Progesso is about a half hour drive to the coast, from Merida. On a nice hot January day we decided to venture to the beach in our rental car. It was an easy drive due north of the city, through scrub land featuring palmetto fronds and brush. The landscape here is very flat, and the flatness continues beyond the shore. Indeed, Progresso has what is said to be the world's longest pier, at 4 miles. But it is no longer walkable, due to 'national security.' The pier is so long because the depth of the water remains too shallow for shipping, closer to shore. The seawater of the Gulf isn't very attractive here — mostly turbulent and lacking that gorgeous blue of the Caribbean beaches. Progresso seems a nice enough beach community, aside from its water ... read more

Here's the short video link I said was in the last entry: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgatB-nh8aA&feature=related What's missing here? Defenders! ~eric. If the link above doesn't turn blue when I publish it, you'll have to highlight it, and paste it into your browser.... read more

Mary and I are adventurous eaters, and don't shy away from local food, including street food. We've been enjoying the fare here. Based on a mention by Paul Rounds — "Hammockman" (a favorite local expat blogger, whom we had the pleasure of meeting) we lunched at Rescoldo's in centro historico. Their stone hearth pizza was superb. The Canadian couple who run the restaurant were generous in sharing info on their homemade wood-fired oven. I've had intentions to build an outdoor oven for several years. Now I've got the plans. The next morning we took an all-day cooking class at Los Dos. We enjoyed David Sterling's lecture on the history of Yucatan food. Then he took the group to the main mercado to buy ingredients for our afternoon feast. We spent the rest of the day preparing ... read more

Two days before Christmas we visited inside some amazing homes in Merida's Centro Historico district, on a walking tour which is organized each Wednesday at the Merida English Language Library ($200 MXD). The library was organized by local expats. The collection is housed in a home left to the group by the estate of one of the founders. The tour guide was knowledgeable of the history of architecture in the area, and he did a fine job keeping 30 people moving and entertained. He told the story of how many of the famous "pasta tiles" came here as "seconds" used as ballast aboard sailing vessels, left on shore when replaced by cargo — and subsequently were used in local homes. There is a sizable and growing expat community here which has restored many neglected homes, as ... read more

I put up a blog yesterday, and even looked at it online (so did Mary), but today it is gone! Don't know what happened. I wont attempt to rewrite it; but I will put up photos with captions. Basically, it was interiors of the place we are staying, and photos of our walk around town — and to the anthropology museum to see relics of Mayan civilization.... read more