Loving Carnival in Merida

and getting my new slip cover sofa!

This week I returned from 3 weeks in Merida. The weather was spectacular, architecture was beautiful, food was awesome and the carnival celebrations were fun. If you have never been to carnival in Merida, you must put it on your list of things to do in Mexico. To say it is crazy is an understatement, it is absolutely nuts. Hundreds of thousands of people (300,000 +) descending on the center of town for 7 days and nights to see parades, eat food, watch fireworks and celebrate til the wee wee hours of the night.

I wish I could say I actually made it to a night parade, but with my early to bed routine (total lose or what for 41?) it was difficult to make it up past 10:00 at night. Instead my husband and I laid in bed and listened to the bands play and the crowds celebrate.

We decided that the Sunday day parade was a good bet to see....at least I would be awake. From what I understand this is that best attended parade thru carnival...which is maybe not the best idea for someone who hates crowds. Undeterred, we went 3 hours early to get a shaded seat as we were with my 72 year old Mom and her friend who's steadiness is compromised due to a stroke.

You would think waiting 3 hours to see a parade would not be any fun and in fact something you would not try to do on purpose. Surprisingly, this was the best part of the day. The people watching was incredible, I was mesmerized by the activity, colours and things for sale.

As we sat it was like a moving buffet in front of us. Every food possible was brought before us. I am not one to shy away from something different so I tried pretty much everything offered. My favorite was the deep fried pork rinds with chili sauce. I know it sounds horrible, but I am now back in Canada craving it....it was delicious!

Once the parade started the streets filled up with large floats, music and girls in bikinis (man the girls looked good....my husband seemed to clap more for the bikini girls....but that may just be my imagination....NOT). There was one float that was certainly eye candy for the ladies for which I know I clapped louder, I may have even stood on my chair and yelped...but I will never admit to that). The dancing was wonderful, the children were adorable, the costumes were fantastic and I can't wait to go again next year.

Waking up each morning in Merida was made thrilling by an unexpected surprise (get your minds out of the gutter). Each morning I would lay in bed and hear the squawking of parrots...they always announce their arrival. They would perch themselves on the trees around my house and stay for up to 1/2 an hour. They never missed a s single morning. It really is the simple things in life that bring the most joy.

Being new to Merida I wanted too see some of the attraction in and around the Yucatan. Just 1.5 hours south of Merida is UXMAL ruins. If you can believe this, I have owned in Mexico for 7 years now and have never seen any ruins other than TULUM. Seeing UXMAL made me realize how much I had missed these past 7 years. To walk around these ruins and see these massive structures and know they are thousands of years old is mind boggling. You could spend an entire day there and still not see everything.

1.5 hours west of Merida is the small fishing village of Chelestun. Every year thousands and thousand of flamingos arrive here in the winter to feast on the abundant shrimp of the area. You can hire a small fishing boat to take you out into the lagoon to the flamingos. As you approach these flamingos the horizon of the lagoon is literally a pink hue. Once you get close to the flamingos you realize how absolutely noisy they are....squawking and squawking....this is what really surprised me was the sounds they make.

My time in Merida was not all fun and games...I did work a little. We are still searching for a manufacture in Merida to decrease the cost of shipping to the the Yucatan and Mayan Riviera...but still we have not found exactly what we need. We will continue our search.

Back in December when we took on our Slip-Cover sofas I ordered one for my house in Merida....OMG...is it so flippin comfortable! The material is soft and durable and you literally fall into this sofa. It is better than anything I even have here in Canada. Having owned in Mexico for 7 years I thought hard uncomfortable sofas were just a way of life....NO MORE, we have a real winner with this line of sofas. They are expensive, but they are worth every dime. My husband, who is never interested in furniture went on and on and on about our new sofa to anyone who would listen....if that isn't a testimonial I don't know what is! We even washed it already and it held up magnificently. Finally, I can have that white sofa in my rental!

Today we are awaiting a new line via FEDEX from a factory we visited last month (I think Mr. Fedex thinks I am nuts as I am always way too excited when he arrives here...I LOVE NEW LINES!). I will be working hard next week uploading all the styles. They promise to be very a very exciting new addition to our line.

Have a great weekend everyone!