Wednesday, March 23, 2022 Shared a cab back to the ferry with 2 guys from Minnesota. 80 pesos. One's sister lives here. He says he's going to move here next year. Tired of Minnesota winters. Noticed gas was $23.35 per liter. Couldn't do the conversion off the top of my head. There are so many conversions I do daily. Celsius to Fahrenheit. Pesos to USD. Spanish to English. English to Spanish. We talked about how our government is useless and agreed it seemed the only way to solve it is to leave. I wish I had met them on my way into town. They would've been fun to hang out…

Tuesday, March 22, 2022 Woke up feeling pretty good today. Sunshine crested over the ocean out of my window. And the internet still works. After putting in a half day's work, I thought about what to do with my last day in Mexico. I decided to go back up to Playa Norte, anticipating a stop at the bank along the way. My host, Lorenzo, was in the courtyard with someone performing maintenance. I noticed now that all four of the bikes had baskets mounted on them instead of just the two smaller bikes from yesterday. I grabbed the same bike I had the day before and started riding north. After…

Monday, March 21, 2022 I hoped I would wake up feeling better this morning, but I didn't. And the internet still was not working. I texted my host to let them know about the internet, but I didn't feel very useful anyways. I laid in bed watching the sunrise over the ocean. Of all places to be sick, I picked a pretty good one. I didn't have to go anywhere to enjoy the best of what this island had to offer. Sunrise from bed Bike Riding After a while, I grabbed one of the bicycles and started riding around. I felt like I had to make the most of my…

Sunday, March 20, 2022 Woke up to an upset stomach this morning. Slept a couple of hours longer than usual and still didn't feel well. Not the best for a travel day. Eventually I rounded up my stuff, repacked my bags, and checked out. I dropped my keys through a hole in the wall around the compound. Even though I wasn't hungry I stopped for breakfast. I wouldn't arrive in Isla Mujeres until about 3pm after a bus, taxi, and ferry, so I felt compelled to eat something. And the restaurant was very relaxing and only a block from the bus station. I arrived at the bus station 20 min…

Saturday, March 19, 2022 Hailed a taxi and went to the Tulum ruins first thing this morning. 150 pesos. 85 pesos for entry. Word is you have to arrive before the tour buses start unloading people around 9:00 or 10:00. So I got there just as they opened at 8:00 and got to check them out with a handful of others. The ruins reminded me of Ostia Antica, Italy. Similar to churches, ruins all kind of look the same after a while. It was still interesting to see them though. They had various temples houses and other buildings, some still with decorative motifs intact. The ruins overlook the ocean, making…

Friday, March 18, 2022 I woke up this morning to no running water. Got locked *in* my Airbnb. Sliced my big toe on a rock in the courtyard. Dropped off my laundry. All before 8am. It's already been a day. Thankfully I cut my toe in my own courtyard, so I hobbled up the steps to my room, doctored it up, and then hobbled off to the laundry in my flip flops. My tennis shoes put too much pressure on the wound. As for the laundry, the man informed me it would be 56 pesos ($2.75) for it to be washed, dried, and folded. I seriously need this service at…

Thursday, March 17, 2022 I was pretty excited to leave Mahahual this morning. So excited that I went to the colectivo station 2 hours early. I found a taco stand nearby and ordered two tacos. The owner and her husband served up two delicious carnitas tacos and a liter of Coke. The tacos were served on a plate wrapped in a plastic bag. I think that's a covid measure, but I'm not 100% sure. Either way it made me smile. I haven't seen anything like that before. The green salsa is VERY spicy After downing the two tacos I asked for uno mas, 1 more. After all, I had absolutely…

March 14 - 16, 2022 Each morning I worked a few hours from my hotel, then either walked or took a taxi to the beachfront. There's a taxi stand right down the road from me and my hotel staff told me it should cost 25 pesos. So I practiced saying 25 in Spanish so that I could ensure I got a fair rate from my taxi driver. The minute I got down to the beach and stepped out of the cab it began to rain. I ducked for cover for 5 minutes while the rain briefly passed through. Then I walked the entire tourist strip (which is probably about 1km…

Sunday, March 13, 2022 For my last day in Bacalar, I wanted to take in the best of it - the beautiful, peaceful lagoon. No crocodile this morning. I stopped by a small outdoor restaurant and enjoyed a chai tea latte and a green omelet. The ambiance at the outdoor restaurants can't be beat. Colectivo After breakfast, I finished packing up my belongings and decided to head to the colectivo. Since I didn't know the schedule, I figured I'd better just get up there and prepare to wait. About 2 minutes after I got to the colectivo station my van arrived. I didn't even have time to get my ticket…

Saturday, March 12, 2022 First thing this morning I went down to the waterfront. I'm always up early so instead of working right away I decided to take a walk. I went down to one of the only public peers and took in the beauty of dawn. There were a few others seated at the end of the pier. After about 5 minutes a crocodile suddenly appeared in the lake only a few yards away. It wasn't visible for long, dropping back under the surface and disappearing. I couldn't believe I spent the last 2 days in the same water. I think today I'll stay on land. Crocodile! I walked…

Friday, March 11, 2022 Today's big event was a sailing excursion on the lagoon. I slathered on the sunscreen, including my eyelids, and headed down to hail a taxi. The sailboat set off near cocolitas which helped make things easy for me. This time my taxi cost 50 pesos. He dropped me off at cocolita's and I walked the rest of the way. About to board our sailboat Our sailboat included two sailors, originally from Argentina, and four women. One woman was from Mexico City, and the other two were from Chicago and Minnesota. The sailor mistook Minnesota for Venezuala and created much confusion when he spoke to her in…

Thursday, March 10, 2022 Today I found the best place of my trip so far. Cocalito's cenotes. This place is beautiful. It's a little south of town and requires 50 pesos for entry. But it has bathrooms, a restaurant, and most importantly and incredible view and entry into the lagoon. It's impossible not to be relaxed here. I took a short nap, then made my way out into the water. I probably got about 60 yards off the beach and the water was only to my waist. There are sections roped off for the stromatolites, one of the oldest living organisms on the earth. Everything is utterly beautiful. Cocalitas built…

Wednesday March 9, 2022 Nina invited me to join her and a friend for a trip out to Los Rapidos, a river that feeds the lake. I turned her down before even looking at it because I had just stepped out for breakfast and had lots of catching up to do from spending much of my time with others the past week. After looking up Los Rapidos I was disappointed to have missed it. Save that for another time. After grabbing a smoothie for breakfast, I walked around to get a glimpse of the lagoon. It's aptly named the Lagoon of 7 Colors because it supposedly has 7 different shades…

Tuesday, March 8, 2022 I woke up to an ant crawling all over me. It didn't matter. I was excited to go to Bacalar today. I offloaded my leftover groceries to a new tenant, a vegan handbag designer named Sol from Toronto. Then I started my walk to the bus station, deciding to walk so I could pick up a banana from the market. 3 pesos. I contemplated an Uber from there but I was halfway so I just kept going. Once I made it to the bus station I was quite excited for Bacalar. Everyone who's been there keeps saying how great it is, and how different it is…

Monday, March 7, 2022 Deb and I had a good day running a few errands for our last day here in Merida. We grabbed a couple of bananas at the market before heading down to buy our bus tickets and schedule Deb's covid test. A few of the souvenir shops were closed so we walked up to El barrio for brunch. Lunch did not disappoint. After that, we joined our mastermind call then headed back out on the souvenir trail where Deb picked up some trinkets for her girls and I found myself a coaster. Then we stopped for gelato where I got roasted corn, chocolate and achiote gelato. I…

Sunday, March 6th, 2022 Woke up this morning and immediately booked an Airbnb in Bacalar for $33 a night. It's official, I'm leaving Merida for the final two weeks of my trip. I certainly haven't done everything there is to do in this area but I feel I've seen enough and am ready to roll on. Cenotes! Deb and I took a Didi to the Alamo car rental near the airport (highly recommend). Jess met us there. After a very thorough walk-through of our Nissan hatchback rental, we piled in and headed for the cenotes at Ecotours "X'Tohil" in the State Reserve. This was an authentic cenote experience. They had…

Saturday, March 5, 2022 This morning was a nice, slow, casual morning. It felt great not having any anxiety over making plans that required a lot of coordination. Eventually, after enjoying the peaceful morning, Deb and I packed up our backpacks and took a Didi up to Las Dunas Beach. It felt like we had the whole beach to ourselves. This is at the tail end of the beach so there is very little tourism. Las Dunas We were going to lay out but the wind was kicking up sand so instead we walked into the nearby town, Chuburna. When we got to where we were going, a hacienda that…

Friday, March 4, 2022 Tried to book a rental car this morning and all of them are fully booked. Ultimately decided to push the trip a day and book a car for tomorrow, but those are also booked. Frustrated. Maybe we’ll just take the bus to Uxmal tomorrow. The buses have been very reliable. Instead, Deb and I walked around town and she could see several of the small parks and shops in the Centro district. We grabbed lunch at my favorite, Taqueria la Lupita, so that she could try the tacos. I think they got a passing grade. Just a couple of gringos at the taqueria Then we browsed…

Thursday, March 3, 2022 Deb taught me how to peel and slice a mango this morning. It had a much bolder flavor than I imagined. We also agreed that the mini bananas taste almost exactly like regular bananas. Everyone selling them says they taste different but I don't think that they do. When peeling the mini banana, ants crawled out of the crevice between the peel and the tip of the fruit. That's because the kitchen cabinets (and kitchen as a whole) have tiny ants crawling all over. It leaves a lot to be desired. The rooms aren't bad, but the kitchen is not great. Beach We agreed to head…

Wednesday, March 2, 2022 Well, I have had an eventful 12 hours. Last night my toilet stopped filling with water so I couldn't flush. No big deal. I could wait to flush it until morning when Maurizio, my host, would be here to take a look at it. What I didn't anticipate was waking up at 5 a.m. with an upset stomach 🤢 Suffice it to say things happened that have never happened to me before 😮 No sooner than the sickness arrived, it was gone. If that's the worst food poisoning/sickness I experience while I'm here, I'll take it. I worked for a couple of hours after that, trying…

Tuesday, March 1, 2022 Only 66° this morning. Very refreshing! I worked out on the patio this morning before doing laundry and catching up with my Belgian buds. Shorties When housekeeping came to clean my room so I headed out for what else - tacos! This time I ordered quatro cochinita pibil tacos and a Coke. Just as delicious as yesterday and completely satisfied. The male waiter was very friendly. He found it funny I could reach the menus mounted on the wall from my table. Everyone is fairly short here. This makes for many near obstacles when I walk around town. Among other things, awnings are usually low enough…

February 23 I arrived in Mexico for a one month stay in Merida. The goal of this trip is to further grow an abundant mindset and live out the life that I want. Many have asked me to keep them apprised along the way and this is the best way to do it. These are the Merida Chronicles capturing each of my days in Mexico, and the total expense of the trip. Wednesday, February 23, 2022 Arrived Wednesday, February 23rd in Cancun. Had a direct flight from Cincinnati via Frontier for only $200. The flight was incredibly quick, taking only 3 hours. I could see the Florida coastline, spotting Tampa…

February 23 I arrived in Mexico for a one month stay in Merida. The goal of this trip is to further grow an abundant mindset and live out the life that I want. Many have asked me to keep them apprised along the way and this is the best way to do it. These are the Merida Chronicles capturing each of my days in Mexico, and the total expense of the trip. Monday, February 28, 2022 Up at 6. Laid around for a bit then went to the outdoor table and worked for a few hours. I met a Belgian couple that just arrived. They were at the end of…