I thought we had dismissed the idea of buying the little house on Calle 68 when I left there the morning after I saw it, but I called yesterday from California and found that it was still available. I called after pacing around the house feeling like I should have acted on it by extending my stay to try to put a deal together.

It seemed like I might make an offer from here, then go back to put together all the documentation for the bank trust and sign the contract papers.

But tonight I talked for about an hour with someone in Merida we met during my first trip there about five years ago. He had just arrived from Belize, and was looking for a house. He found his house, fixed it up into a real showplace, then sold it for a nice profit when he found his most recent place - a really palatial colonial former school that is now an elegant home for him, in the final stages of restoration and refitting with modern systems.

He advice led me to conclude that we should move there and live in a rental until we find the RIGHT house before investing and commencing the grueling process of renovtion to whatever degree is required. How great it would be to look together at houses and neighborhoods.

Also, it doesn't make sense to invest all the effort and expense in a place that isn't really just right for us. I'd hate to get burned out doing over a "starter house".



Goodby mango and banana trees and hibiscus and oranges in the backyard...

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