15 Days and Counting

15 daysJust over two weeks left or 15 days and counting until we take off. Though I intellectually know it is going to happen it is not quite real yet – I guess once everything is packed up in boxes and Luis and Luisa with their kids are ready to move into our house it will be real alright.

We have taken care of most of the important things but there remains that nagging feeling that we forgot something important, something crucial – but then I always have that feeling and there is very little that can’t be replaced, bought, or taken care off after we leave. After all we will move into a fully furnished house in Merida with wireless Internet access!

Hopefully we will actually get to use the computer, Max has become quite obsessed with it and so generally during the day when he is home I don’t even want to turn it on anymore to avoid the screaming fits:

“I want – whimper – work with Google Eaaaarth! Bahhh.”

“But you can’t, little silly face, you just surfed Youtube for almost an hour.”

“But I waaaaant.” – pregnant thinking pause – “I’ll just quickly go to Washington to see Mount St Helens, Mount Baker, Lassen Peak, Garibaldi, Mount Adams, Shasta and Shastina and then to Iceland to see Surtsey and to Fireland where it’s cold and Mama doesn’t like it and then to Antarctica because I loooove cold.”

“Let’s read a book, big boy.”

“Nooooooo, I want ……….” and so on and so forth

15 Days to Merida

So, Merida. By all accounts it is a really cool place, artsy, lively, fun, allegedly the people are somewhat stubborn – but that’s nothing I wouldn’t be familar with – it seems to have a sizable “gringo” expat community, good food and a convenient bus connection to Progresso which is the closest beach town. I am particulalry thrilled about the fact that we will be there during carnival. Not that I am planning on putting on a costume (nor will Max who expressed his desire to dress up as a “boy” last Halloween and those of you who know Uli will know that it would take quite a bit of “convincing” to get him into anything more exotic than khakis and t-shirt) but my photographer alter ego is superexicited. Now, I shouldn’t forget to print out a bunch of Spanish language model releases, where is that To Do list ….

This will be such a great photo opp. Uli calculated recently that we had enough storage capacity for 12000 pictures and I told him that this wasn’t nearly enough with back-ups and all. He miscalculated by a factor 4 or 5 but I am still planning on picking up additional storage along the way. After Merida there will be colorful Kerala with hopefully at least one fun event and then Semana Santa in Andalucia with all the processions happening during that week.

Only 15 days left, enough writing for today – where is that to do list again?