Daydreaming about a road trip, and the last chapter for Odd the Dog, and Missy

Mérida - private garden

Rain, rain, go away.  Come again another day. 

Our island weather is socked in, grey and wet, while a soggy tropical depression slowly passes over us.  With time on our hands, we are daydreaming about another road trip in the drier winter months.  

Maybe we’ll do a two-day trip to an old favourite: Mérida. Built on the ancient Maya city of Thó, Mérida is best visited in the cooler months of October to May. From June to September, the temperature can climb to 40°C or around 110°F.  That’s too hot for us.

Mérida is about three and a half hours north-west of where we live if we drive the well-maintained toll highway system. Someday, we might venture along the back roads again, but that route takes a whole lot longer to get anywhere.  Every tiny hamlet or village has numerous spine-jarring topes (speed bumps) slowing the traffic to a crawl.   

Calle 60 at Calle 57 good hotel

On the other hand, driving in the City of Mérida, the one-way-only street system takes a few minutes to get used to until you realize the odd-numbered streets run at right angles to the even-numbered streets.  

It’s a bit puzzling for a driver accustomed to the North American system. In the USA and Canada, the streets typically run in an east-west direction and at right angles to avenues travelling in a north-south direction. Eventually, after navigating three times around the same block searching for an address, Calle 60 #488 at Calle 57, we figured it out.  

Will my brain retain that bit of useful information until the next time we're driving in Mérida?  Probably not. 

Paseo de Montejo in Mérida at night

Even with the slight confusion of driving in Mérida, it is well worth the effort. The city abounds in fascinating museums, art galleries, restaurants and boutique hotels located on the famous Paseo de Montejo, a wide boulevard featuring many fountains and statues.  

A few years ago, we were treated to a private showing of art in one of the haciendas. Many of the buildings in Centro still retain the colonial flavour of when the Spanish overlords ruled Mexico. On another visit to Mérida, we wandered the downtown area, stopping for a delicious dinner at Pancho’s and one of their famous flaming coffee drinks.

Lawrie - art galley in a hacienda

A number of our friends say that the best time to visit Mérida is during Carnaval (known as Mardi Gras in some cultures). The festivities begin the week before Ash Wednesday or Lent, so the date changes from year to year according to the schedule for religious celebrations.  

In 2014, the dates are February 26^th to March 5^th.  For eight days, the City of Mérida will celebrate with nightly parades featuring colourful floats, international and national bands, dance troupes in gorgeous costumes, and street dances. The Presidente of Mérida estimated that there were more than a million extra visitors in the city during the event. 

We haven’t participated in the Mérida Carnaval festivities yet, preferring to stay on our little island and celebrate with friends.  

However, since this is a wet and rainy day, and we have been contemplating a winter road trip, this just might be the year.

Hasta Luego 
Lynda and Lawrie

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The Last Chapter: Odd and Missy, the king and queen of Bachilleres Beach dogs

To the many admirers of Odd and Missy, who have patted, fed, and spoiled them for the past ten or more years:

In the first week of July, the male beach dog Odd was exhibiting signs of distressed breathing. Over the next six weeks, he had ten visits from two veterinarians with a series of shots, pills, and treatments. He improved for a few days and then rapidly declined again. He had Ehrlichia, a tick-borne bacterial infection, and also diabetes, with possible complications to his liver.

I had Arturo (a vet from Cancun) do a second assessment on Missy's health, as she bled freely when I removed ticks, and was licking herself bald in several locations. She had recently developed a hacking cough. She has Ehrlichia and a virulent fungal infection that required a harsh regimen of drugs that frequently impact the liver and kidneys, especially in old dogs.

After a lengthy discussion, the decision was made to put them both down. They were lifelong friends, and neither one would last long without the other. We have paid for a cremation for Odd and Missy. We will scatter their ashes along the various segments of "their beach" from Vista Alegra to the PeMex station on Aeropuerto Road.

They were fun and frustrating. Fun when they were healthy and silly.  Frustrating when they chased motos, bicycles, or the turtle farm workers in the middle of the night.

They were endearing and annoying. Endearing when they would run up to various gringo friends and clamour for love and affection. Annoying when served food only to turn up their noses in disgust. "Dog food! You expect me to eat dog food?" Well, maybe Missy did that; Odd would eventually realize that any food was better than no food. Ever the pragmatist, that's the Oddy-boy. They are both featured in The Adventures of Thomas the Cat, a bilingual book for children.

Enjoy your next adventure, Odd and Missy.