Under the Fan in the Yucatan: Food and Drink

One of the first considerations when visiting a new place is the food.  We got off the bus starving to death and headed for the closest eatery which turned out to be a "Chili's".  For shame!  But in our defense we hadn't eaten in ten hours by then.  We have never patronized a Chili's at home but this food was excellent, although as they say, hunger is the best spice or something like that.

Yucatecan cuisine is quite bland on its own however many things are served with a tiny side dish of runny green salsa.  Beware!  This stuff can remove paint and melt steel!  The sauce is made from the Habanero pepper which look like tiny squishy pumpkins. But don't let its benign appearance deceive you! An American pharmacist named Wilbur Scoville came up with a way of measuring the capsaicin (the chemical that produces the hot heat) in peppers. The ubiquitous jalapenos rate between 3,500 to 8,000 Scoville units but habaneros weigh in about 100,000 to 350,000.  Hot stuff!  Drinking water or beer only spreads it around and unlike with Indian food, yogurt doesn't help.  I have heard that chocolate will help quench the fire.  Must try.

And speaking of chocolate, Yucatecans have been cultivating it for as long as three-thousand years but never combined if with sugar let alone milk.  They used it as a beverage like coffee and the cocao beans were fermented and concocted into a frothy bitter drink.  It took many, many years for northern Eurupeans to make it into candy.  Mexicans also use chocolate in  "mole" (moe-lay), a thick dark brown sauce with about eighty ingredients, none of them sweet.

The Yucatecans were the first culture to domesticate the turkey which the early European visitors here found disgusting.  (They found EVERYTHING that was different from home disgusting.)  Turkey plus pork and chicken are the main meats of the Yucatecan diet.  One of the local especialities is "Sopa de Lima" which is a turkey soup with lime and tortilla strips.

Did I say "tortillas"?  Folks here subsist on tortillas like we do on bread.  And they like them VERY fresh.  There is a bicycle vendor who passes by our casa every morning and the locals poke their heads out to hail him over.  Even Walmart has their resident tortilla makers and some restaurants and markets have them sitting in the window making them the traditional way.  Tortillas are made from "maize" pronounced "mice"  (Tortillas are made from Mice?  Yes, they are!) Which is corn that is not as sweet as ours.  The maize is soaked in lime to make the grain more digestible for the human body.  This is then ground into "masa" which is then made into tortillas with nothing else added.  Wheat flour or "harana" tortillas are probably a European adaptation.

This is Mexico and they love their beans too.  Some grocery stores at home have two kinds at the most but here there are dozens.  Cheap, tasty, low-fat protein and an essential ingredient in many a Yucatecan dish.  Black beans are used for a rather unnerving jet black sauce.

Another Yucatecan favorite is ground toasted pumpkin seeds eaten much like hummus.  Hmmm.  Turkeys, pumpkins -- this place is like a perpetual Thanksgiving.
 
You would not want to be a lime here!  Limes are an ingredient in most Yucatecan or Mayan dishes and essential for Corona and gin drinkers like us.  There are no lemons!  Just limons and limas, both green, which after much investigation I have concluded are just two types of limes.
 
Everyone here buys their produce and most of their meat from the neighborhood markets.  For dairy, processed foods and household cleaners, etc.  they head to the local store which in this neighbourhood is the ISSTEY, a Yucatecan version of the Co-op.  There is also the aformentioned Walmart for gringo needs like gin, Pepsi and such and there is even a Costco further up the road for those inclined.

Meridanas are a chubby lot but the men tend more to the lean side.  The chubbiness I attribuate partly to the snacks available for sale every few feet downtown.  Mostly healthy stuff though, e.g. peeled oranges and grapefruit, mangos on a stick but lots of other sticky concoctions too.  Food and drink is everywhere!

There is plenty of beer in Merida although Corona seems only of interest to turistos like moi.  Unlike much of Mexico, tolerably good wine is available, which is mostly imported from Chile, Argentina and California.

Coffee here is fantastic!  Just a couple of blocks from our casa is a little shop that roasts sacks of Mexican grown coffee beans (and grinds them if you choose) right before your eyes.  And the finished product is fantastic!  So good that Neil has even quit putting cream in his morning brew!!!

And of course, there is the aforementioned juice which is also available everywhere in various concoctions.  My favorite is Jugo Verde or green juice which is a combination of orange, pineapple, celery and parsley.  There is another green one that is just pineapple and chaya, also called "tree spinach".

Of course, we have been here only a little over two weeks so I'm sure there is much more to be tasted and we will make the sacrifice just for you!

Under the Fan in the Yucatan: Having a FANtastic time!

I did my homework before we came to Merida and I knew that the Yucatan was hot.  In winter it is tolerable for us northerners but come summer, most northern expats think of good reasons to visit the folks back home.  The adaptations for coping with the heat are evident as soon as you step off the bus.

First, as my blog title illustrates, ceiling fans are EVERYWHERE.  There is a ceiling fan in everyroom of our casa even the little guest bathroom and two on the back patio. Electricity is expensive in Merida but fans are a must.

Next clue to the relentless heat is the high ceilings.  Even the most humble abodes have twelve foot ceilings.  Posher residences and mansions are thirty feet and higher.  Got to get that heat up and out of there.

Much of life in Merida is lived outdoors.  Homes have courtyards and patios and neighbourhoods have parks and squares.  Most entertainment happens outdoors year round.

The Yucatan is famous for their hammocks.  Originally woven from the henequen or sisal that made the state famous, they are now available in cotton or nylon in every color of the rainbow and just about as many sizes and qualities.  Nylon is cheap and more durable but the locals prefer the cotton for its comfort.  They regard hammocks as indoor furniture and hot weather beds.  Every colonial home we have seen has muliple hammock hooks or rings for hooks imbedded in the concrete walls.  Our casa has hammock hooks in all the rooms except the kitchen and bathrooms but we have hung ours up on the back patio -- under the fans!

Most homes in Merida, especially the old Colonial ones, do not have clothes closets.  While they may have wardrobes for storing some things, clothes are hung on attractive two-tier wrought iron racks much like retail display.  With the heat and humidity, clothes would become very musty and moldy in short order without air circulating around them.

The pasta floors are beautiful, resilient, easy to clean and . . . . cool under hot bare feet.

And speaking of feet, next to nonsensible shoes (more on fashion late), the most common footwear here is -- you guessed it -- flipflops.  They are one of the major items for sale in the massive maniacal market downtown -- hundreds of thousands of flipflops in very color, pattern imaginable and some that aren't.  Hot weather shoes!  And easy to kick off when you hit those cool pasta tiles at home.

Houses are designed with cross draughts in mind including the "shot gun" style that I mentioned previously.  The wrought iron gratings while beautiful were originally intended to let in the breeze while keeping larger things -- like cats, dogs, people and most birds-- out.

Most homes here now have air conditioners too.  Our casa has one in each bedroom and one in the living room.  They are called "mini-splits" for some reason that has never been explained to me.  Only modern businesses or luxury homes have central a/c.  Most vehicles have a/c but Meridanos use it sparingly this time of year.  Most businesses, especially those catering to gringos, have it running year round so their electrical bills are probably one of the highest costs in their overhead.

Pools!  Anyone who can possibly afford one, especially northerners, has a concrete plunge pool in the back or central garden.  None of them are heated so this time of year they can be quite envigorating although I imagine they are Nirvana come June.

Meridanos are really big on juice.  Blenders are the number one kitchen appliance in this city.  While we are swilling cervaza, margaritas and soft drinks, they are hitting the "jugo" hard.  Juice stands are everywhere equipped with blender, cups and piles and piles of fruit.  The heat and the availability of cheap high quality fresh fruit make juice a logical choice for staying hydrated.

Merida is also famous for their guayabera shirts.  They are men's dress shirts usually made of cotton or linen and usually short sleeved.  Most guayaberas are white probably because it is a cool color and looks good on dark skinned people.  While they are available in many colors most gringos choose a cream or off-white color.  They are beautifully detailed with tiny pleats, tucks and embroidery in the same color as the shirt and are worn hanging loose.  They take the place of a suit in Mexican male formal wear.  A very sensible choice in this climate.

The women's traditional wardrobe is populated by loose cotton dresses with short or cap sleeves and the more formal the occasion the more embroidery on the dress.  These dresses are worn only by the elderly and gringas now as the young women prefer their jeans even if they are impractical.

It is not unusual to see older folks wearing heavy sweaters (and even a parka!) in the evenings while we are still in our shorts and sleeveless shirts and wondering why it got dark so early.  (Our northern brains are programmed to think warm evening = long days.)

So there you have it -- even though we are enjoying 30 degree celsius days now , it IS winter and gets much, much hotter here.

Under the Fan in the Yucatan: The White City and Casa Campagna

Merida is known as the White City purportedly because of the white stone and plaster homes that onced filled the streets.  I however lean towards the theory that it was the color of your skin rather than the color of your house that determined your likelihood of living here.  It was the city where the fair skinned people lived and the darker skinned lived in the outlying areas on the farms that fed the city.  They may have left their buildings white in much earlier times but evidence shows that they were painted for the past few hundred years.


One of the things that most people come here for is to see the fabulous old colonial homes built during the Henequen boom time.  Of course, many were destroyed before people had the sense and collective will to preserve the remainder. A few major architects made their name restoring many of the smaller homes.  During the past ten or twenty years winter refugees from the north have been snapping up these "casas" in the Centro Historico for bargain prices so demand is beginning to excede supply. This is compounded by the fact that Meridians pay next to nothing in the way of property taxes.  (And income tax is optional!)  We recently visited some Saskatchewan expats who bought a two or three hectare hacienda on the east side of the city and they pay the exorbitant sum of $18 per year in property taxes. Hence, people hang on to their property here because there is no cost involved.  No need to keep the heat turned on either!


We've rented a lovely pink casa formerly known as Casa Rosa but recently renamed Casa Campagna.  Campagna is "bell" in Spanish and the new owner is a charming lady from Alabama named Bell.  The property is managed by realtor/manager extraordinaire Andrea Traconis and her team.  Her daughter Andy does the day to day management.  She is about our daughter's age, fluently bilingual, very competent and diplomatic.  


Casa Campagna is a two-bedroom colonial dwelling on the north side of Centro in the Santa Ana neighbourhood.  Centro is organized by neighbourhoods which each have their own historic church, square and park.  Almost all the buildings share a common stone or concrete wall so appear like row houses from the street.  Reminiscent of St. John's with the blocks of brightly colored houses next to each other.  All the houses/shops are flush with the street and one never knows what is behind the door because condition or location does not necessarily dictate the interior.  West of us is a green casa that is a print shop.  Next to it is traditional rusty red beautifully restored residence.  On our east side is a yellow two-storey residence owned by people from London also managed by the Andrea/Andy group.  


I have begun a photo study of the myriad gorgeous wrought iron in this city.  Welders here were and are artisans.  The designs are endless and so are the colors because only the most conventional homes have left it black.  All openings here, before glass and bug screen, were wrought iron "screen" with wooden shutters or doors.  So there was two choices:  light, air and bugs or none of the preceding.  Bugs seem to be an issue only in the summer rainy season. 
Most homes have an interior courtyard open to the elements in lieu of a front and back yard which harkens back to Spain.  There is also a real Moorish touch to some of the architectural features which probably made the Lebanese immigrants feel right at home.  Many of the haciendas have moorish arches on their front gates.


The houses of ordinary folks tend to be "shot gun" style, much longer or deeper than they are wide.  Casa Campagna is about 25 by 130 feet including rear courtyard.  We enter the sala (living room), then the dining room with adjacent tiny galley-style cocina (kitchen), then down a long beautiful hallway with two bedrooms and a bathroom off it.  The hallway opens on to a large covered patio which adjoins a walled open area with a concrete pool surrounded by trees and plants.  All very private and peaceful in contrast with the cars and people roaring and chattering by the front door all day long.


One can't talk about Meridian real estate without mentioning the "pasta" floors.  The rest of Mexico and the American Southwest boast those beautiful "saltillo" or "talavera" clay tile floors and accents which we tried to emulate in our own Casa del Lago but here in the Yucatan it is something altogether different.  Pasta tiles are one inch thick concrete squares with the designs and color pressed in using a hydraulic press.  No firing or heat involved.  The historic ones were all done by hand but tiles are now manufactured in factories although you can still get hand made reproductions.  Apparently they come out of the presses looking rather dull and dusty but once they are laid down they are buffed to a high sheen.  They are often arranged in "rug like" patterns in rooms.  There is no grout required.  It's a completely different process.  They last for years and years without fading unless subjected to direct Yucatecan sun.  Indeed there are some places where the lovely intricate pasta floor is all that remains under the rubble.  And these floors are everywhere from the grandest mansion to the tiniest cornerstore.  Another photo study in progress!


Streets in this part of Merida are laid out in the very logical pattern of odd numbers running east and west and even north and south.  Addresses read accordingly:  Casa Campagna is "Calle 53 #498 x 56 y 54.  That means we are 498 - 53rd Street between 56th Street and 54th Street.  (Actually that is NOT the address of Casa Campagna but I thought I should preserve at least some of Ms. Bell's privacy.)   

Under the Fan in the Yucatan: M(air)rrrrr E daw!

Why Merida?  Sounded like our kind of place -- friendly, quiet, not too touristy, lots to see and do.  A couple of people whose opinions we respect thought it was an excellent destination and the more I researched, the better it sounded.  Many northern expats have retirement homes here, especially Canadians so that was an endorsement.

We got here the usual way -- flew to Cancun and then took the bus which is about a three hour ride if you take a "directo".  Just right for two movies.  Mexican intercity buses tend to be quite luxurious by our standards and, in our experience, show recent Hollywood movies with Spanish subtitles which is great for  turistos.

Merida (accent on the first syllable, take it very easy on the "r" but roll it if you can and the "i" is "E" in Spanish) is a city of about a million people in the Yucatan state.  It is built on the site of an ancient Mayan city and named after the Spanish city of Merida built on Roman ruins.

Merida lies about thirty miles inland from the north coast of the Yucatan and the small city of Progresso where Meridanos flock to escape the heat in the summer.  I have yet to learn exactly why Merida was built here except perhaps proximity to fresh water.  There is no surface water, i.e. rivers and lakes, in the Yucatan.  The surface is so porous that fresh water collects underground.  Underground pools are called "cenotes" (see-no-tays) and can be refreshing, if spooky, swimming holes.

Merida was founded like the rest of Mexico by Imperialist Spain crushing the indigenous natives underfoot.  The resident Mayans gave them a good run for their money however and it took two generations to finally subjugate them.

Probably the greatest attraction to Merida, after its proximity to many of the great Mayan ruins, is the remnants its recent history.  Prior to the 1800s, the farms or "haciendas" in the outlying areas were mainly devoted to raising cattle and food for the city but in the early nineteenth century someone discovered that one of the large Agave (a-gaw-vay) plants native to the area produced a fibre that was excellent for making rope and many other things.  This fibre is called "henequen" (en-e-ken) or sisal (Cecil) and by the end of the century the Merida area was producing millions of tons of the stuff.  In 1900 Merida supposedly had more millionaires per capita than any other city in the world.  The henequen barons built palatial homes on their haciendas and in the city.  All things European were admired and emulated.  They sent their children to be educated in Europe and they came home with European tastes in culture and the arts which further enriched the city with a European ambiance.  The bottom gradually fell out of the henequen market with the invention of nylon during the second World War.  Hard to believe that the "binder twine" of my childhood was produced way down here in the Yucatan. It wasn't replaced by that fake blue and white nylon stuff until the late 60s at the earliest in my neck of the woods so the market eclipse took a while.

Merida reminds me as much of Cuba as it does other parts of Mexico.  Maybe its the grand colonial buildings, many in decaying splendour, or maybe it's the pride of its people.  As I said to Neil this morning, "It's like Cuba with stuff."  (Poor Cuba does its best with so very little.)  Probably a big part of the similarity is the isolation.  Until the 20th century and even up to 50 years ago, Merida was very isolated from the rest of Mexico and the rest of the world except by sea.  Apparently the Spanish spoken here is a more ancient dialect than what is used in the rest of Mexico.  (Not that I would notice.)

All of the European influence is balanced with Mayan culture and flavoured by the climate, the terrain, not to mention many immigrants from far flung places.  Arabic is the mother tongue of more people here than English!  My impressions of the music, the food, the fashion, the art, the heat and anything else that strikes my fancy will be shared in further installments.