She Was Warned

One of the wonderful things about living where people vacation is….your family and friends will now vacation to your home at the best of times, and the worst of times. In spite of warnings, and I am not talking about warnings from the US government about travel to Mexico, I am referring to my warning to visitors who come in June, to a home “under construction”. My oldest sister, Jerrie wanted to visit, so she did, in spite of the mess. Ty and I knew if anyone could handle the conditions, she could. I spoke with Jerrie before she boarded her flight to Mérida and reminded her “It is hot, the house is dirty, the workers are here every day, there is construction going on and the back yard is a disaster area, oh, and did I mention it is HOT!”

The day my sister was to arrive happened to be the day the electricista decided to chip out the wall in the guest bedroom for the installation of the air conditioner. 

With her arrival just hours away, I found myself accessing the situation-standing ankle deep in debris and polvo (white powder) coating everything.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard the doorbell, it was Maria, Lupita and Alejandro; the troops had arrived to clean the house. Maria took one look at the mess and started giving orders in Spanish, Alex scrambled to the bodega for the shovel and Lupita headed for the garden hose. Yes, you heard right, Lupita brought the garden hose in the house and started washing everything down, this  obviously is one advantage of living in a stone and concrete house. Alex began scooping the debris into buckets and carting it outside. Maria made it clear I was to stay out of the way and pointed to a hammock hanging on a Ramon tree, barked an order to one of the albaniles, and in what seemed like an instant he had tidied up the area and strung out the hammock. In spite of the anxious anticipation of our arriving guest, Adie and I are lulled to sleep by the gentle sway of the hammock. When Maria and her crew leave, the house is sparkling clean. Jerrie arrived that night to see Mérida in all of her twinkling glory. She had a good laugh about my day.





We spend our days watching the ongoing construction and our nights visiting the many entertainment venues in Mérida’s Parks.

Jerrie and Sara at ''Serenata en El Parque Santa Lucia''

The entertainment at Santa Lucia park. It's been happening every Thursday for over 40 years, and it's free.

''Noche Mexicana'' at the Remate de Paseo Montejo, every Saturday night, it's free also

Noche Mexicana

About that construction thing going on back at the house........

We are constantly amazed at the albaniles efficiency using so few tools. With the foundation for the pool complete, we stand by, as the wire mesh is unrolled and secured to the walls and floor of the pool.

Forms for the steps spanning the width of the pool are filled with concrete and rock.

Marcelo, Julio and Jose secure boards on top of the columns and on top of tree trunk support braces then stack concrete blocks to create the forms for the arches; these forms will eventually be chipped away leaving behind graceful arches.

Jerrie agrees, “Mexico is an adventure and you don’t even have to leave the house”