As I’ve previously written about here, I’m currently building a house in Merida, Mexico on the Yucatan peninsula.

I found an amazing property online in the neighborhood of Jesus Carranza, just a few blocks from the city’s main thoroughfare, Paseo Montejo. It’s nearly 50 feet wide on the main entrance side, 100 feet deep with a separate street entrance around the corner. Bonus lot!

I went to Merida the first three weeks of May (after my double doses of Moderna) meeting with my architect Erik Gonzales and his fantastic contractor Russell Zumarraga to buy the house, go over the plans, source materials, like tile and breeze block, buy appliances, AC units, meet with a landscaper, etc.

They have have been doing major demo. They’ve “picked” the old crumbling plaster walls down to the stone, so it can be replastered. We assumed that 4 of the 5 existing rooms would get new ceilings but recently learned the kitchen ceiling would also need to come down (70 year-old rusted rebar in the concrete) This added 10% onto the budget. Not great news.

I’m adding a guest casita at the back of the property plus 5 other smaller rooms, driveway, courtyard, etc. The wall dividing my property from the next door neighbor (who is the uncle of the former owner) is going up now, along with the foundation for the guest house.

The bonus lot with its separate street entrance allowed for heavy equipment which saved a lot of time and money. Digging out the lap pool was hard going, as the ground is solid rock, not dirt.

There was an old, empty covered well right next to the old cistern water tower. It was uncovered and found to be 15 feet deep. It’s already been filled in.

I will return in September when the guest house is finished and stay for a month to oversee the final detail work.