pinching myself

One of the glorious things about letting life unfold rather then squeezing it in an attempt to force out a desired out come is that you can be so pleasantly surprised.
Last night we went to the meeting. People were very welcoming and friendly. afterwards we had a very late, delicous dinner and felt so Yucatacan eating at 9:30 PM. We also joined the English library which means I can read to my hearts content. I spotted Shadow of the Wind on the new arrival shelf. " I love this book!" I exclaimed lovingly pulling it off the shelf. I debated about checking it out. I thought I'd leave it for someone else for now since I had already read it and it was a little like saving a delicous treat for later...holding off..delaying gratification..savoring the fact that you knew it could be yours whenever you wanted it.
we came back to the hotel and as I blogged a thunderstorm hit. When I went back to the room, I finished reading Catcher in the Rye and went to sleep around 12:30 in an air conditioned room on a grand king sized bed. Lovely...Upon awakening, I padded down barefoot to the little kitchen area where a graciuos Mayan woman with a genuinely warm smile and a big gold tooth always pleasantly bids me good morning and makes me a cup of tea. John joined me shortly and we struck up a conversation with the only other person around- another somewhat disheveled, sleepy eyed guest. This gentleman is from scotland but lives in london. He loves Mexico. He has been here several times but he especially loves the yucatan because of its culture and friendly people.
After our breakfast and some enjoyable conversation, we bid our farewells and readied ourselves for a trip to the immigration office. We had the hotel call us a cab and we were off (we know where it is but it's so much less stressful to let someone else battle the traffic here in merida). It was an effortless visit. we explained that we have been trying to call to make an appointment but can never get through and since we don't have a phone and are at others' mercy to use theirs it is very difficult. She not only made our appointment without further delay, she made it at the new office in progresso for next Wednesday. No three week wait and it's a bit closer to home. done. In and out in about 10 min.
From there we strolled a block or two up the street to catch another cab and head to the tile store. There are some amazing homes in this area. I use the term "home " loosely. These are edifices of a different time. Massive, regal structures where attention was paid to craftsmanship and detail. Everything was done in large proportions. Doors wide enough to drive a carraige through, windows that stretched for two floors and staircases not meant for walking on but descending from. Sculpted detailing around the windows reminded me of Paris or Italy as did the chandeliers. These weren't showy homes built by people with new money but generational, family residences that had transpired over a hundred or more years, lovingly added to only after careful consideration and tasteful aqcuisition.
We approahed one that clutched at my heart. It was an enormous, grand white three story with an elaborate front porch that wrapped around, verandas on two sides with a huge central balcony in the front. Below the balcony was the front door, actually two front doors each weighing more than I made of wood and inch thick beveled glass. One door was open . I actually caught my breath and told John " look at this house!"We both stopped at the front gate. it was padlocked with a rusty chain. Grass was two feet tall and mostly dead covering the walk to the house. The chandelier on the porch had been vandalized and was broken. There was a man in his late 50's or so, shirtless, throwing a bucket of water on the porch and sweeping it. What got me about this place was the book- The Shadow of the Wind. I had loved it so and having just seen it the night before it was fresh in my mind. At one point in the story, the main character returns to a home that was once beautiful, opulent, only to find it in ruins. It was a very important piece of the story and the image I had in my mind of that structure was standing before me on the streets of Merida. I can't describe the feeling. Just then, the man finished his task and standing, caught site of us. We waved to each other and I yelled to him what a beautiful home it was. John also chimed in with how much we liked it. He thanked us than made a motion we weren't sure of but we thought he was beckoning. he went inside than returned with keys in hand. Making his way through the leaves and dead grass, he unlocked the gate and invited us in. After my initial focus on the undergrowth- snakes was what i thought of- i refocused on the rest of the front yard. it had once been grand but very little of that was now visible. we stepped up onto the porch,veranda.I'm not even sure what to call it. Images of people in gowns, of lush tropical plants in magnificent pots entered my mind. He happily invited us inside. I couldn't believe it! Once through those beautiful doors, we stood on a spectacular floor. to the left and right were huge rooms with columns and gloriously detailed work on the ceilings. Parts of the ceiling were crumbling and discolored. Chunks were missing here and there. there was absolutely nothing inside.No sign of any past inhabitants or their lives other than a shodow of where a very large bookcase filled with volumes had once stood. In the center was a grand staircase a full two stories high that curved upward in front of an enormous window. as we climbed up we could see out the window the remains of a pool now all but overgrown. Once upstairs, we were agiain in a large hall of sorts that led to the huge balcony we had seen in the front. as we drifted from room to room, balcony to balcony, it made me so sad for the waste of it all. this amazing, beautiful place that had once held so much life being wasted and left in a sad stae of slow disintegration. it reminded me of lives I have known, hearts I've known. Places so full of beauty and life rotting away needlessly. At the same time, I felt so much appreciation for the fact that this man, in a brief moment trusted us enough to bring us inside. He was the caretaker. Nobody had lived there for ten years. As we went down the stairs, a phone rang. It was such a strange thing to hear in that emptiness. He put a finger to his lips. We weren't supposed to be in there and he didn't want to get into any trouble. The phone was a landline on a tiny wooden desk, the only thing in the entire house other than a hammock in a back room that was the most decrepit of all. Once off the phone, he was trying to tell us what had happened there. He spoke no English and we lost a lot in translation but the story involved some sort of police officer, shooting, someone going to prison and that it would not or could not be sold. As we thanked him profusely and prepared to leave, he told us there would be a party there the next morning with much music, food and dancing and he invited us to come join him. We again stepped into the bright sunlight and the heat of the day, tiptoed through the tall grass and exited through the rusty gate. As we strolled up the side walk amidst the bustle of downtown traffic we just sort of looked at each other. "Can you believe he let us in? Was that something? And what about this party tomorrow?" neither one of us could picture any sort of festivities in that home anytime soon.
Now it all seems very surreal. The thought of returning...would he even be there? What would it be like to see it fully decorated with life flowing through it again? Was he some madman who had squatted there? Whatever it was, it was unexpected and it was an experience I felt rather than saw. It was liking stepping into a place that before today only existed in my imagination. Like waking up to find that something from a dream was in fact reality.
Had we planned every detail of today and focused solely on completing our tasks, we would have missed this. THIS is life. These unexpected little treasures that happen while we think we have such important tasks to attend to. Once again I am reminded that all things are possible if we are open to them.
i may go back tomorrow to try to take a picture for you, or I may just leave it alone.....

now for some photos..

Here is a fence John and I constructed from leaves-fronds- from our coconut trees. Just like Robinson Crusoe! I get to live out on of my childhood fantasies..I loved that book..

here is a lovely lizard that frequents our back porch...he's about a foot long

This is our fabulous new light fixture and mirror in the bathroom!

Thur. night in Merida

We just got back from dinner and I'm tired and drugged by the food...it is 11:00 Pm and I am usually fast asleep not digesting. Lets see if I can manage to put a couple of coherent thoughts together. Updates...well, we have hot water, an air conditioner ( which we have really been puting to use...)two new light fixtures and the water system is updated now so John doesn't have to climb on the roof anymore. The window man came and measured the openings...he MAKES the windows..and the front door. On Monday, the mason will be out to remove the old windows and the front door...did you catch that? Monday...windows out...Tuesday windows in. Monday night? NO windows and no front door. Haven't I discussed with you the mosquitos? The biting "no seeums", the large snakes, mice...you're getting the picture. We decided we are going to tape something over the window in the bedroom, pull the curtain that seperates the bedroom from the living room and light lots of those mosquito coils in the living room. I'll let you know next week how that worked out...We have also had a guy over for the last two days applying stucco to the outside walls. he had to stop because we left to come into town but he will be back Monday as well. Lots of activity going on at casa de kahnerts....
So much for the construction updates....now, lets get back to the topic I brought up before...cheese. Now, I know there are a multitude of things going on in the world at any given time that I am completely unaware of but I had no idea that so much was going on in the world of cheese. First, we were in a little village I don't even remember the name of about 4 hrs from here. I noticed this great big giant of a man that looked like a red headed version of Jethro from The Beverly Hillbillies ( now that I think about it, that show was in black and white wasn't it..?)anyway, he was a huge, strapping man made even more freakishly large by the fact that I am used to seeing Mayans who are unusually short. He was wearing dark denim bib overalls and a long sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up( it was about 90 degrees) and a straw hat. I was mesmerized by his appearance. What was he doing? he was just casually walking around, an obvious gringo strolling about, being a giant, in dark denim overalls. We drove for about 45 min or so and stopped for gas. As the attendant was filling us up, I turned my head and there was the same guy!! What?! This guy had been walking-we had been driving-and what the hell was he doing? ( sorry, Im stuck in italics...sort of loses it affect doesn't it?) He approached the truck and asked me- in Spanish-if i wanted to buy some cheese? What? he strolled away and as we pulled out of the gas station john and i discussed how very bizarre this occurance was. how did he get there so fast and what was up with the overalls and the cheese? Now...fast forward to a couple of weeks later...we come into Merida to go to the immigration office. Our friend Linda is with us and she is directing us to a place to make some copies. as we near the stop sign, this boy of about 9 or so approaches us in dark denim overalls and a straw hat SELLING CHEESE....? What is with this cheese!!Linda informs me they are Mennonites and they are really big on making and selling cheese and that this cheese is in fact so good that they sell it at...where was it.?..Cosco or some big name store like that...Mennonite cheese it says right on it in the store. Evidently they hawk it all over on the streets too. They are light skinned, freckle faced overall wearin' cheese experts. Now, if that isn't weird enough, on the way home we stop by a woamn's house...I mentioned her to you, that's when I first broufht up the cheese. She not only used to be into making and selling cheese, it was BLACK MARKET cheese....boot leg cheese. Have you ever heard of such a thing? I wanted to ask her what the hell boot leg cheese was but I didn't have the time and I didn't feel like I knew her well enough, having just met her. What do they have cheese speak easy's where they slide open a little door and ask you a pass word before they break out a knife and crackers? Are there large wheels of cheese disguised as truck tires being smuggled around? Are there people that look like Robert Mitcum driving the backroads in '49 mercurys full of illegal wedges? It's one of lifes mysteries...what else is going on out there that we aren't privy to? Can you see some guy in prison.." hey, whadda ya in for?"...."bootleg cheese".
It's raining now. It's like it got so hot it couldn't take it any more and it broke. Thunder, lightening and rain. I'm still in a tank top and a skirt but it's not so sticky. Went to the AA meeting tonight, speaking of sticky. They have a community bottle of "Off" they let everyone use because it's held outside. I didn't get any bites though. You know people who have been here for a while don't seem to get bitten. Maybe they know something I don't besides where to get really good cheese.

Its been a while...

Well hello dear readers...its been a while since I gave you any meaningful updates and alas, this week is no exception. We would normally be in Merida tonight but since we´ve been getting work done on the house, we had to stay home. That also means no pictures....I know, what a bore....I imagine some of you got hooked on a daily post and are finding yourselves in slight withdrawals....I truly apologize. If you´re ¨jonesin´¨for something to read between postings,I can offer up some books I have gulped down in the last week...yes week, not much else to do while the work is being done. First - Stone Cowboy- peruvian setting, rambling social outcast, magician, romance, mystery....what else could you ask for? OK..another option- The Geographers Cabinet...history, mystery, romance ( I´m sensing some common themes.....) and today I finished My Name is Memory..what´s it about? Well, part history, various locations around the world, mystery and romance..what can I say?
Minor updates/ tidbits...as we left the house tonight to come in, I noticed something in the road..you have to look sharp because it´s like a real life video game out here.....it was a ...crab! Yes, a crab about as wide as my hand was scuttling across the road. From where? To where? Who knows. Last time in it was a SNAKE the size of my arm..seriously..as big as my upper arm ( and I´m not exactly boney). It was pretty squished so I couldn´t really tell exactly what type of snake it was before it became roadkill and somewhat of a sideshow attraction to others driving by...the day before it was a very large dead toad that looked like a stuffed animal from the Adams Family home that had been left lying on its back when Pugsly and Wednesday finished playing with it...it was large enough to fill a dinner plate. Last bit I will leave you with is the super cool fence that John and I have built in the last few days..in between reading...... My favorite all time book when I was young was Roninson Crusoe and I now get to live that out somewhat.In keeping with that theme, we constucted a fence out of palmfronds from our 32 coconut trees. First we started with John cutting all of theleaves off and just leaving the spine which we wove in and out of the existing barbed wire ( we´ve seen others like this ) then we branched off into our own variation by leaving the frond intact and weaving the entire thing through. Some of them stuck up wildly beyond their counterparts so in the end we wove them over across the top like you would french braid hair...there´s not another one like it to be found! I will send a picture of it next week along with a lovely picture of a green lizard that was on our wall and vultures holding their wings open to dry.
I believe that is it for now. It´s 8:30..we have our nightly Seinfeld episodes to watch and the drive home in the dark will be slow because who knows what lurks beyond the lights.......

a brief chat

Just finished some tea and toast at the hotel..we are going to wrap it up here and stop in at the Immigration office then hit Home Depot for an air conditioner, hot water heater ( covering both ends of the temperature spectrum!) , Aurora Bodega for a few groceries and head home.
In the truck on the way here, we always had the windows rolled down so I had my hair clipped up with a headband on. Only when I washed it did I have it down only to put it back up before it dried. I realized I didn't have a brush with me. It was somehow left behind. That feels a bit symbolic to me. A snake doesn't just wake one morning to find it's wearing a new ensemble. It's a process that takes a while and gets a little ragged before the process is complete. I woke up this morning relaxed, john brought me some tea and I finished reading my great book, Stone Cowboy. As I closed the book I realized I was wearing a new internal ensemble. The last vestiges of my tattered garb seem to have vanished in the night on the warm, spicey winds of the Yucatan while the cicadas ushered them out with a song.........

First day at the house

Woke up to find this fellow hanging out in the bathroom...a harmless guy...he later was found expired on the floor. I questioned John about this but he assured me he had had nothing to do with it. I believed him.

And these lovely specimens are regulars across the street from us. I have learned sinceIi've been here this time that the pale flamingos are the young ones.

If you look closely in the center you will see a small brown, furry, mouse. We had to eject him from his cozy spot in our clothes.

Our first day, I got up, made coffee and tea and we resumed our unpacking. We really didn't bring a lot with us even though the truck was packed. I had to determine what we actually needed to get out to use and what would remain packed.
It didn't take long to get things in place, at least for now, so we decided to drive the 15 min or so to Dzilam de Bavo to visit a couple of people we know there. One is a woman named Linda who is originally from Canada but has been here for 15 years. We talked to her at length about the drive down and how we had not received any sort of temporary visa at the border. By the end of our visit it was decided we would return tomorrow and go on line to fill out an application for our FM 2-it allows us to stay for longer than 6 months and in two years it could lead to dual citizenship. We went home, ate something, puttered around a bit more then went into Dzidzantun where we dropped our dirty clothes from the trip off at the lavenderia to be washed. we went to the internet place to check e-mails and returned home after having ice cream treats. we atched another seinfeld CD and ended our first full day.

day 2- after tea and breakfast, John headed into Dzidzantun to buy a mattress. Our friend from the hotel stopped by with a buddy of his. They were on their way to take photographs of birds. I cooked breakfast and made coffee for them while we waited for John's return.About an hour later, the truck pulled in through the gate with a mattress in back!!

Later that day, we returned to see Linda about the application, which we filled out on line. It was decided that we would go into Merida the next day to the immigration office to drop off papers and see about our visa, which is exactly what we did. Thank god we had her! she knew exactly where to go and what was needed. We had a great lunch, I bought a beautiful mirror and wall sconces at a shop she wanted to stop at to buy some tiles. Oohhhh...the tiles!!! talk about overload. it was almost like walking into Cargo or the Cistine chapel....well, maybe not qwuite but you get my point....beautiful, beautiful tiles and lots of them. So when we got home, I packed the mirror and sconces away. I won't be hanging things and decorating until some work gets done.

by the time we dropped her off and got home it was dark..oh, we did stop and meet a very interesting woman in a town about a half hour away from us. She is around 60 and had a swin suit top on under her tank top. her curly grey hair was tied back in a pony tail and her skin was smooth and glowing. she pays $150.00 a month to rent her house and makes her living by teaching english to whoever wants to learn and baking bread. She says shes never going back. In her other life in the states she raised goats and sold bootleg cheese....i will tell you more about the cheese phenomenon another time. right now i am tiring from all the posting and the no seeums in the lobby have started biting so I will bid you adieu for now friends. All is well and we are happy....more to come...

into the house

When we opened the doors of the house and looked around, the first thing we discovered was that there was no electricity. It was probably around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. It would be dark before long and we did have candles but " the food will go bad' I pointed out.

we began to unload the truck and once most of it was out, we sat down to ponder the situation. " We brought a generator!" we were still a bit road weary evidently and not firing on all cylinders. it took a bit of ingenuity- various plugs had to be cut and taped...sorry boom box.....but he got it running and a plug ran from it to a plug inside the house and voila! electricity!! As the cacophny overshadowed any possible bird songs or moments of tranquility, Nacho arrived. Nacho, short for Ignacio, is our caretaker ( and I use the term very loosely) who was supposed to have the water tank full and the electricty on when we arrived. After mutual greetings and a bit of chit chat, Nacho told us the electicity was off due to the wiring at the street being bad. He climbed up to check it out and see what he could do but alas, couldn't get it working. He informed us that an electrician was just up the street, left with his two sons in tow and within 10 minutes was back with a man in a truck. At home, he would have resembled a county employee. by now it was dark but within moments we were applauding his handiwork. No more loud generator but its reassuring to know that we have it and that it works. We put our food in the fridge ( after a good scrubbing of course)I dug out the inflatable bed and sheets, plugged in the i-pod dock and lap top and called it a day. we sat down and watched a Seinfeld DVD and went to bed.......

going in

More of the drive in.....another little village...see on the sign?...Santa Clara!

Some village kids...big brother being protective..the same no matter what country..and a tri-cycle. These are EVERYWHERE
- as common as cars are at home.

Obviously not one of the homes of the wealthy...at least monetarily wealthy.

Since we've been here...

After leaving Merida, it is a short drive of maybe 20 minutes to Progresso. Progresso is a beach town where Meridanos go to get away from the city, especially in the summer months when it gets unbearably hot and anyone with any financial means gets out. This can vary from a student who has the bus fare to get out for the day and lounge around on a sugar white beach with water the color of a tropical island travel poster, to a wealthier group who actually ship all of their furniture down into a beautiful beach house for a month or two. the one thing everyone, including us, has in common is a stop at Aurora Bodega (photo). this is actually Wal-Mart. This one is like Fred Meyer- one stop shopping. We get everything from eggs ( which aren't refrigerated here. I've eaten dozens and have never suffered any ill affects) to clothes line, avacadoes, limes, cilantro, shaving cream, insect repellant, videos-you get the picture. once when we were down, they had a large bin of C.D.'s. it was an odd array of Marriachi, reggaeton, bad 70's and 80's music and an amazing selection of jazz. i couldn't believe my luck1 i was buying boxed sets for around $4.00. After picking up what we thought we'd need for a week, we were yet again on the road but it was only a short drive in comparison to what we'd been experiencing for the last two weeks.

As the familiar road rolled out ahead of us we took it all in- the little villages we passed through, the gulf waters and the never ending coconut trees. An hour later we were pulling up in front of our house.

I jumped out of the truck with keys in hand and unlocked the gate...our gate...we were HOME!!!

out to the house..

Just so you know..this is NOT the house! These are a few more hotel pics...

We just got back from our morning stroll up to "pops" the restaraunt we always eat breakfast at- scrambled eggs, black beans (refried), fesh fruit and toast. The waiter always remembers us and this morning gave me a kiss on the cheek. We told him we are living here now. On the way there, we stopped at the place we always rent a car and our lady friend ( we can't remember her name..Yvonne?) also warmly greeted us and asked if we are here all the time now. She also asked about our daughter, whom she has met. John talked to the hotel owner before we left and they chatted it up for a while. He's going to be out near our house Monday morning (at Telchac Puerto) taking pictures and he's going to stop by. So, we are already in the swing of things. John is in the shower then we will pack up for the last time-yes! head out to Progresso to Aurora Bodega (which is actually wal-Mart w/ food), buy our groceries and head to the house. Once we get things out of the truck, we'll probably go into Dzidzantun and buy a mattress. Tonight we'll be sleeping in our house.

It's sunny and warm, we are in shorts, t-shirts and flip flops.....Portland weather comes up on my screen and I see it's 58.....

our room at Hotel Trinidad galeria

This is our regular room. We'll come in once a week on Thur for the english speaking meeting. It's kind of like living in Corbett and coming into Portland once a week. Kick back in the country then clean up for the big city...

relaxing..

After resting, eating dinner and strolling around we feel really comfortable.John went out to get a cup of coffee and a pound of beans, we went out to the Italian place down the street and had lasagna and we walked to the English library to double check when the AA meeting is (Thur night 7-9). You see, we know where all these places are. We've spent time here, it's not like a strange place to us. We're glad we're here. It's like slipping your foot into a comfortable shoe- it just feels good. Lucky thing considering what we went through to get here! So, i'm going to try agin to post those pictures. We will be back in Merida on Thur ( and spending the night) so i will probably post again the with info about the house along with photos. You can e-mail us before that because we will be checking almost daily in Dzidzantun. For those of you who don't already have it, it's kahnerts@hotmail.com We'll be talking to you Welcome home......

we made it to merida!

WE'RE HERE! Well, in Merida, which is basically the end...another hour and a half driving tomorrow and we'll be there.
I am writing to you from the lobby of Hotel Trinidad Galeria! We have checked ito our room, I've showered and put on the only clean thing I have, we're drinking Coca Lights and listening to the turtles splash next to me and a TV playing daytime TV...something with a woman commentator, lots of laughter and applause...eating my favorite cookies- marshmellow on a cookie wafer covered with coconut..bitesize little delights...aahhhhh. Maggi, Ron Emily and Tyler have all been here so they can picture it. It's a crazy place filled with all kinds of statues, art collectables...eclectic. Our bathroom is a mosaic of broken tiles..love it.
We passed the 4000 mile mark just before we entered the city limits..4000 MILES!! Wow, can you believe it?! Tomorrow will be two weeks. that's only around 300 miles a day which seems crazy. well, some days we did more, some less. it seems like there were a lot of really long days so I don't know. The point is we made it. Along with the smudging and wanding, my lovely friend Vanessa made me a beautiful necklace with a St. Christopher on it just before we left. I've worn it all the way. So who knows if it was john's driving skills, all your good vibes...etc. etc. we are here. Tomorrow it will take us about 2 1/2 hrs to get to the house ( we have to stop for groceries) and that'll be it. So close to the finish line. Almost 5 years in the planning!
We're going to go to a Mayan restaraunt for dinner that our friend Ron found when he was here with us. It's fab. Other than that we will probably take it easy...we could swim but i don't want to unload the truck to get out the bathing suits...maybe we'll nap...maybe we'll eat more cookies, maybe we'll watch TV...we can do whatever we want!
I'm tired now so I'll post you a few photos and take my leave..for now..Maybe I'll come back later. I'm feeling a little wasted and I'm in the lobby around other people so it's a little hard to...well, get intimate with you which is something I think I've done a bit of in the last two weeks. I've tried to be as honest with you all as possible about what I've been feeling. This feels a little anti climactic....what was I expecting? I don't know, but I feel like i've been stringing you all along for two weeks and there should be..i don't know. The 'puters beeping so I better put in the pics and post...I'll come back to you later...

ok...just three more..

Pelicans

another 2 or 3

more

todays roads

These are bags of limes...there are lime trees everywhere

One of the cows that have to hang out near the road because their field is still flooded

Here's a few

Near the end

Our day begins...John is having a cup of coffee and a smoke. We went down to breakfast then started the pack up truck routine. The back has been sealed, well, there was one guy who wanted to look inside. Have I told you about the guys that ride around with black ski-masks covering up their faces? Actually, they're probably not ski masks...I'm sure there isn't any skiing going on but you get the picture.. again I digress-SQUIRREL!-We keep everything really important in the cab with us-the cameras, the lap top, a cardboard box that holds basically everything that was in our bathroom,a bag with all of our important documents, the worlds largest brass lantern given to us by our friend Lonnie before we left and two carry on bags. My bag has been my trusted travel partner for 16 years. I bought it for $12.00 at a discount store just before my first trip to Europe.It has been everywhere with me since, except last years trip to India when I opted to go even smaller and took a day pack. It escorted me to London, Paris, Italy, back to Paris, back to Italy, Kuwait, Greece, Spain and Morrocco- oh, and New york and L.A. Never has it ditched me, gotten lost, broken or stolen. It seems fitting that again it has my back, literally. This trip is by far covering the greatest distance though. Not a span that can be counted in days or measured in miles. This a journey of emotions. Tomorrow we should arrive in Merida and while it's not exactly where our house is, it's close and it is where we have been staying each time we've been down for the last 4 years. we are friends with the owner and he knows what room we like. So you see, tomorrow, the trip, the adventure part of the drive, is over. We are sitting in another hotel room in a town whose name I can't quite remember or pronounce. We are tired but not necessarily from the days drive. It's a culmination of all of the preperation, all of the dinners my girls had for me , all of the purging of possessions, the estate sale, the retirements, the finacial preperations, the packing of the truck, the good byes in the driveway the morning we left and all the miles we've put on since then. As this door closes the next one is within sight. On to the next chapter, the next page..

The drive today was great..sunny and hot, good roads and only two stops by law enforcemnet folks. tomorrow we'll be in Merida where we will spend the night then head out to the house. Thank you all for sharing this with us, all the nights I went over the day with you, the fact that I knew people really cared enough and even enjoyed reading this each day..thanks. Ready for the next installment? More will be revealed.....

gotta add these too

two more..

couple more

heres a couple more road shots

Languishing in Villahermosa

I am lounging about in a lovely hotel room in Villahermosa...it is sunny, comfortable, sultry and relaxing. We spent last night at a hotel...what was the name of the movie?...Identity? anyway...you don't even want to know what the mattress looked like.. "(how do you know what the mattress looked like, Jill?" you may ask. I worked around bedbugs for years so I check.) We didn't sleep well for a number of reasons (one being I know the condition of what I was lying on )..let's see- I was cold (we didn't get a blanket) it started raining so hard it woke us up, I thought a rat had gotten in the garbage and was eating the remnants of lunch ( I realized later it was rain dripping off of something into something else )roosters started crowing at 4:30 am...we got up around 6:00 .Did I shower?-no, I did not, because along with a blanket and soap another thing we did not get was hot water . We debated briefly about whether we should stay where we were because in light of the horrible conditions we passed through the day before, we had no reason to think the roads would be any better and we didn't want to get stuck on the road. Such as it was, we were dry and safe here....well, who says we have good sense? We opted to go. John borrowed the proprietors umbrella to go get the truck. While he was gone, I was chatting it up with some guys that were headed to Texas. "Well" I told them " thats where we came from" then proceeded to dash their hopes of a pleasant journey by telling them how bad the roads had been on our previous days travels. Their faces drooped and their eyes widened as I described the roads that were sliding down banks, covered in mud, the bridges half destroyed so I decided to lay off the downer news " its really a pretty drive though." They asked where we were going and I told them Merida. Another man standing in the lobby said he had just come from there yesterday and the roads were good. Just then a cab came and the three large men bound for Texas folded themselves in. I thought about how uncomfortable they were going to be in about 4 hrs if they even made it through with all this rain. " have a good trip " I waved as they pulled away and John pulled into where the cab had been. As we loaded up our stuff, the man from Merida left as well saying his goodbyes and exchanging buon viajes. We were all headed on seperate paths that had intersected briefly in this tattered oasis.

By 8:00 we were again driving in the rain. We stopped by 8:30 at a Pemex with a little store that had espresso! After having some coffee, tea and yogurt we were off and before long the sun was shining and we were on good road. John was exhausted so I drove while he napped and before long we were in Villahermosa. We easily found this hotel and pulled in and have been relaxing and getting room service ever since...aaahhhhhhhh. Somedays you're the bug and somedays you're the windshield.

where are we again?

I am sitting at an internet establishment where I think I may be getting bitten, not sure....Mexican rap is blasting out of my neighbors kiosk and Facebook won´t let me sign on because it doesn´t recognize my location. I don´t recognize my location...honestly, I don´t know the name of it. It´s one of those crazy roadside places like something from Mad Max.
Today the roads were by far the worst. We must have driven for 6 hrs and gone maybe 100-120 miles. we drove over bridges that were literally half gone over swollen rivers that remained over their banks, portions of the road were gone like sink holes sliding down the mountaiside, slides that covered the road a day or two ago that were only partially cleared, long delays due to only one lane being cleared so each direction had to take a turn, then it rained, then it got dark. All the while, we never saw one place to stay. we were in a pretty remote area but it was the only road open to head in the direction we needed to go. at times it was so surreal. It looked like something out of Jurrasic Park or King Kong. Then you´d pass what looked like a stick hut or a building with a huge palapas roof. Chickens, donkeys, dogs and goats wandering about and always the trucks and busses. I have no idea how we did not see one single accident. They were the craziest drivers I´ve seen since India. Passing on blind curves, everyone in both lanes....wow...after it got dark and started to rain, neither one of us could see. Thank god by then we were on a decent road and we prayed there were no pot holes or sink holes because we wouldn´t have seen tem. we held out hope that the next place we were seeing signs for would have a hotel. we approached one of those crazy Mad Max, Blade Runner wayside places I think I´ve told you about and pulled into a Pemex (gas station) . We asked a couple of guys where Sayula was and they replied ¨this is it¨. AARGG!! It has been one of our fears that we would end up in one of these places and here we were. We had no choice. There was absolutely no way we could go on. After stopping twice to ask people where the hotel was ( no keep in mind- its dark, raining, there must be at least 50 semis driving, braking parking, enering, exiting, people crossing the street, vendores running around selling things-wild scene. At last we find our retreat....It costs 200 pesos for the night and has off street parking-cool! As we enter our room, John tells me öh, there`s no blankets, but it´s not really cold out. They did give us towels and we have our own soap.´´ I see when we open the door the plainest of rooms. There are no plug ins but I can see where there may have been at one time.It is reminiscent of an old western or a place I stayed in India (minus the moth balls) but I don´t care. There is a bed with sheets, a toilet, and we made it there in one piece. I put my arms around John ¨I´m so glad we made it¨I tell him as we give each other a big hug.¨¨ Crazy huh? How many people do we know that would do this?¨he asks. ¨I don´t think most of them would want to honey.¨¨Another chapter in John and Jills big adventure.
So, no pictures tonight because I can´t upload. We´ll see tomorrow. We should make it past Villahermosa tomorrow but who knows. The roads are still a mess. So, we´ll keep truckin´, I´ll keep blogging what I can and I hope you all keep following. I feel kind of like a radio announcer in the night- I can´t see you but I´m comforted just knowing you´re there.....

one more

evidently one at a time works....

try one

maybe...

detour...

Hello! Seems odd to be talking to you in the morning as it has become my nightly ritual but things happen right? The hotel we stayed at claimed to have wi-fi but couldn't get on. Anyway...yesterday we left our beautiful oasis to hit the road agian. as tempting as it was to luxuriate there it wouldn't get us any closer to our destination. the roads yeasterday were very very bad and I spent a good chunk of my time yelling "hole!" and getting angry with John for sometimes landing in a lunar crater. Poor guy....its really scary because what if we broke an axle? When we pass through some of these little byways they are lined up with makeshift car repair places that are FULL of jacked up rims, tires and axles. I would hate to get stuck there or worse, have to leave the truck behind.
We passed through some amazing scenery.It reminded me a lot of Hawaii.( I took lots of pictures and will probably post most of them on Facebook as that is easier) As we neared Veracroz you could see the aftermath of the hurricane in the little villages. Not so much destruction but lots of flooding. Once we got to Veracruz you could see the broken trees and a few fallen roofs but not too bad. we got lost again in the city but after some wandering around found our way out. I got really stressed after we opted not to stop for the night in Veracruz then had some difficulty finding the right hiway. we didn't want to drive in the wrong direction and end up in the dark. after a few stressful miles we were on the right track when a Federale stopped us (TENSE!)He was parked in the road. Luckily-or not- he was only stopping us to tell us the road was closed ahead. so, the detour began and that is when we found this town-well, small city really- of Tiara Blanca. got a hotel right away (quite a step down from the last two nights but hey... this isn't lifestyles of the rich and famous...)unloaded our stuff and walked up to this coffee shop. had croissants w/ ham and cheese and went"home". Showered and watched Friends-in english then called it a night. woke up in the middle of the night FREEZING because the blanket was a s thick as a Kleenex..not that it's cold but John had the air conditioning on.... so, we were up at 8:00 loaded up the truck, came back to the coffee shop where we are having huevos rebueltos y pan (scrambled eggs and toast), i'm updating you and we are off. There is a newspaper here with a story about 11 bridges being out...hence the detour. So, we may make it to Villahermosa today, maybe not....once again I will try to post but who knows....I'll attach, or try to, a cou[ple of shots and be off. lots of driving again today and I have to be on top of my game of hole watch..!

Tampico to Poza Rica

Hello hello! Much better day today!! After spending the night in a glorious, big bed with wonderful pillows and eating a nice breakfast we were off. Tampico is pretty big. We were trying to find an ATM because our funds were low when we spotted Wal-Mart. Tehey'r always good for a bank machine and , how do I say this deliacterly...I needed a bano. Only in Mexico a day and already having a little...dysfunction. Could have been the stress too, who knows. At any rate, I took care of things. Sorry for the over disclosure but it is part of the story. Hey! I realize we could probably get a replacement i-pod adapter while we're at it. They have everything...well, everything but that evidently, and the bank machine was out of order. So, off we went again and before long found yet another Wal Mart. John went in while I waited in the truck. Success...so now we have money and I feel OK. We're good to go. However, with all of this searching we have gotten off track a bit and found ourselves in a semi-sketchy neighborhood,. well, not really sketchy just a bit down and out. We both laughed about how we lived and worked around this crowd for years so it's familiar. We and our friends were this crowd! After a little meandering around we were back on track and finally leaving Tampico behind.
For the rest of the day John drove us through some really beautiful country. I can't get used to a "freeway" or "hiway" being a two lane road, half of which has pot holes so bad it would easily break an axle. Seriously, I kept having to yell at John "hole!" because if he glanced away from the road for a second we would be in trouble. He's basically ping ponging around the road like he's playing a video game. Now, visualize along with this....a row of traffic comprised of old retired school busses from the states towing each other, busses pulling retired u-haul trucks that contain a car in the back of the truck and it sticks out and thats towing a car. All of this is travelling in a long row, including our truck, and we are all swaying all over the road-both lanes- to miss the potholes. One last piece to add to the puzzle now- people from both directions are passing these circus trains in motion. Can you see it? A crazy cavalcade of vehicles all waving in and out of pot holes, in and out of their lanes and passing each other in the midst of oncoming traffic while I'm screaming "hole!" because John is trying to get around the two-schoolbus- u-haul- truck -sticking out- while- towing- a -car thing as a semi heads toward us in our lane. WOW! Are you visualizing it? And don't forget we are trying to make good time so we don't end up pulling into Vera Cruz at 8:00 and having a replay of last night. We've listened to all of our tapes countless times and all we can get is marriachi music on the radio. Why don't we try the adapter for the hell of it and IT WORKED!! AAHHH our music...like an old friend...We cruise along up hills, down valleys and the scenery gets more lush as we go. Banana trees everywhere, orange trees, bird of paradise flowering, it rains a bit, we pass through some really impoverished places then back into the jungle. We decide we are ready to stop for the night. We've been driving-John has been driving- for about 5 or 6 hours and we are only HALF WAY to Vera Cruz. What super human people claim to drive the whole distance in a day?! So, we find this really fabulous, deluxe place to stay (where I am definately not dressed appropriately but who cares! I've been in a truck for 8 days now...) it too is expensive but we both decide it is well worth it. The foliage is lush- more bird of paradise and other tropical flowers we have bought for peoples birthdays through the years. So dear friends, it's 7:00 PM and I am now finished with my "homework", we are settled in our sumptous room awaiting room service and will get a very lovely, long nights rest. John has indeed had a headache every single day but is being a trooper.
All of this is part of a fabulous painting. You can't just focus on one corner or shaded area, one particular brush stroke. It has to be viewed by standing back and taking in the whole picture. So far I'm happy with it's progress. It's coming together and i think when it's been completed you will all agree it has been a pleasure to behold.

one more?

wow- that worked...lets try again..

sorry

go to my face book page to look at some pics they posted there....

pretty country

trying to show you the scenery...but its not working...too tired to keep trying

made it over!!!

Well gang...tonight is going to be very minimal as i am really, really wiped out. First let me say the crossing was effortless. Because we had the permit already and I was able to hand the guy a list of evrything we had that I had written out the night before, it was a snap. He even walked with me to show me where the bano was. Cool! We happily drove out only to realize we were actually in Matamoros...one of the most dangerous places you can possibly be....ohhh and here we have somwewhere around 15 police and federales cars...something is going on....we move on past.....befor long we are out of the city and into a beautiful countryside..Greta drive. It was supposed to be three hours toTtampico and we had a recommendation for a hotel...cool. Cruisin along...listning to music..oh, discovered the i-pod adapter does not work...oh well...hour 4,.....hour 5.....HOUR 6...7!!! poor john is tired, we are both exhausted. we were so keyed up from the stress the night before we got about 4 hrs of sleep and because we had been driving all day we hadn't eaten since breakfast . It was a desolate though beautiful countryside. there really were no stors or hotels or anything so our only option was to keep going. Finally, we near tampico. Just before that, about 6 Federales came flying up behind us a pulled into a gas station. a few miles later they flew by us again. we stopped at a best western but they didn't have wi-fi so we decided to find the one that had been recommended. BAD CHOICE. No sooner do we pull out , we get pulled over. The cop tells John he was speeding- which he was- he has him pull over further,,,to where?? we are on a super busy crazy road.. we do. Bugs are flying in the window and biting us. he has John get out and takes him to the front of the car. This is where it starts to feel like a scary movie... they talk and i can only hear bits and pieces because of the cars and trucks roaring bybut i already know the drill....usually its about giving them money but this feels a little different. After a while they come around to my side and john says if we don't pay the ticket he will be taken to jail. The cop wants $1000.00 american dollars. Can everyone imagine how that felt? Dark, busy mexican roadside, exhausted, hungry, driving for 7 hrs straight...Oh ny god...I was expecting $20.00 or so- I've never heard of this much of a bite. I think if it would have been light and he had gotten a good look at the truck he would never have asked for that. anyway after what seemed like an eternity of talking and dickering- at one point he actually kind of put his hand on Johns arm and said he would spend the night in jail- we ended up giving him $95.00.John got back in and we set out. By now we were pretty sure we would never find the hotel. it was too dark and we were way to rattled so a few miles down the road we saw a Holiday Inn. John went in while I waited, and waited. finally he came out and said he didn't want to stay here because it wasn't secured parking. i told him I didn't think we should go on and he went back in to see if we could park in an area behind a gate we saw. I waited, and waited, chewing my nails and getting really anxious about the thought of us going back out on the road. Finally John came back and said we would just have to park out front, that he had paid for the room. A bell hop came out to help me while John parked. I was so relieved to be going in, it all kind of hit me and as we walked to the room I told the bellhop "policia es mal!" the cop is bad...and explained what happened. " We don't have a lot of money" as he helped me unload our "luggage" which included a cardboard box of touletries, a plastic bag, a plaid plastic market bag and our two suitcases. Then the tears came...damn! Ihate when that happens....well, that's what happens when I get right to the edge of exhaustion! I took a long, hot shower while John went out and got us a sanwich. After I ate, I checked e-mails, facebook and then posted this. We are both wiped out and we have a very long drive tomorrow and the next day. Our little house in Santa Clara will be a welcome sight... On the positive side, we didn't get shot in Matamoros, we didn't get in a wreck and we still love each other and it was a pretty drive . So, tomorrow we will get up and start over again...you may not hear from me for a couple of days now. Unless of course I need some money......

a few more

a few last shots before the border..oops..the first one is actually a shot of birds that didn't turn out, the car is the very same car I took my first roadtrip in 19 years ago, the "risen lord" is pretty typical of Texas and the cactus, well, it's just a really big cactus...and the fellas are from the museum in Pecos