We seriously considered taking a quick trip down to Mexico to check on Casa Lulu in late April. I had some vacation days to use up and a long stretch off in my rotation which would have given us almost two weeks free. We ended up deciding not to go. Because the work had not begun on the house we would have had to pay to stay in a hotel, bed and breakfast or the hostel which would have made for a more expensive trip than if we just waited until the basic repairs were finished and we could stay in our own home. Also, late April is traditionally a lovely time of year in Winnipeg. A time for shedding winter clothing, donning shorts, getting the bikes out, preparing the gardens and just enjoying the longer, sunny days. Progreso, on the other hand we were told, would be really, really hot. It would be exhausting to head in to Merida in the heat to shop for the casa or meet with architects. So we decided not to go. That was a really bad choice. With record cold temperatures by mid-April the snow was only just beginning to melt when I took a few pictures on the 15th.
There were some signs of life. A brave clump of thyme peeked out from under the snow
and several tulips even emerged in the warmth of the brick school wall.
But hopes of Spring were dashed the very next day when Winnipeg got dumped with over a foot of snow. Other parts of the Province were completely snowed in.
And with the snow came the threat of flooding as the Assiniboine river rose up out our back door.
Then, having survived the coldest April on record, when we thought it couldn’t get any worse, it snowed again on May 1st!
And when I checked the temperatures in Progreso it was a moderate 25 degrees C and sunny. Day after day.
I could have gone to see this
strolled along the beach
and hung out with the pelicans.
So
all in all
a really bad decision
But there is hope yet. The first sweet silla is in bud.
lulu and the moon 
Our move to Mexico (Puerto Vallarta) comes in October — but only for six months. PV at this time of the year (and for the remainder of the summer) is hot and wet. Is it like that in Progreso or is it less tropical?
Progreso is really, really hot in May. They just got through a stretch where it was over 40 degrees Celcius but felt like 50. Then they got a bit of respite from some rain. All summer the community fills up with people from Merida which is they Capital City of Yucatan. They either own or rent homes at the beach. Our hope in future years is to rent out our home and two casitas during June, July and August while we return to Canada. That way we will escape the heat and get some income. Great plan!
I can understand the desire to return to the North American continent in the summer. Mexico is HOT! Nonetheless (and as you know), there are few places on earth with so many winter charms, oceans included (and did I mention the food…?).
We plan to go down for early September because we have a lot of work to do on the house. Sure hope we don’t get a bad hurricane! I have been reading forecasts that it is going to be a bad year. Progreso had quite a lot of storm damage in 2002 and they say it happens about every ten years. Yikes!
I used to deliver boats (yachts) from San Diego to La Paz annually. It’s almost impossible to get boat insurance from June to October, so during that time we had to bring the boats back up to the states. During the ten years or so that I did that, there were two years of hurricanes. Hurricanes are tough on boats. Complete marinas washed out. People would rush to their boats and take them out to sea, if possible, when they heard that a hurricane was coming — fewer things to collide with and all that. Makes sense if you live through it.
We’re going down October 1. Hopefully, we’ll avoid the hurricanes although we’ll be there for one month of hurricane season. We won’t be aboard a boat however, so that helps. Plus my wife is from Rhode Island and LOVES hurricanes. Go figure.