aniversario

We finally visited Uxmal (pronounced oosh-mal). Uxmal is a World Heritage site that is 78 km from Merida.

I can see why our friends enjoy this archaeological zone. It is much less commercial that Chichen Itza. You can climb up various pyramid steps. They offer guided tours as well, but we just wandered around with the little map. It was pretty mellow, even on a Saturday. Below are various pyramids and structures from Uxmal.

View from top where George climbed.

Cemetery

Pigeon Loft Complex

Pyramid of the Magician

Next we headed to Hacienda Temozon to celebrate our anniversary.

View driving into the Hacienda

Hacienda Temozon

 We were greeted with a cold glass of jamaica juice and a cool, scented face towel.

Our suite was large and luxurious. It had nice amenities, a/c and fans, slippers, robes, bottles of water.... We went out by the pool for awhile, and later enjoyed a nice dinner at the Hacienda restaurant which had excellent food. The guacamole was fantastic, followed by a delicious salmon dinner.

 

  

Desayuno was delicious as well. (I know, food, food, food)

 They offer massage services in a 'cenote spa'.

Cenote spa

 There is also an on-site cenote you can take a donkey cart to which is 3.5 km from the hotel. There is a tennis court, and some walking paths.

 

We learned that President Clinton stayed here in 1999, and President Bush stayed here in 2007.

George and Andrea stayed here in 2016 :)

Hacienda Temozon (http://www.haciendatemozon.com/) is beautiful and they provide excellent service. In my opinion, this was a very special treat, as it can be expensive to stay at Hacienda's. This was during off-season so the price was lower. (I saw their regular rates start at $450 USD)

It was a wonderful experience, and indeed a feliz aniversario. (Gracias mi esposo)

la mejora de la cocina

'Durango' a terra cotta shade is the new paint color under the counters. It's a small and functional kitchen, but now it's brighter and I love it. I just need to find a way to make it look less clutter-y with the open shelving.

And George put in new track lighting.

 Time to start cooking.

de vuelta a casa en Mérida

Most of June was spent in California, traveling (via car) between Los Angeles and San Francisco, taking care of a variety of items.....visiting family....eating too much good food....and helping out where we could.

It's good to be back in Merida, though I feel like I am getting reacquainted with everything again. Today we had desayuno at one of our favorite places.

Our friend, Lily, the owner

For all this delicious food and coffee the bill + tip was about $19.00

This afternoon we had chiropractic tune-ups. Yay for no more kinks in my neck! Our pool has been under construction since we left and is coming along great. Hopefully it will be finished in a week.

 

We also had the kitchen counters tiled which is a better surface, and brightens up the kitchen. I get to paint the cement under the counters tomorrow. We'll see if I picked a good color...

Holly

We just finished dog-sitting Holly for a week while our friend Jerry was out of town. Holly is a Bull Terrier.  She is very solid and a strong girl! She would get a little excited and bark when George watered the plants in the morning, otherwise she is pretty mellow.

Holly is a sweet dog and it was fun to get to know her better.

 My sister asked if we thought we might want to get a dog now. I answered "No. But we did enjoy her company." It's the same as with kids for us, we enjoy them once in a while but it's nice to give them back to their parents.

I also wanted to share this one photo I found, in memory of Conrad.

esquinas decorativas

 It's nice to look around the house and enjoy more  aesthetically pleasing areas.

Jean D'Arc, our patron saint of traavel

 An insulation project begins this week which we hope will add to keeping the house more comfortable on these hotter days ahead. George already added some tinted glass to the front, and thermal energy curtains to help deflect heat from the front area. Poco a poco.

Un día en la vida

(Andrea posting)
It always amazes me how I can start a week with no plans and then, suddenly,  the days fill up. Here is a glimpse at this past week for me:

Monday I had a job interview which was a good experience, even though I didn't get it.
George and I took a guided tour of La Casa Museo Montes Molina, a beautiful, preserved mansion built circa 1902. (Sylvia, you will love this!)
Tuesday I joined a couple of friends for a private yoga session at Maxine's house.
I joined the Merida English Library because I <3 books.
Wednesday I painted on my 'kitchen canvas wall'

Thursday we joined some friends for dinner at an Indian restaurant Saboreando Comida, in Progresso which we all enjoyed.
Friday, I had a foot reflexology session at UK Reflexology because I love alternative treatments. Samantha from the UK is passionate about reflexology and I enjoyed my hour with her.

This was also a sad week for us. We learned that we lost a beloved member of our community.

The social life, the activities, the learning, and adventures have been an amazing life experience for us. But when you make more friends and have more people in your life that you care about, you open yourself to more vulnerability. And truly, the people we have met here, have made it easy to open our hearts.

As I shared in a toast this week, I said that knowing Conrad for the short time of a year was worth more than never moving here or knowing him. George and I both welcomed his charm, humor, and wisdom and that has impacted our lives.

I am proud to be part of a community not only has a lot of fun together, but that rallies around and finds ways to support one another.

With love and in memoriam of Conrad

A Thousand Words

George reporting...

Sometimes I like to pick up the small camera and take a few pics around the house.   


This is a typical scene.  Sometimes, when the house is really quiet, I wonder what Andrea is doing.  Usually, I find her working on something creative at the new art desk I recently made for her.

This pic says much to me.  Of course the rug on the wall is from Turkey we picked up last year.  The table and chairs are made by a local Yucatecan craftsman.  However, sitting on the table are two unopened bottles of Guinness beer which I found for 30 pesos a piece at Plaza Dorada here in Merida.  I only open these when we want to relive our wonderful experiences from Dublin, Ireland.

I realized something after taking this pic.  The subject (Kori) in the Smartphone artwork by Jacob is stretching her arms upward with the umbrella as if trying to reach the sky.  And the house plant in the corner is stretching out towards the archway.

This newly repaired vase sits in the corner waiting for something to make it complete. What could that be?

Thanks for stopping by!