DIVERSION EXCURSION: GRINGO FIX, FLORIDA

I have a small condo in St. Petersburg, Florida, area that I have been trying to sell ever since the economy and the housing market took a dump a few years back. It’s completely furnished, absolutely exceptionally nice and a great little get-away, but not much interest from potential “get-awayers”!

I travel back and forth from my home in Merida to St. Petersburg to check on it and take care of some errands such as doctor, house and car insurance, this sort of thing. I have found it cheaper to eat every meal out (two per day only) rather than buy groceries and cook at home. Besides, I never learned how to cook for just one person. When I cook, I can usually feed the masses! Sticker shock is what I go through when I buy something in the grocery store, or just about anywhere for that matter! I’m too accustomed to Merida’s prices and our great markets.

Prices in the stores are out of sight! $7.00 for a medium size watermelon! Lemons, three for #1.29! Meats are at least twice, if not three times as much as we pay here in Merida, and aren’t any better! Absolutely everything is expensive and requires some smart shopping habits for those on a limited income and/or a budget. I see lots of price comparing going on by shoppers, and coupons are the name of the game! In-store specials are always a big hit.

I previously thought of my trips back to Florida as my “Gringo Fix”. But honestly, I’m no longer in need of a fix and will be quite content when I sell the condo and am out of Florida on a permanent basis. Everything there is so much “faster” and disorganized. Folks aren’t as friendly as I once remembered they were. Some of my favorite stores and restaurants have closed due to bad economic times. Traffic is terrific, people are always in a huge rush to get to wherever it is they are going, and generally speaking, folks seem to be a bit depressed and anxious. Many old friends are now residing in Nursing Homes, and I even attended the funeral of a close friend while there. The streets are full of homeless people holding signs and asking for work and/or money. The cost of utilities is out-of-sight and the State Legislature is considering one utility company’s request for a 31% rate increase! I could go on, and on.

I love my country and always will. Nothing will ever change that. I also love my adopted country, Mexico, and little could ever change that, either. It’s just that I don’t require a Gringo Fix any longer but will still have to travel back and forth a few times a year to check on things until I can sell the condo. Interested??

DIVERSION EXCURSION: RIVIERA MAYA REVISITED!

I read my blog on the Riviera Maya and just couldn’t resist going back there!

I have an extended/adopted family here in Merida and decided to take my housekeeper’s youngest, Janet (age 10). What an absolute delight she is to be around. So, it was Janet, her uncle, and me! I should mention that children under 12 are free! All I had to do was pay for her bus fare which was around 300 pesos. What a deal and what a thrill for her!

When I checked in, I asked for, and received, a wonderful room with two double beds, and they brought in an extra bed to accommodate Janet! No extra charge, either. I mentioned to the very nice young lady that checked me in that this was my second trip there and I sure wouldn’t mind having a first-floor room on the ocean side with a view. Poof! I got it with no problems! Talk about a room with a view! The balcony overlooked a beautiful white sandy beach lined with about 200 beach lounge chairs, and right smack dab on the magnificent Caribbean!

The staff mentioned to me that the 1,000 rooms were all taken for the weekend and they had 2,600 guests! Wow! Hard to visualize. Even with that many people there, it never once seemed crowded. I did notice that we had to wait an extra minute or two for transportation, but that was no problem. Also, there was no “free-flowing” lobster on the menu this time! I presume it would be difficult to give out lobster to 2,600 people. Instead of lobster, I ate my fair share of jumbo (emphasis on the word “large”) prawns, shrimp of all kinds, calamar, fish, ceviches, etc., and so on. The last night there we dined at the Steak House and had mar y tierra (surf and turf)! The filet mignon was so tender that you just had to look at it and it fell apart. The lobster tail was sweet and succulent, cooked to perfection.

We took in two very entertaining shows and enjoyed them both tremendously. As usual, the entire staff was happy, helpful, and went out of their way to accomodate you. Needless to say, we all had a wonderful time (again), and I would definitely go back.

I am going to stop reading my blogs and stay home!

Life is good.

WHO IS YOUR INSPIRATION?????

I received this via e-mail from a friend and got a good laugh out of it and hope you will to!

WHO IS YOUR INSPIRATION???


Try it without looking at the answers...... Please don't look down until you do it


1) Pick your favorite number between 1-9

2) Multiply by 3 then

3) Add 3, then again Multiply by 3

4) You'll get a 2 or 3 digit number

5) Add the digits together

Now scroll down...








Now with that number see who your ROLE MODEL is from the list below:

1. Einstein

2. Nelson Mandela

3. John Wayne

4. Helen Keller

5. Bill Gates

6. Gandhi

7. George Clooney

8. Oprah

9. Merida Mikey

10. Abraham Lincoln

I know....I just have that effect on people....one day you, too, can be like me.... :-)

P.S. Stop picking different numbers. I am your idol, just deal with it!


Now, have some fun of your own with this. Here's all you need do. Copy the text of this blog post, and then paste it to the body of an e-mail. Erase my name and substitute your name. Send it to family, friends and foe alike! (Family and friends will be amused and "foe" will be distraught at the mere thought of it!

CHILI PEPPERS: HELL-HOT, BUT HEAVENLY-HEALTHY!

Do you know what makes a chili pepper hot?? It’s a chemical compound called capsaicin. This name comes from the scientific classification of the pepper plant which belongs to the genus Capsicum.

In 1912, while working at the Parke Davis Pharmaceutical Company, Wilbur Scoville developed a testing method to measure the heat of chili peppers. As originally devised, a solution of the pepper extract was diluted in sugar water until the 'heat' was no longer detectable to a panel of (usually five) tasters. The degree of dilution gives its measure on the Scoville Scale. Today, however, more scientific testing methods prevail but still use the Scoville Scale.

Up until recently, and from personal "stimulating" experience, I thought that the hottest of all chilies was the habanero. Not so according to researchers using the Scoville Scale! The habanero registers a whopping 100,000 – 350,000 "fart-fire" units on the Scoville Scale. However, the Red Savina (habanero) measures an incredible 450,000 – 580,000 "three-alarm-fire" units! That, in my book, qualifies for “hell-hot”! But, break out the fire extinguisher, call in the Reserves, because the Naga Jolokia measures an unbelievable 855,000 – 1,050,000 units! After eating a habanero, I just cannot imagine how hot this chili pepper would be. And this truly hell-hot delicacy is in the Guiness Book of World Records! Compare that to the lowly, wimpy (but still delicious), sweet bell pepper that has absolutely no, zero, nada, capsaicin, and measures a paltry “0” on the Scoville Scale.

Yucatecans, and Mexicans in general, have a love affair with their chili peppers! I confess that I, too, have fallen in love. For me, it was definitely an acquired taste, but chilies absolutely add lots of flavor, fun, and fire to food! But, most importantly, chilies are one of the healthiest foods you can eat. Did you know that chilies:

Fight Migraine Headaches and Sinus Headaches
Prevent Sinusitis and Relieve Congestion
Fight Cancer
Help Lower High Blood Pressure
Fight Inflammation
Can Help You Burn Fat and Lose Weight
Help Soothe Intestinal Diseases
Help Protect Your Heart
Have Loads of Vitamin C
Can Warm Your Feet

Note from Merida Mikey: For additional information on health benefits of chilies, go to: www.chilipeppermadness.com

Not only do I enjoy eating chilies, I enjoy collecting them! All kinds, shapes, sizes, and colors! My kitchen looks like a chili pepper parlor and I am always on the lookout for an addition to my collection. I even have chili pepper dishes, bowls, glasses, stirrers, canapé picks, salt and pepper shakers, paper towel racks, trivets, serving platters, salsa dishes, and spoon rests as well as assorted napkins and napkin holders, table cloths with matching napkins, bibs, and many decorative items. And I’m always on the lookout for more, more, more!

If you haven’t been eating and enjoying the spicy, savory flavor of chilies, it is not too late to start! You have plenty of time to catch up! Remember, most chilies have more Vitamin "C" than an orange! So go ahead, indulge yourself! Turn up the heat a bit - eat some chilies! Isn't it about time you added some spicy years to your life, and some spicy life to your years?!?

¡Bien Provecho!

MERIDA MIKEY ON DRIVING IN MERIDA

When I lived in Florida, I thought all the drivers there had been banished from their respective States for serious traffic violations and exiled to Florida where, upon arrival, they were welcomed with open arms and given a driver’s license for life! I really thought that, collectively, they were the worst driver’s in the world! Wrong!!!!

If you are driving in Merida, or almost any other part of Mexico, you must always be keenly aware of pedestrian traffic that jumps out at you from absolutely nowhere and everywhere. And then there's the “intersection people” who want to wash your windows, sell you flowers, roses, newspapers, books, magazines, CDs, telephone cards, toys, maps, candy, fruits, veggies, soft drinks, food, coconut flavored water, etc., and so on. Then there's other intersection people dressed in freshly starched white uniforms of sorts with small tin cans with pictures of The Virgin who collect money for God only knows what, the poor folks who are looking for a handout of a few pesos (and I always oblige and urge you to do so also), the folks that hand out fliers that you have absolutely no use for but take one just to be polite, and the jugglers dressed in clown outfits when it's 110°F in the shade hoping for a few pesos for their performance before the light turns green. But let us not forget to watch out for the commuters on skateboards, bicycles, tricycles (both manual and motorized), horse drawn buggies, mule drawn carts, mopeds, scooters, motorcycles, assorted other two-wheeled vehicles, collectivos/combies, buses, taxi cabs, trucks and the occasional fellow on horseback! I’m really hard-pressed to identify the worst of the worst.

It is obvious that stop signs and traffic lights are considered by many as nothing more than mere annoying suggestions. Yield/merge signs are shaped like pieces of pizza to remind folks to eat, not yield or merge. Speed bumps can be fun to navigate! A solid yellow stripe down the center of a roadway is strictly for decorative purposes only, and posted speed limits are there to be ignored and exceeded. Left or right turn lanes are a complete waste of time and money and never utilized, and the shoulder of the road, right or left, is reserved for passing. And, if you're not talking on your cell phone, you just aren’t driving. Turn signals are a worthless accessory put on vehicles that serve no useful purpose and are seldom, if ever, used. But when they are, don’t believe a word of it! All two lane streets are easily converted into three and even four lane highways and speedways with wanton disregard for any foreseeable consequence. It is absolutely acceptable to turn left from the far right hand lane and turn right from the far left hand lane, or any other lane you happen to be in. And, of course, it isn’t necessary to use turn signals or hand signals while doing so because no one would believe you anyway. Be mindful of the guy who is stopped anywhere he so chooses and has his emergency flashers on. This could mean almost anything that you could imagine, and then some.

And where are the police you may ask? Sometimes you'll find them at a taco stand having a few snacks and a few Cokes. When not doing that, they are patrolling the highways and byways with their red and blue lights flashing, almost always in the far right hand lane going slow enough to cause major traffic jams and assorted problems and even accidents, just biding their time until their shift is over. With their flashing disco lights of red and blue, they certainly aren't trying to be inconspicuous or sneak up on anyone! In my 14 years in Merida, I have seen only a handful of traffic citations being issued, but have witnessed thousands of infractions that would require a court date and probable jail time in most other countries. The police here are very understanding and tolerant until they stop you! The Government is definitely missing out on a great source of revenue by not issuing more traffic citations. And yes, if you are caught doing a no-no, you can still pay your “probable” fine to the nice policeman who is giving you a hard time. "Mordida" is alive and well and living in the Yucatan.

The moral of this little story? If you plan on driving in Merida, or any part of Mexico for that matter, be sure to drive aggressively defensive! Keep your seat belts fastened and your insurance premiums up-to-date. You’ll be a survivor.

That being said, I have to go out now and drive around and do some errands. Wish me luck!

FITNESS, HEALTH & WELLNESS IN MERIDA

Most neighborhoods in Merida have a park or playground area for families to enjoy, sponsored by City and State Governments, and free of charge. There are also several other recreational compounds located throughout the city that cater more to adults and offer a large variety of free activities to help keep you fit and well.

My doctor wanted me to walk at least 30 minutes every day to help with my diet (perpetual) and for general health reasons. I chose to walk at the sports compound not too far from my home in Centro called Deportivo Salvador Alvarado. This great sports complex was founded February 1, 1939; almost 70 years ago! Wow! And it is still going strong and looking good! I hope that when I’m 70 people will say the same about me!

There are organized activities such as water polo, volleyball, basketball tournaments, and the like, and I even know one woman who goes there for salsa (dancing, not cooking) lessons! There are ample places to walk, jog, run, play tennis, soccer, volleyball, basketball, baseball, racquetball, handball, track and field activities, weight rooms, exercise equipment, rest rooms, showers, you name it. The list is quite long and I’m sure I forgot something! Oh, and yes – there is an Olympic sized swimming pool, too!

There is a nominal fee for some organized activities, but otherwise everything is free of charge thanks to the Government of the State of Yucatan. My hat is off to them as they are doing a great job in this area. They also provide a grounds crew on premises that keeps the place immaculately clean.

The photos below were taken on a Sunday afternoon between 12:00 and 1:00. The compound was all but deserted because of the hell-hot noon day sun. I walk there every morning between 6:30 and 7:00 AM, and the place is full! I figure it is best to go early to beat the heat so the heat doesn’t beat you! There are lots of folks who think just like me. The facility is open from 6 AM to 11 PM, so you have a large window in which to participate in your favorite activity and stay fit!

You have a choice of which type of track you prefer to walk on. One is paved with asphalt, the other is compacted sand and finely ground stones (of sorts). For me, the latter provides an easier, lower impact surface on which to walk and is lined with mature trees and bushes that provide welcomed shade at any time of day.





There is a great track and field area if that's your thing!

Racquetball and handball courts fill up early in the morning but are deserted at high noon.

There's lots of outdoor gym equipment and even a small weight room to enjoy.

I'm not a basketball player nor an aficionado, but I saw no potential NBA talent on the courts, but I have witnessed lots of people having lots of fun shooting hoops!

Tennis anyone?? There's ample lighting for nightime enjoyment and exercise.

And when you're done with your favorite activities, how about a nice cool dip in an olympic sized swimming pool? There are two diving boards. The type you have to climb up to - no thanks!

And here's a picture of Mikey's favorite sporting activity. What you do is, find a nice comfortable area to plop in while watching your favorite sports activity, and you perform a good brisk sit!

If you're in Merida or come here for a visit and decide to take an early morning walk around the track, be sure to say hello as you pass me by! And again, thanks to the Mexican Government for providing and maintaining this great sports complex. It is appreciated by all who use it.

¡GOYA IN MERIDA!

Birth name: Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes

Born: 30 March 1746 (1746-03-30)

Died: 16 April 1828 (aged 82)

Nationality: Spanish

Field: Painting, Printmaking

Once again, the Olimpo Gallery in Merida has managed an exhibition of one of the world's most renowned artists, Francisco Goya. Regretfully, only his sketches/prints/etchings were on display, but they were nothing short of wonderful!

I am familiar with some of his works, and have always been a Goya fan. He was truly a great artist and has bestowed a magnificent gift to the world in the form of his awesome works of art. I was unaware that he was also a prolific sketch artist and acquired a wealth of knowledge from this exhibit.

I only wish that the Olimpo Gallery would stop teasing us with just sketches and prints (Picasso and now Goya) and book some of these great artists' actual paintings! That would be a welcomed surprise. Having said that, hats off for booking whatever they can get some other museum to send us! We'll do our best to continue to support their efforts.

If you are in the area, or planning on visiting by the end of August 2009, put this on your list of things to do, places to go, and people to see. The museum is right in the heart of Merida, directly across from the main square, and the exhibit is absolutely free!