Food, national holidays and history

Yesterday we visited the Slow Food Market in Mérida. It is a small market that is found on Ave Colon and Ave Reforma (Calle 72) and is open Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings. Some interesting food stalls and music. We enjoyed it a bought a quiche and some veggies. Very gringo-esque but nice to be able to speak some English with other people :) We are learning a lot of Spanish, but far from being in any way competent...

Herman made a short video of the live entertainment:

Tomorrow is May 1st and together with many countries all over the world, Mexico is celebrating Labour Day. In Mexico it is a compulsory national day of rest and most stores and all schools will be closed.

Its origin was an ancient European spring festival, which reminded me that I was in a musical in elementary school called May-Day in Welladay, which is about this ancient celebration.

However the current labour day celebration was as a result of the 8 hour movement who advocated 8 hours to work and 8 hours to rest.

Friday is Cinco de Mayo, which is not celebrated much in this region, however it is a big day in Pueblo where they celebrate the victory over Napoleon III. It is not actually Mexican independence day as some people believe.

Mexican Independence from the Spaniards is celebrated on September 16. It commemorates not the day when independence was declared but when Miguel Hidalgo cried out against the Spanish oppression in the small town of Dolores and is referred to as the "Cry of Dolores" of 1810.

From Villahermosa to Mérida

The drive from Villahermosa to Campeche was nice and peaceful. We crossed several bridge over large bodies of water along the Gulf of Mexico.

We went through small towns that were charming and stopped at Atasta where we were taken in by this peaceful town along the water. After a nice break we travelled through Ciudad Del Carmen, which is one of the most beautiful stretches of beach and clear water we've seen. A marine and land protected area carries on for miles. We were stopped twice by the Federales to check the ownership of our vehicle and to check us out. These police officers speak English and in all our visits to Mexico they have always been helpful, friendly and professional.

After spending our memorable night at the San Sebastian Hotel, we left shortly after a great breakfast heading towards Merida on the newly built 180. The lights along the highway seem to be aluminum poles with LED lights that are solar powered, which I thought was exciting.

When we were travelling over the past couple of weeks we realized how alone we were and it heightens the feeling of homesickness. When we did this 21 years ago, we had our small family with us and it was somehow better because of that. This time, we do not have to make it work to keep our young children alive, but we have to deal with that immense sense of being just us. Not even being able to communicate freely with people around us definitely makes this experience more difficult.

When we crossed into the Yucatan state from the state of Campeche, we were jubilant.

Arriving in Merida on Tuesday morning, felt like coming home. It was amazing to see places we recognized. Especially when we realized that the room we are renting, is only a few blocks away from the Zoo we enjoyed so much on a previous visit! It is a bitter sweet feeling of "being home" but not near anyone we love. Most of the spring flowers are in full bloom.

Homeland Monument on Paseo De Motejo

Right now, we have a lot of boxes to check; register with immigration, get cell phone number, view potential properties, etc. It keeps us on a level of stress that we can definitely do without, but it is also the feeling of the unknown that makes it exciting.

We are visiting the local parque de las Americas at least twice a day. It has so many things happening every day, including several outdoor sessions of Zumba, which I plan to participate in next week. We are getting to know this neighbourhood really well and have found a grocery store we like, but still need to find one that sells really good wine.

 Parque de las Americas

We are happy and enjoying the freedom we have and looking forward to settling down in our new home (as soon as we find it).

In limbo

We drove out to Chabihau where there was a house we were interested in. This small fisherman's village is along the Gulf of Mexico, East from Progreso. It was hit hard by a hurricane a few years back and the closest houses to the ocean were wiped out at that time. The drive there was pretty through the usual Yucatan dense low vegetation. From the 180 we headed North on a single lane highway. There are small outlets on either side for cars to pull off for oncoming traffic. The road was pretty busy, but everyone is courteous and we arrive at the small village without incident.

Before you enter the town, there is a lagoon on either side of the road. This area is known for its flamingos and nearby there is a natural sanctuary for these birds.

 We parked the car and took a walk on the beach.

Some of the houses were clearly still damaged, but it was shocking to think that an entire row of houses had disappeared and that the town was now one street smaller. The force of a hurricane was unimaginable on a clear day like this.

The town was small, but really lovely and clean. We liked the town and met some really nice people who invited us into their home for some local coco frio which is a delicious cool creamy ice cream made with coconut. If we didn't find our house two days after this visit, we would have bought a house here and stayed. We had a lovely time driving to this quiet town and then headed back to our rental in Mérida using the coastal road through Progreso. It is a lovely paved road along the coast going through all the small villages along the way.

Once home, Xena went back to doing what she loves...

 Herman cuts up some veggies for dinner...

These little orange fruits fall to the ground and Xena loves eating them.

One of our regular visitors is this little lizard in the tree and he often comes into our room. So far they have been too quick for Xena to catch and I am sure it will stay that way.

Most of the time, we study Spanish, walk to the park or sit in the garden. Xena sleeps or runs around chasing lizards, "catching large scary leaves" and eating little orange fruits that fall from the palm tree outside our room.  Most of all we miss our kids. We are bored and cannot wait to move into our new house. So much to do once we get there!

Dancing in the park

This week we had two afternoons and nights filled with lovely rain and thunderstorms. The weather that followed was downright frio and I almost had to wear a sweater!

When we walked to the park tonight, there were some young girls dressed in beautiful hoop dresses and some young men in tuxedos. They were part of a dancing presentation held in the outdoor theatre.

The park was filled with people as usual. Just another night in the local park. Beautiful music, lots of food and lovely entertainment. Unfortunately I didn't have a camera with me. 😧

I also had my first candy floss in Mexico!

All in all a lovely end to another week here in Mérida.

Monday is our appointment at the immigration office for fingerprints. Checking off one box at a time!

Finding a house

When we left Canada, we had a list of properties that we wanted to see. Once we got here, we scaled that back to two properties that we really liked, because it was getting difficult to get some of the agents to set up visits.

When we saw these two houses again, only one was what we wanted and since this was our second time seeing the property we made an offer. This offer was not accepted by the home owner, so I decided to visit a few more real estate sites.

Once I figured out the difference between searching for USD prices versus Mexican pesos, it became quite clear that when working with local sellers, making offers in Mexican currency works better. We found a local real estate agent who was very helpful last time when we visited Mérida and we found a second one this time. So far our experience with the real estate agents were either super responsive and helpful or not responsive at all. The agents were very informative about the properties and the process for non-citizens. Having different real estate agents give you the same summary of the process boosts your confidence that the information is accurate. It also helped a lot that they were fluent in English. Herman also had a good understanding of the process after all the research he had done, so all in all we didn`t feel too stupid.

Here is the process:

• When you like a property, you make a verbal offer, then email or text that offer to the agent who then shares that with the seller. The seller either accepts or makes a counter offer. It is expected that the offer will come in slightly under the asking price.
• When or if accepted, you sign a contract for promise of purchase, which your lawyer reviews once the seller has signed.
• You then have 5 business days to pay a 10% deposit. This deposit can be held by your lawyer, but it is more likely that the owner gets the deposit directly.
• The deed, title and plans of the property all have to be updated and submitted to the lawyer. Some delays in getting the plans reviewed by the municipality can be expected when you are not in a large city like Mérida, but in Mérida this takes about a week.
• The lawyer sets up the fideicomiso (which is required for property within 50km of a border or the beach, purchased by non-citizens).
• The purchaser pays a purchasing tax (dependent on the Municipality it is between 2 and 4%), the lawyer`s fee (around $1800 CDN) and the fideicomiso fee (around $2000 CDN).
• There is an annual property tax (varies between municipalities but very little) and an annual fedeicomiso fee (around $600 CDN). 
• All the paperwork is handled by the seller, realtor and the lawyer.
• The realtor transfers the electrical and water ownership to the new owner`s name.
• The buyer`s interests are covered by a very clear and understandable contract which makes the sale null and void if any of the documents are not accurate.

Keep this in mind as an expat: Similar to Canada, the house is evaluated for tax purposes. However, if you and your spouse both die and your heir(s) (if non-residents) decide to sell the property, they will have to pay 35% of the original purchase price in capital gains tax, which makes the offer price here much more important; especially in properties at higher prices.

We looked at several properties and found a few that we were really interested in. (There were quite a lot more in our price range once I altered my search methods.) I found one that was amazing and new and not in the middle of the busy city - you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince - or in this case our dream house. We are happy to say that we have signed an offer to purchase and will hopefully have our house by June. Our closing date is 60 days from date of offer and can be extended if any of the paperwork is delayed due to an outside party. If everything moves faster, the closing date can be earlier. (Once we have the house officially in our names, I will post some pictures.)

Things are falling into place and emotionally the roller coaster is continuing. BUT we are getting closer to our intent of living a simpler life and already I am so much more relaxed and have not once even lost my temper. Honestly I have had to tell Herman to relax a few times. Score!

Figuring things out...

Down in the dumps

One week into arriving in Mérida, and we both hit a low. It was Sunday and things had not been going as planned with the house hunting. We had to revisit the immigration office again with more changes to our forms; our lack of Spanish. We are stuck in the room with no outside to speak of. We are struggling to speak or understand and we both just felt sorry for ourselves. Herman also had a stomach bug which made him tired and sleepy. I was sitting reading and lethargic and missed the kids. Why did we come here again...?

We expected this; it's a normal thing when you start over in a new country and have to figure things out. Add to that the language barrier and it's definitely not easy. But we had a good night's sleep and Monday things were better again.

Easter is one of the biggest holidays in Mérida (all of Mexico) and on Palm Sunday the patrons of the church were carrying palm leaves to symbolize the palm leaves that were thrown on the street for Jesus. It is amazing to see that Easter is a religious holiday here. No Easter bunnies and chocolate eggs. Such a nice change. The schools are closed for two weeks and many parents are on vacation as well.

Immigration

Should it be this simple?

Our experience with INM has been amazing. The staff have been super helpful and even though we were only successful in obtaining an appointment after our third visit, it was a positive experience. Celebratory drinks are served!

I guess having worked in government in Canada, made me accept the requirements easier that those who hate the steps that is required by governments. Ultimately their system works really well and considering how long it took for us to get approval to immigrate to Canada, we are super happy with a one month period for switching from a temporary visa to temporary residents' cards in Mexico. Next step fingerprints and fotos.

There is an internet cafe (Fl@sh) on the corner of Calle 35 and 82 in Mérida where you can get the paperwork filled out online and printed with the help of a young Canadian who opened a business a block away from the INM office. He also has the ability to print the fotos needed for the application's second step..

Walking the dog

A real gringo thing to do here by the way. In our boredom on Sunday we decided to try out a new park where we can walk the dog. On our way there Xena was almost killed by a doberman who escaped from her front yard. Luckily for us Xena is seriously fast and Herman was seriously brave and chased the dog away! Out of breath and shaky we proceeded to the park only to find out it was closed on Sundays.

It made me remember that in South Africa, same as in Mexico, people do not usually walk their dogs and if they do, they are seldom on leash. Anyway, that was back in 1996, which means it could have changed. But dogs are animals here and not really seen as the member of the family as they are in Canada. They sleep outside and guard the house. Their exercise is from running around outside in the enclosed yard. If they get out, they usually come home again or you chase them down threatening bodily hard until they return. Just some tiny differences between cultures.

Shopping

Water, veggies and fruits, food: stores, markets and filling stations.

As in Canada, everyone here drinks bottled water. There are automatic filling stations along the road where you can pay a few dollars and fill your 1, 5 or 20 litre bottles or you can go to the corner/grocery store and get a replacement. Coca Cola is king though and large pop bottles are 2.5 litres - not the usual 2 we are used to in Canada. There is no Diet Coke, but Coke Light and Coke sin sucre.

Vieggies and fruit stores are everywhere and there are also local markets where you can buy really fresh local produce for a steal. Grocery stores sell everything you could want including alcohol, toiletries and clothes, however their fresh produce is often not as great as the fresh markets. The cheese and milk is different from Canada, but still really tasty.

Getting gas for the car was a shocker. The fuel price here is really high since it's been privatized. We paid more to fill our car here than in Canada, which we did not really expect.

House hunting

When we were here a couple of years ago, we looked at some real estate and saw two houses that we really liked and was in our rock bottom price range. When we saw them again this weekend, we were not so impressed with one of them anymore. The other houses on our list were also not what we really wanted. Except for the one, which we made an offer on, however probably not what the owner wanted, we have to consider finding something different. We are waiting to hear from the owner about our offer and we are hoping to see two more properties this week. One seems too good to be true; let's hope not.

Daily life

We are in a routine now: getting up early, checking online accounts, walking the dog in the local park and then off to do the one item we want to complete today. When we return we check for property for sale and contact agents. Have a light snack and a beer. Nap in the afternoon (Herman) or read (Denise). Make dinner and walk the dog again in the local park. Read/learn Spanish (Denise)/watch tv (Herman). Pretty much what we are doing right now. Once we have the house and the acceptance of an offer, there will be lots of paperwork to do and new hoops to jump through, but we will get 'er done.

Getting a cell phone in Mexico

So we finally went to Telcel and got our number in Mexico. We walked for about 45 minutes in 40 degree midday heat to get to the client services location. Not sure anymore why we didn't just drive, but sweat was pouring down Herman's shirt. Everyone who works there was dressed in suits and here we walk in, speaking only English. The girl at the counter asked us to wait when she realized we could not speak Spanish and found someone who could help us in English. He was super helpful and explained to us that until we have our residents' cards pay-as-you-go would probably be easier and was not more expensive. Definitely not compared to Canadian cell rates!

We paid $15 for a new SIM card and connection fee, which includes unlimited calling and texting in Mexico, US and Canada plus 150MB data for a week. When we reload for 45 days, we will renew at the max plan for $45 which will include unlimited calling and texting in Mexico, US and Canada plus 2500MB data plus 1500MB data  just for fb, Twitter and Wattsapp.

Not too bad at all! Considering that the entire Paseo De Montejo has a Wi-Fi corridor, and all local public parks have free Wi-Fi access we are set to communicate!