This looks like a crime scene photo. I see this picture, and I expect to see bloody sheets and a body (or horse head) on the bed. So grimy.
Correct.
About 5 weeks ago, at the start of January, I spent about 30 minutes going through the pictures for almost every online rental listing for detached two-story homes in neighborhoods within walking distance of Plaza Altabrisa mall.
I'll name them in order of how likely I thought Ralph was living there: Maya, Paraiso Maya, Colonia Altabrisa, Vista Alegre/Vista Alegre Norte, Montecarlo, La Florida, Díaz Ordaz, Montecristo, Monterreal. These neighborhoods (
colonias or
fraccionamientos in Mexican Spanish) are actually very tiny, literally only a few city blocks, so it's pretty easy to search in a narrow geographic area. Probably somewhere between 40-60 properties for rent in total, and that's before you eliminate those that aren't detached two-story homes.
I'm about 99.9% sure I saw this listing. I distinctly recall in particular the first photo of the kitchen that looks like it was taken on a potato and this bunk bed photo, which I remember thinking the exact same thing about looking like a crime scene photo from the 1990s. The first bathroom picture is also familiar. Unfortunately, he had not broadcast a clear shot of the dining chairs when I looked through the rental listing, and it looks like there's a set of chairs in both the kitchen and separate dining area, which I probably missed.
The reason it sticks out in my mind is not because I suspected Ralph was living there, but that the photos look so fucking terrible. I am giving Ralph a pass because I think the main reason why how horrible these photos look is the fact that they appear to have been taken using the first digital camera ever manufactured, but this was probably the worst looking listing I examined.
Note that I'm pretty sure that this is one of the wealthier areas of Mérida along with the downtown core, so when I say it's the worst looking listing, there's a lot worse places for him to end up at. I also skipped over the truly terrible looking properties because he had made some statements that made me think he was paying around MXN$18,000-25,000 in rent. I don't remember what this was priced at.
This property seems to be booked solid for a long time. It’s basically an AirBnB. I’m wondering if he booked it long term. I looked into Feb 2024 and it didn’t look like any dates were available. (I was looking for a price).
It's obviously a former Airbnb type place, but it appears to be not available for any dates period, and as I stated I'm quite certain I saw a straight up rental listing for it, so I think there's a decent chance he's renting it outside of such a platform.
