Imagine Mérida

Becoming Expats in the Yucatán

Archives for March 2013

Exploring the other side of Santa Ana

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gulchfoodWe’re building a home in Mérida on the eastern edge of Santa Ana. Our side of the barrio has the benefit of more restaurants and bars. But that might be starting to change in the Gringo Gulch, a more expat-populated neighborhood on the west side of Santa Ana.

Our most recent trip to Mérida, which we took to check on our contractor’s progress, found us at Casa del Maya, on 66 off 47. We’ve enjoyed changing up the locations of our stays there, seeing Mérida from all different angles before settling into our corner of the Centro.

Around the guesthouse, the neighborhood is showing robust transformation. Across the street is La Calle Escondida, the “hidden street” house made famous on “House Hunters International.” A few doors down, the owner of Luz en Yucatan is building a massive pleasure dome. Further down, [Read more…]

In my Yucatecan kitchen, time to cook from scratch again

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arrozIt’s a blessing to like “peasant food” when you’re preparing to say goodbye to your jobs and move to Mérida. Today for Sunday supper, which we eat in the early afternoon, I found an old Cooks Illustrated recipe for French Chicken in a Pot, which you cook low and slow in a Dutch oven. The skin comes out slimy, but we’ve resolved to stop eating the fatty skin. I slipped in some carrots and potatoes. Paul wanted some Puerto Rican-style beans and rice on the side, and since I had an early start, I had plenty of time to shake even more pots and pans and try to remember the methods his niece showed me years ago.

I’m picturing life in Mérida to be something like today. Some puttering, reading, and some income-producing work, but also plenty of pots and pans rattling as I endeavor to cook, and eat, more consciously. We don’t intend to grow old and fat in Mérida. Well, I guess we can’t help getting older, but by God we’re not going to let panuchos force us into XXL guayaberas.

I’m banking on having (1) more free time and (2) improved proximity to locally grown/raised/cultivated food that’s [Read more…]

What we learned on Calle 78

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Calle 78 Merida MexicoSometimes you have to fall in love and then fall hard to learn a lesson. This happened to us two years ago on Calle 78, when we saw a well-kept, appealing property after a long, tiring day with our real estate agent. Our eyes were glazing over by the time we saw it, but the next day we kept thinking about this handsome house and its pleasant street. We asked to see it again, and a whirlwind courtship began.

It was our first or second time touring Mérida, and we were still getting to know the neighborhoods while gauging our budget and needs. We were keeping our minds open. Probably too open, because we were traipsing the four corners of the Centro with no constraints other than budget. The unremodeled house on 78 was priced at $150,000 and under 9 meters wide (meh) by 55 meters deep (ooh!), and not walkable to any store or restaurant that I’d visit often. Four-plus blocks to the zoo or Santiago park was OK, but the Paseo de Montejo would be so far away. We were seduced, however,  [Read more…]

Our inner expats express themselves in the Meriden/Mérida Room

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snowpanoramawebWe didn’t get a lot of snow this winter, until suddenly we did. This morning, I woke up to another winter effin wonderland, which is quite lovely until suddenly it’s not. This (the photo above) is the top of our hill, although my iPhone doesn’t quite capture how pretty a fresh snowfall like this is. It won’t last because temps will be rising pretty soon. So I went out in my slippers and snapped this. When I’m finally out of this place [Read more…]

New restaurants with familiar names open in the Centro

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chaya1Some youngish travelers from Italy were guesthouse neighbors back in January. They were in Mérida for the weekend. Over breakfast, we would ask how their evening went. Each time, they were sort of downcast. They enjoyed the cathedral, the bus tour, and all the historic architecture, but their dinner at fast-foodish Los Trompos “was OK.” The next day, their dinner at La Chaya Maya had them concluding that Yucatecan food isn’t for them.

Yes, travel in Mérida isn’t fool-proof. There are good and bad choices before you. Even if you choose the right restaurant, you might make a bad choice from the menu. Restaurants here are uneven, through and through.

La Chaya’s new outpost in Santa Lucia is romantic, gorgeous, very tourist-friendly, and puts [Read more…]