Casa Rosa

Our home in Mexico will be Mérida but when we arrived we felt like some beach time and relaxation was in order so our home for the month of January will be with Karen in a quaint oceanfront apartment. Karen purchased a rundown property and has been renovating and working her magic to make it a wonderful place to enjoy Yucatan’s North Gulf Coast. The accommodations are simple and clean. We have the second story apartment with a wall of windows facing the sea. Karen is an on sight owner from England; it is a pleasure getting to know her. The other apartments have been rented for shorter stays by folks escaping the harsh cold of the northern United States. The view out our window is in a constant state of change. Morning wakes cool as clouds hug the turquoise horizon.We watch in the early morning light as the first fishing boats head out for the catch of the day. A trio of pelicans flies overhead on their way to breakfast. The tide is out and I can see from the terrace the seashore littered with tumbled shells. There is a constant breeze, well sometimes more than a breeze.






Casa Rosa is the pink building on the right. This is the ''street'' view

 


The Gulf during a ''Norte''



 


The Gulf view during normal times

Chelém is a real, Mexican fishing village, with a small square where families gather in the evening, deserted houses line the sand streets, used by Mexican families during Semana Santa (Easter) and the hot summer months. Expats have found Chelém offers a tranquil and inexpensive alternative to life in the United States.

This is the town square or Plaza in Chelém and also the front of the mercado

The owner of the property is having a pool built and every day the workers come, men of small build and dark skin with bright white smiles. I watched one of the men cut a perfect circle in the concrete using a hammer and chisel. Another man in artisan fashion applies play dough blue concrete to the inside of the pool. I listen to the Mayan chatter, very distinctly not Spanish. I watch these men artistically doing menial labor and think of their ancestors creating a calendar more accurate than the one we used to count down our departure for Mexico.