.
A quick stop at the market to pick up a few veggies and then it was back to the condo.
On our way out this morning, we had planned on going to Bodega to get groceries, as well. At the front gate we met up with D, who lives on the upper floor. He had errands to run this afternoon and offered to take us to the store so we took him up on that.
I've read, on other blogs, that you can call it a good day if you get 2 things accomplished. We got 5. I think we may have set a record. *grin*
Then we went to pay our taxes at the big green building, whose name I don't remember, at the main square. I think it's called the Municipal Building, but I'm not certain. We can see that there are different things housed within its colourful walls but the only ones we can identify are the tax office and a school.
I've found that a good ice-breaker is to say, "Lo siento. Mi espanol no es bueno." "I'm sorry. My Spanish isn't good." It always makes people smile. Maybe I'm saying it all wrong and it amuses them? Anyways, they're always very helpful and patient. So I said this to the lady at the tax office as I produced the cedula catastral, the legal document needed to pay taxes. She smiles and says, "No problem," as she takes the papers. She does her calculations, writes the fee on a sticky note and hands it all back to me. Then it's over to the cashier to make payment.
I believe taxes have to be paid by the end of Feb to avoid penalty. I have no idea if we incurred a penalty or not. We paid 263.63 pesos/$20.41CDN. Twenty bucks! For the year! If we got penalized, well, we're sure not gonna complain.
Then we walked around downtown a bit. Senor B wanted to get himself a tank top. Our friend, Dave, who came down with us in Nov, said they're much cooler to wear than a t-shirt. Senor B and I have known each other for 26 years and I've never seen him wear a tank top. He's really been stepping out of his comfort zone as he's getting older. These shirts are colloquially known as wife-beaters but, lest I use a term that isn't in favour, I Googled and learned that they're also called A-shirts, the A standing for Athletic. Ummm...Senor B and athletic in the same sentence? Ummm...sure. Why not? LOL.
A quick stop at the market to pick up a few veggies and then it was back to the condo.
On our way out this morning, we had planned on going to Bodega to get groceries, as well. At the front gate we met up with D, who lives on the upper floor. He had errands to run this afternoon and offered to take us to the store so we took him up on that.
I've read, on other blogs, that you can call it a good day if you get 2 things accomplished. We got 5. I think we may have set a record. *grin*
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Sunday Tradition
Today was pretty uneventful but my fans back home always want to know what we're up to, so here goes.
There's a little tienda, or corner store, just across the street from the complex. Every Sunday morning, there's a young couple who come with pibil, or pulled pork. They're set up with a metal serving area, like you'd see in a buffet. It's got the recessed area where the meat is, with a warmer to keep things hot. They start selling fairly early, around 9am. We can see them from the stair area so, when it's getting close to 9, we take a look-see to see if they're set up yet. When I checked, I could see people there so I strolled on over. It looked as though they'd been open for a little while because they had less than they usually do. I guess we'll have to start checking on them a little earlier.
The gal weighs out the meat based on what you tell her you want to spend. You can also buy bread and a small bag of chopped onions and habanero sauce is included, if you want them. We pass on the hot sauce...lol. We get the 50 peso bag. It seems to me that the bag was smaller than it was in Nov and the bread was 50 centavos more, each. I hope we weren't victims of "gringo pricing". We got the bag of meat and 3 loaves of bread, each about a foot long, for 59 pesos/$4.60CAN, which was enough for both of us for lunch and one for supper so it's still an excellent price. And it's omg-delicious. This is going to become a Sunday tradition.
It was windy and cool today. I had to put on pants and a sweater. Ok, folks at home are wondering how cold could it possibly be. True, it's way warmer here than there but that north wind off the Gulf is right chilly. And it was a strong wind so, yeah, it wasn't an overly pleasant day. Since it was too miserable to go anywhere, I took care of housework...laundry, sweeping, mopping and all that other mundane stuff. Just like I would do if it was a snow day back home.
There's a little tienda, or corner store, just across the street from the complex. Every Sunday morning, there's a young couple who come with pibil, or pulled pork. They're set up with a metal serving area, like you'd see in a buffet. It's got the recessed area where the meat is, with a warmer to keep things hot. They start selling fairly early, around 9am. We can see them from the stair area so, when it's getting close to 9, we take a look-see to see if they're set up yet. When I checked, I could see people there so I strolled on over. It looked as though they'd been open for a little while because they had less than they usually do. I guess we'll have to start checking on them a little earlier.
The gal weighs out the meat based on what you tell her you want to spend. You can also buy bread and a small bag of chopped onions and habanero sauce is included, if you want them. We pass on the hot sauce...lol. We get the 50 peso bag. It seems to me that the bag was smaller than it was in Nov and the bread was 50 centavos more, each. I hope we weren't victims of "gringo pricing". We got the bag of meat and 3 loaves of bread, each about a foot long, for 59 pesos/$4.60CAN, which was enough for both of us for lunch and one for supper so it's still an excellent price. And it's omg-delicious. This is going to become a Sunday tradition.
It was windy and cool today. I had to put on pants and a sweater. Ok, folks at home are wondering how cold could it possibly be. True, it's way warmer here than there but that north wind off the Gulf is right chilly. And it was a strong wind so, yeah, it wasn't an overly pleasant day. Since it was too miserable to go anywhere, I took care of housework...laundry, sweeping, mopping and all that other mundane stuff. Just like I would do if it was a snow day back home.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Cultural Adjustments
We finally rolled into Progreso last night at about 7:30pm after being on the go for 36 hours. Senor B worked on Thursday and we left shortly after he got home. It's a 3 hour drive to the airport, overnight flight to our connecting city, layover, flight to Cancun, bus ride to Merida and half hour taxi to Progreso. We were beat when we got to the condo and the general lack of sleep (cuz, really...who can sleep on a plane?) made us a little testy towards each other.
On our first flight, we flew with a crew that we'd flown with in November. It made us remark, "You know you're a frequent flyer when..." *grin*
My Spanish lessons paid off during our taxi ride when I was able to direct the driver to our place. It was pretty cool to be able to do that. I have a long way to go before I can say I'm even close to being proficient but being able to communicate, even in a limited capacity, makes me feel a lot less helpless.
We went uptown this morning to go to the bank and get a few groceries. Banking didn't go so well. The bank we usually go to wouldn't process our transaction. We both tried our debit cards without any luck. So we went across the street to another bank. Same thing. The only thing we can think of is that we forgot to let our bank know we were coming and they were denying the transaction. But we haven't always let them know and haven't had any problems before so we're confused. Senor B sent our bank an email so we'll see if it gets straightened out. Fortunately, we had some cash on us so we were still able to get some groceries.
Since we're not renting a vehicle we can't do a big shop like we did in the past. We picked up enough for the day plus a few other items that won't be needed each trip. Things like mayo, butter, olives. We'll have to make more frequent and smaller trips than we're used to. It's just one of those little adjustments to be made when living in another culture. And, hey, it's not like we have a whole lot of anything else to do...lol.
When we had an air-conditioned car, we would run errands whenever the mood hit. Now that we don't have that luxury, we decided that running errands earlier than 11am would be a smart thing. We were gone 2 hours and were about roasted when we got back. Another cultural adjustment to make.
There are 3 little corner stores near us so we can always go there to pick up a few things, too.
Temp today was 35C so that meant a trip to the pool in the afternoon. It was great seeing old friends and meeting some new ones.
On our first flight, we flew with a crew that we'd flown with in November. It made us remark, "You know you're a frequent flyer when..." *grin*
My Spanish lessons paid off during our taxi ride when I was able to direct the driver to our place. It was pretty cool to be able to do that. I have a long way to go before I can say I'm even close to being proficient but being able to communicate, even in a limited capacity, makes me feel a lot less helpless.
We went uptown this morning to go to the bank and get a few groceries. Banking didn't go so well. The bank we usually go to wouldn't process our transaction. We both tried our debit cards without any luck. So we went across the street to another bank. Same thing. The only thing we can think of is that we forgot to let our bank know we were coming and they were denying the transaction. But we haven't always let them know and haven't had any problems before so we're confused. Senor B sent our bank an email so we'll see if it gets straightened out. Fortunately, we had some cash on us so we were still able to get some groceries.
Since we're not renting a vehicle we can't do a big shop like we did in the past. We picked up enough for the day plus a few other items that won't be needed each trip. Things like mayo, butter, olives. We'll have to make more frequent and smaller trips than we're used to. It's just one of those little adjustments to be made when living in another culture. And, hey, it's not like we have a whole lot of anything else to do...lol.
When we had an air-conditioned car, we would run errands whenever the mood hit. Now that we don't have that luxury, we decided that running errands earlier than 11am would be a smart thing. We were gone 2 hours and were about roasted when we got back. Another cultural adjustment to make.
There are 3 little corner stores near us so we can always go there to pick up a few things, too.
Temp today was 35C so that meant a trip to the pool in the afternoon. It was great seeing old friends and meeting some new ones.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
