Update from casa Kuhn

I've been under the weather the past few days - I seem to have caught Tom's cold - he'll pay for that later!

It's just about over, just a bit of chest and nasal congestion left - OK, OK, Too much information!

And then there have been car problems - On Saturday, I picked up a friend to go to the Women's Club meeting - on the drive to the meeting I commented to her about an odd previously unnoticed knocking, then on the way to return her home, an overpowering smell of burning rubber.  By the time I got home there was something serious going on.  The water reservoir cracked.  It had gone dry, and I was burning up the engine.  Fortunately we have a friend leaving for the States and returning in a week.  So we've ordered a replacement reservoir and Tom is glueing this one back together on a daily basis to get us to Spanish class and back.   Other than that we are at home or walking, or busing; gee just like most of the other residents of Merida!   We could have ordered a replacement from Mexico City and it would have taken about the same amount of time and cost more, so Thank Goodness for friends and family with large luggage!

This is just a shot I took this summer in my neighborhood!

We had a few days of really pleasant weather, daily afternoon showers, ah heavan. 

Now it's dry again and HOT AND HUMID!

Here's another neighborhood shot!

The garden is growing, like crazy growing. 

Good Grief - The compost heap is so high, but underneath there is lovely rich loamy soil,  ummmmmmm!

A friend went to Nepal this past summer, he climbed Everest.  He brought us back these prayer flags!

My mom is coming in October for her first visit so I'm busy trying to find fun things to do!

Tech is plagued by a nearly constant rash in varying degrees of intensity and discomfort.  The vet says it's an allergy and to give her Benadryl.   That does not work.  I've been trying all sorts of concoctions; a mayan curative for hongos, a mexican lotion called Silk-Yic, I've made my own curative and calming essential oil blends, I've tried cremes of natural botanicals, and am now trying Lotrimin.   If anyone has any suggestion - the rash is under her front leg armpits, and across her lower abdomen - bright cherry red at times, bumpy, she licks and licks, and you can see she sometimes just bolts trying to get away from the itch.   We've eradicated a few plant species that are known to be irritants from the garden, but can't eliminate everything.  She stayed for 3 days at a friends and was without rash when she came home, so I'm sure it's in the garden, but am at a loss...anyone want a puppy!

The cats are doing well; Matt is 24 and getting a bit more wobbly, he sometimes just wanders around like he's lost or confused.   Tatie, who is now 14 seems to be getting more in need of attention, he wants more lovin, no problem there.

Parakeets aer fine, they love lettuce and corn on the cob.  Alfonse the Betta is beautiful and appreciates a little attention as well.  He dances and struts when you come peek in his tank.

Well that's about it for casa Kuhn - it's all good Boo!

Restaurant Review - Namaste Grill, Merida

There are freshly painted brightly colored walls and new wooden furniture.

There were brightly colored paintings on the walls,

There were brightly colored indian fabrics draped above entry ways,

big fans kept the interior comfy and the air moving.

Light Indian music playing in the background would have been nice, or too cliche do you think?

there were people we knew,

people we didn't know. 

People lined up waiting for seats to clear

The food offerings were limited, but good, actually quite good.

Unfortunately, because the owners were a bit rushed we didn't get a chance to visit, to ask about the other items currently on the menu, about what new offerings might be forthcoming, who they were, where were they from...

 We'll go back for sure.

We were a group of 8, we arrived early, about 7:10 and we were asked if we could come back about 8pm as they weren't quite set up and ready.

Just found out from Nancy that the posted hours are Wednesday - Saturday 6pm - 11pm

No problem,  we went just up the street, had a beer, chatted, and returned.

Along with the delivery of our drinks were plates of veggies sticks with a light yogurt sauce.

 Sorry, they disappeared before I even thought to get thhe camera out.

and all but 1 of us ordered the Chicken Tikka Masala

The Chicken was tender, flavorful, slightly spicy, and worth the wait.  I would have liked a bit more sauce with mine to mix in with the rice.  The rice was light, fluffy, ACTUAL basmati rice and flavored with whole cloves.  

Also served were bowls of fresh light yogurt sauce that really accompanied the flavor of the chicken well.

the other order at our table was Saag Paneer

the spinach was fresh, not over cooked, the cheese or paneer was crumbled throughout the spinach which was lightly sauced and spiced, really good.

Overall I think the opening night was successful, they need to post their operating hours. The wait staff was attentive, and efficient.  There was a bit of a rushiness about the kitchen, but since the dishes are pre-prepared types perhaps it was just the timing to have everything ready at the appointed time.

Namaste Grill is at the corner of calles 47 y 58 in Centro, Merida

Going Where No Man Has Gone Before

 One of the things gringos in Mexico want to know about, as well as those considering a move to Mexico is Health and Medical care and treatment.

I have blogged several medical instances in both Tom's and my experience here in Merida. 

Here's another Medical experience post:

Tom, being 60, has been having a  colonoscopy every 5 years since he turned 50.  This being his 60th birthday year means colonoscopy time.

We checked with several people we  know who have had colonoscopies and garnered enough info to make a decision.
First, some Doctor needs to recommend you to have a colonoscopy, you just get essentially a prescription or note, done on your Doctors letterhead notepad and take that in.  In Tom's case he asked for the note from his heart doctor as that was his last  most recent other medical appointment.

We selected Dr. Luis Fernando Peniche Gallareta to do Tom's procedure, even though the Heart Doctor listed another Doctor on his note for the procedure.  Dr Peniche has his own clinic, and does procedures at several hospitals around town.

We opted for the Dr Peniche Gallareta's center, called Centro de Endoscopia del Sureste,  here's a link -

Centro de Endoscopia webpage

The Centre itself  is lovely, clean, peaceful, well staffed, etc.  The walls are a lovely soft lavender, landscape art on the walls, lots of chairs in the waiting area, coffee service, waterbottle, reception staff, some of whom speak English, all of whom speak Spanish.  When we made the appointment, the receptionist was Spanish only, but was able to understand my spanglish, and made the appointment for us, gave and explained the prep instructions, and provided us with pricing options.

As with most things medical here, no medical history was asked for nor required.  At Tom's appointment this morning we were asked Tom's age, if he had any drug allergies, and was he experiencing any problems at this time.

Once Tom was in his open robe and ready for his procedure a Technician came and put in the IV needle and hung the drip bag, then the Anesthiasisasalaogicalist came in, introduced himself, and unfortunately I have already forotten his name.  A very nice man, no English, but he followed up with the same info questions we had already given at the front desk, age, allergies, drug reactions, issues, etc...  He explained the procedure; first a light sedative to relax, then a stronger drug to ensure he (Tom) felt no discomfort, and would remember very little of the procedure.  Then in came the Doctor himself, to introduce himself and ask the same questions; age, allergies, drug reactions, issues, how long since last colonoscopy, and problems, polyps, etc.

At this point Tom was wheeled in to the exam/procedure room, I went along to translate if needed.  I fully expected to be told to return to the resting room, but was directed to a seat with a view of Tom's head, and a large monitor.  The room itself was large,  clean, lots of equipment and monitors, etc.  

So, once the Doctor has spoken with Tom, in English, asked questions, explained procedure etc, the Anesthsialogolocicalismst starts administering drugs in to Tom's IV drip line.  He puts Tom on oxygen, and the little finger clamp that tracks oxygen.  He talks to Tom until he is satisfied and then tells the Doctor to proceed.

The Doctor starts with a visual and digital exam, the starts the scope, after which  the  Technician takes over the feeding of the tube while the Doctor himself directs the camera angle, clicks the still shots, and directs the wash and flush.

  Oh don't even ask about more details,  this was way to much info for me.

During the procedure the Doctor looks over to me and explains what different things are on the monitor.  I was trying to focus on Tom, to ensure he was breathing and not experiencing pain or discomfort, but that monitor is like passing an accident, you just have to look.

OK, procedure over, once Tom is responding to the Doctors he is wheeled back to the resting room; gentle music, a/c, soft lighting...

Someone comes every 7 - 10 minutes to check on us.  the Technician, the Anesthisialaderlader, the Doctor.  The Technician comes in and asks Tom questions, watches his responses and then removes the IV and tells us we can go whwenever Tom is feeling up to it.  I suggested a bit longer but Tom wanted to be in his own bed.  Plus he knew I'd make him potato soup as soon as we got home, which is his favorite comfort food for when he's not feeling well.

I paid the bill, we were given the written report and 8 color photos, and we were out of there.

So costs for this extravaganza:

200mxp for the 2 bottles of Fleet Fosfosoda used to flush the system (of course this cost depends on where you purchase your product) There were 3 pre-prep options; one involved 2 enemas, one required mixing the laxative in 4 liters of liquid...

1500mxp for the anesthesiast

2200mxp for the procedure, we selected the option of no video, if you want a video reminder of your procedure just add an extra 300mxp.

As best I understand from the receptionist, IF any polyps need to be removed they will cost an additional 800mxp, I'm not clear if that was total, or per polyp.


You'll all be glad to know that Tom had no polyps, no cancers, a few diverticuli, common in someone 60, and a hemorroid. 

We all knew he was a pain in the ass now there is photographic proof.

Building a grilling station

When we lived in Colorado we grilled year round. Rain, snow, shine, hot, cold, didn't matter, we grilled. We saw no reason to change this habit once we moved to Merida.

We almost changed our mind once we saw the price of grills. We like gas grills, It's just to difficult to always be buying and hauling charcoal, fluid, etc. Gas is so much easier, and cleaner.

So we did it we spent just at 4000mxp for a grill that would have cost us tops 125usd in the States. The grill we had in Colorado we had had for going on 12 years, it was sun faded, grease stained and wired together in a few places but worked like a champ. The grill we bought here lasted less than 3 years before it was so rusted through that the burners fell apart.

We've decided to build a grilling station and get the iron man to build the grilling racks and burners.

This is the space where the old grill sat, and where we want the new grilling station. We had a gas line run from our roof top tank when we bought the old grill.

This is Tom's example to show the albaniles what we want. We also have a flat diagram with all the measurements. Not to mention the drawn out lines we put on both the floor and walls.

Here are the supplies being delivered.

I can't even beleive the amount of weight these guys carry with each load.

We gave them each a 20mxp tip.

So on day one, the albaniles, Manuel y Manuelito chipped out the walls where the rebar would go for the countertops and shelves. And then started to build the outer support walls.

Here's the end of Day 1 activities

 

Day 2 found the arches roughed in

Day 3 and the arches are poured

Day 4 and 5 were for getting more supplies and setting the forms to pour the tops, and for pouring the tops.

These were also 2 VERY stessful days because Tom decided that rather than having parillas built he would use parts from the old grill and order replacement burners and parts from the States. This requires very precise measurements which are incredibly difficult to accomplish here for even the most seasoned tradesmen.

Now we just have to buy tile to be installed and the albaniles work will be done.

Then it's Tom's turn.

------------------------------------

At this point in the project our trip to Holbox caused us to halt work from Wednesday to the following Monday.  At the end of the day on Tuesday we said to the Manuel's "Hasta Lunes", which means 'Until Monday' or 'See You Monday'. 

They smiled, said the same and we haven't seen or heard from them since.  We waited till Wednesday in case they  or we were confused...it's been over a week - Anyway, they're gone.   We got a recommendation for two other guys who although a bit expensive are said to be very good.  And hey, we're rich gringos, we can afford it...

So we now have Ramon, Rodrigo, and Manolo.  Ramon cuts the tile, Rodrigo lays the tile, and Manolo is apprenticing and mixes cement, soaks tile, watches, learns, plays with Techie...

The grilling station is being tiled in a 'fake' saltillo tile,  with inesrts in the top for broken talavera panels. There will also be a 10cm band of broken talavera framing the arches.   

I went to a local store that specializes in talavera and productos de barro and got a big bucket of broken talavera for 60mxp.  A single piece runs 5.4-6.9mxp each.  I also bought 4 whole pieces that had a very specific color of yellow/gold I wanted, those 4 pieces cost me 24mxp.  So the bucket of broken tiles were a great deal!

Here are some of the broken talaveras.

Here are the 'new' guys busy working.  What seemed to me to be a 2 day job, and they say 4 days, is because things have to be done and re-done so many times.  These are professional tradesmen, they work for some big leaguers here, including one of the biggest Real Estate groups;  But need constant watching, consulting, supervising, advising....

Hey, it's getting done!!!  Quitcherbiitchin!!

Here is the end of Day 2 of Tiling

There were a lot of tricky cuts in the middle at the corner, and around the openings for the grilling hardware, add to that that they had to remove and replace most of the top at least twice....

Here are some details of the broken talavera panels in the top of the counter area. 

There are 2 of these panels. 

Day 3 of Tiling

End of Day 4 of Tiling

End of Tiling, actually, they had to come back for a few hours on Monday, Day 5,  because they ran out of boquillo, or grout.  And and of course they ran out Sunday afternoon, so we had to wait till Monday morning and we had to get it from the same place as the original bag to hope the colors would be the same.

Detail of arches

I'm quite pleased with the final result. 

Don't be confused and think we are ready to grill, oh No.  Due to the decision to re-use some of  the old grill we had to order a number of replacement parts from the US.  Now this grill was made specifically for Mexico, but we can't get parts for it here,  hmmmmmm!

So expect another picture with food on the barbi!

Fideicomiso and the IRS, To Report or Not - Only You Can Decide

Once again the question of whether we USAmericans holding property in Mexico in Fideicomisos/Trusts are required to file Forms 3520 and 3520-A with the IRS.

TheTrust/Fideicomiso is a requirement of any property that is within 50(?) kilometers of the border or beach and purchased by a foreigner. This is the Trust/Fideicomiso for which we pay an annual fee to the Bank to manage and hold for us

Now this question is only about, NON INCOME Receiving Trusts. Obviously  if you earn ANY type of premium/interest/income you must fill out the forms.  There is also a deadline - one needs to file these required forms by September 23 to guarantee against IRS penalties.
 

Tom,  being fairly pro-active decided to place a call to the IRS to get to the root of this debate.

Here is what he found:

The IRS has been deliberating as to how to handle the ownership of property via a fideicomisio/trust in MX and how it would be affected and/or reported if at all.   As of today, and at this time, the IRS has not made a determination  - and the forms 3520 and 3520-A do not need to be filed.. Once the IRS makes the determination it will be posted on their website.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I make no income from my house.  I don't rent space in it, in fact I only pay out - I pay my yearly taxes, and I pay my yearly Fideicomiso fees.  So shouldn't I be getting a tax deduction?

Here is a link to the IRS's most recent update about these forms - 

http://www.irs.gov/taxstats/article/0,,id=212349,00.html

Here is a private blog with a lot of interesting information that you may read and assess for yourselves as to accuracy or validity.  I make no recommendations or offer no opinions -

http://fideicomiso.wordpress.com/?ref=spelling 


If any of you have any other info or updates please let us all know.

To Bee or Not To Bee

I recently found an actual gardener and today was his first day.  I've had a number of 'chopereras', I think that's correct; you know guys that come in and cut and trim, and clear cut if you are not careful.  
Finding an actual gardener has been a trial.  Let's hope he's all he's been built up to be.

Well one of the things I wanted him to do today was to take several large limbs out of my flamboyane.  It throws seriously dense shade and some of the plants, and the grass for sure are suffering.  He came up to the kitchen and asked me to come with him, ...dangerous.  OK, he doesn't have English, and my Spanish is a work in progress, slow progress. 

He took me to the garden and pointed up all the while going on about Afrikan, peligroso, ... 

There in the tree is a swarm of bees.  We had the same thing happen once at our garden in Colorado.  You can see the swarm in the photos.  This was a relatively small swarm, the size was about the same as a US Football.

We had a discussion about the type, he say not apis, but Afrikans.   It's possible it is both.   They have been cross breeding here in the Yucatan. 
GOOGLE Honey Bees Yucatan, it's an amazing amount of very interesting stuff

We'll trim that tree next week!

Hybridization Between European and Africanized Honey Bees in the Neotropical Yucatan Peninsula 

link to article here

THOMAS E. RINDERER ¹, J. ANTHONY STELZER ¹, BENJAMIN P. OLDROYD ¹, STEVEN M. BUCO ², and WILLIAM L. RUBINK ^{3 1} USDA Agricultural Research Service, Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics and Physiology Research Laboratory, 1157 Ben Hur Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70820
² Statistical Resources, 7338 Highland Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70808
³ USDA Agricultural Research Laboratory, Honey Bee Research Laboratory 2413 Eastern Highway 82, Building 205, Weslaco, TX 78596

A population genetic analysis of honey bees of the Mexican neotropical Yucatan peninsula shows that the range expansion of Africanized bees there has involved extensive introgressive hybridization with European bees. Yucatan honey bee populations now include many colonies with intermediate morphologies. Genotypes of mitochondria have disassociated from historically correlated Africanized or European morphology, producing diverse phenotypic associations. This suggests that the size of resident European populations may be important in explaining previously reported asymmetrical hybridization. Evidence of natural hybridization is encouraging for the use of genetic management to mitigate the effects of Africanized bees in the United States.

Submitted on February 11, 1991
Accepted on May 8, 1991

Hotel La Palapa, Isla Holbox

We arrived on Holbox from a lancha we rode over on from Chiquila.  You don't actually have to wait for the ferry either coming or going between Chiquila and Holbox.  There are pleanty of lanchas's and if you ask they'll take you for the same amout 60mxp per person.


 The ferry's list times each way with about 2 hour intervals.  The lanchas are small, and fast, but boouncey.

This being our first visit we didn't know exactly where we were going or how far away the walk would be so we procured the services of a golfcart-taxi to transport us and our bag to the hotel (30mxp).   It was actually a short way, maybe an 8-10 minute walk - The island is roughly 26 miles long and less than ¼ mile wide in most parts. In reality, it is little more than a low lying sand dune with most areas less than 5 feet above sea level.

All the roads are sand based and apparently too soft for conventional vehicles, although we did see a number of delivery trucks come over on a ferry, and then around town making drop offs.

You enter Hotel La Palapa up 3 stone terraced steps and under a low overhang of thatched roof into a shady cool sandy palm tree thick courtyard.

In the courtyard is the La Palapa Restaurant, lounge area, reception, and access to the rooms. You can also see the beach area in front that has quite a few large coco palms as well as quite a few younger. There are plenty of lounges and chairs set up with a gorgeous view of the water, lovely soft powder fine sandy beach that slopes ever so gently right in to the warm green water where the sand remains powder fine and so soft and silky.

The rooms appear to have been recently remodeled and are quite nicely done; first impression is that you are getting quite a bit for the high price. With taxes and all we paid just over 800mxp per night through a reseller which gave us a better rate than through the hotels own web page. The rates on the webpage are not the same as reflected if you do their online reservations.  There is a significant increase. We needed a Double Room since they indicate on their webpage that they only have double beds and since Tom is quite tall WE just can't do a double bed together and be comfortable. So a Double Room, with 2 double beds was required. In all honesty I think the beds were actually queen sized and not double sized.  Our room was ground level,  but you couldn't exit to the beach from the balcony.  You either went over the balcony or walked around the building to get to it.  There were 2 fans as well as a/c.  We ended up not needing the a/c as the fans and the ocean breeze were plenty to keep us comfy even during the hottest part of the day.

This is our room looking towards the bathroom and front door

Here's our room looking towards our balcony

Here's our view from the balcony

The bathroom in our room was spacious enough, although to get past the door and around to the toilet required an odd sideways move. The sink had plenty of space to hold both our toiletries bags; not enough to keep stuff spread put but enough for the two bags. There is a nice size ledge in the shower for your supplies there as well.

We had 2 levels of bathroom lighting, and one outlet for electronics. Bathroom needs more places to hang towels and wet beach wear. Especially inside the shower area. The shower has a huge conch shell as the shower spigot, it's really cool and although when you see the water coming out it looks like it's going to drill right through you, it's really pleasant sort of a shower massage.

The bedroom itself has quite a few wall hooks which was nice, as well as a pole with hangers to hang things. This pole was right over the ledge where you would naturally keep 'stuff' so you are constantly moving clothes to see where stuff is. 2 bedstands with 2 drawers each and a trunc to stow your gear. a small ledge in the corner with the only outlet is too high to use as a desk top.

There is wireless internet, but sometimes the signal is intermittent in the rooms, more consistent in the courtyard. Two excellent fans, and a/c included. The curtains are see through so at night people in the courtyard can see you when you have your lights on. There is no safe, in either the rooms or the office. The day we took our whale tour adventure i put our cellphones, laptop, keys, etc in a day pack and they were placed under the receptionists desk.

2 small bottles of water were provided upon arrival, but not on subsequent days. A supply of small bottles of shampoo, bathgel, conditioner, body cream etc also provided on the first day of arrival, but not after. The bathtowels were large, but no washcloths were available.

A suggestion to the hotel is to have pitchers for water and garrafons of water convenient to the rooms for refilling. Trash on the island must be a huge issue, and all these plastic bottles, it's just environmentally abusive.

We checked other places, some better, some fancier, some older, some dowdier, almost all provided drinking water.

On our free day, where we planned to spend at the hotel enjoying the beach was a total bust and very frustrating. The restaurant, which was supposed to open at 8am did not, so by 9:30 we changed our dress for going out to go find breakfast and coffee and water. The restaurant, we were told later would open at 1. Cool, by then we'll be ready for some beach service; snacks, beer, etc. Well by 2 the restaurant/snackbar had still not opened so we had to, well Tom had to keep going down the street to the cervellama for beers, 2 at a time, because we had no way to keep them cold. Luckily we had some almonds and granola bars for snacks.

Our balcony, as cute as it is was unusable because as soon as you sat down the flies were upon you. everything I had read on the internet warned about mosquitos; I came prepared, coils, plugins (which we couldn't use as there was only one plug outlet in the bedroom area at the small desk in the corner, and one in the bathroom), repellent, after bite for just in case. NOPE, the problem is the flies. They were horrific everywhere except right on the beach where there was to much breeze wind for them.

Here's a view of the  hotel from the beach.

Sounds like a lot of bitching doesn't it.  We enjoyed our trip.  The hotel was fine, the restaurant was a disappointment, both in hours of operation and in quality of the one evening meal we were able to have there. There are plenty of other restaurants, and due to the large italian influence there is plenty of pasta being served.

Beach shot

 

 SunSet

  

We'll definitly be going again, and we may even stay at the same place, of course now we now what to expect.  Next time we'll add a trip to a small island for some early morning bird watching as well.

To Nationalize or Not, our car that is!

Today we decided to take a run out to the Aduana's office in Progresso. We brought with us, in 2006, a 1999 Ford Taurus. We have no intention of returning this car to the USofA, if it can be avoided.

When you have an FM3 and you import your vehicle you receive a "Permiso de Importacion Temporal". This is a document, AND a sticker of which the sticker must be affixed to your vehicles front windshield. As long as you successfully renew your FM3 each year, your 'Permiso' renews as well. This 'Permiso' allows you to have your vehicle in country 'temporarily', rule being you will remove it.

You CAN NOT sell your vehicle in country as a foreign plated car. In order to get the vehicle off your FM3 you must remove it from Mexico. For us, the closest border to cross to pass through a Customs Station is Belize. So we could drive to Belize, cross the Border to document and remove the sticker, and sell the car there.

Another option, and since I don't really want to sell the car, is to Nationalize it. There is a window of opportunity when a vehicle is 10 years old, to do this. So in 2009, a 1999 vehicle can be Nationalized. You have from Nov 1 of the year previous to Oct 31 of the cars year in which to accomplish this. That's it not 3 days earlier, or 2 weeks later. This process allows the car to have Mexican plates. We already carry Mexican Insurance, and this part is hearsay, so far, after a vehicle is 10 years old you no longer have a fee to renew the plates (placas).

So today, after attempting, unsuccessfully, to get info over the phone, we headed to Progresso to the Aduanas Office.

We took with us: the Vehicle Title, the Permiso de Importacion, Insurance documents, a current utility bill (in my name), my FM3, and my Passport. Oh, and friend Lida, who is Yucateca, and has great Spanish!

At just past 9:30AM we approached the Aduanas office, just on the road at the head of the Pier in Progresso.


Here is a closer look at the front of the building, and this is where I was given the wiggly index finger by the Guard that means NO! Do Not Do That!

We approached the Gentleman at the desk, we presented the Title and Permiso and explained what we wanted to do; he gave us the sad face and explaned that he had some bad news. It is very expensive to Nationalize a car. AND we can not do it ourselves, but must have a Representative. I joked that we had our friend Lida with us, as her Spanish is way better than mine. No good, we should go to Agencia Aduanal Cervera, just up the street and around the corner.
Their actual address is:
Agencia Aduanal Cervera S.A. DE C.V.
calle 84 #127 x 27 y 29
Centro, Progresso, Yucatan 97320
969-935-3535, or 3539
agencia@cervera.com.mx

and here is the office

So again, we presented the Title and Permiso and explained what we wanted to do.
This time the young lady at this desk picks up her phone, says a few things and then passes the phone to friend Lida. Lida and phone voice chat, she asks me some questions, the phone voice asks her some questions, etc, etc. Phone voice tells us it will cost 12,300mxp to Nationalize our car. And that we can turn in our paperwork there for pickup by phone voice next time he comes to Progresso. Seems phone voice's office is at the airport in Merida, 8 minutes from my house.

Here is Sr Miguel Herrera's (phone voice), contact info
Oficina Aeropuerto Merida
Calle 21 #311 x 28 y 30
Col Manuel Crescencio Rejon
Merida, Yucatan
999-946-2326 ext 107
www.cervera.com.mx


We've decided to ponder our decision at this point.

And here's cool shot during our walk, these were hanging at an iron work shop