It’s been exactly a month since my last update and so much has happened on the site.  I chose not to post weekly as there was just not much of a change week-over-week.  But now, as of November 27th, what a change.  The three of us caught flights to Cancun on November 12th and took the ADO Platino bus (it’s the only way to travel to Merida) and checked into our rented Casa, Casa Panadero.  While there have been some minor issues with these accommodations, I’d have to give it 8 out of 10 overall.  One of the most positive things that has offset some of the issues that we’ve experienced (leaky roof, a minor rodent issue, water shortages and a few other little issues) has been the response by both the property owners (D&M Woodson) and the property manger, Silvia – they have been very responsive and quick reacting to our issues even to the point of offering us a hefty discount on our monthly rental – which we declined.

It’s been great to be back in Merida after our one-year absence – we’ve really missed the town and our friends here.  Since our contractors started on the project back on August 1st, they have made tremendous strides.

We’ve had several meetings with our contractor and architect and we seem to be on schedule with both production and design.  Our main focus this trip is to pick out finishes for the property such as tile, wall features, niche design, kitchen design, pool feature walls and if they come out the way that I’ve drawn them out on paper, it will be fantastic.

One of our friends in Merida who lives in Toronto just had the keys handed to her for her new Casa that was finished completely just a few days ago (started last October) and it’s amazing.  She has the same contractor as us, Casa Yucatan Construction and they’ve done a very professional job with her entire project.  If ours turns out to be one-half the way Elizabeth’s project turned out we’ll all be happy campers.

I’ve been visiting the site every couple of days since we arrived, just to see what changes are made from my last visit.  I’m overwhelmed by the people on the job site, they’re part Superman, part pack horse.  I’ve seen these small-in-structure Mayan men lift four (4) concrete blocks at once, like they were nothing and walk the entire length of the property, only to toss them up to the guy laying the blocks on the second floor and then repeat it time and time again for 12 hours a day.  Today when I went they were just getting ready to lift these 20′ long concrete joists up to the second floor – MANUALLY that way well over 1,000 lbs – it took seven guys, with little pads on their shoulders to hoist it up and walk 100′ to where they needed to put these into position.  I’m just not going to pick a fight with these little guys.

The other thing that I noticed today is that we have our first three columns visible.  In order to form the actual arch they fit the arch with concrete blocks, fill the arch and walkway above with concrete and then remove all the blocks once the concrete has cured.  Who knew.  Anyway, I hope you enjoy some of the pictures that I’ve attached for this blog edition.  We’ve blown through two weeks already, with only two more to go before we have to head home.  We’re hoping that Casa Yucatan has completed the block work and flooring for the 2nd floor before we get on the InterJet flight home so that we can at least walk what will be the footprint of the final project.  Stay tuned to http://www.farfrumwurken.com as things are going to be happening quickly going forward.  Soon we’ll be here with margarita in hand, enjoying the good life.

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