What is your weather like today?

I just came back from a beach walk with the dogs. Today is one of those days that dreams are made of, golden sunshine, lapis blue skies and emerald green waters. The day reminds me of all that I have to be thankful of. The temp here today is 81 degress and the humidity is at 60%. I checked to see what it was like in other areas, Calgary AB it is a chilly 45 degrees (7 celsius) , Victoria BC, 52 degrees (17 Celsius) Chicago, 69 and of course windy. I'm sure glad I live here!



There is lots of coral on the beach today!



Blue skies and emerald coast waters, how can it get any better?

Out checking for dinner....


Ahhh, Mom beat him to it! Looks like octopus on a stick for dinner!


And of course, the Palm Trees, how beautiful!



So, if the weather is getting a little chilly back home, come spend the winters in paradise. Give the Mayan Living Team a call today, we will be happy to help you find your home in the sun.

Warm breezes and cold beers coming at you from Chelem!

Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholden

As I was perusing blogs the other day for inspiration I saw that First Mate Mary had written a new post. Mary is a good friend as well as being a neighbor six months of the year. She has a wonderful free flowing, musical, descriptive style that I always look forward to reading. She and the "Cap'n" lived aboard a sailboat in the Bahamas for many years before putting down roots in our little village of Chelem. They acclimated easily and spend much of their time here helping out with the needs of the local people, when they aren't eating, drinking and playing in their new pool. Checkout Mary's blog on my sidebar!

Here is here article:

Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholden

The birds have spread the word that we are back and our feeders are busy this morning. I took my first wander up the mountain but I didn't make it as far as usual because my lungs haven't quite made the adjustment from sea level to 10,600 feet of altitude. It was one of those glorious mornings when the air is crisp and the sun is shining and you break a sweat even though it hasn't broke 40 degrees Fahrenheit yet. I took a deep breath and looked around and for about the millionth time congratulated myself on living in a place most people only dream of living.

And then I thought of our other home, Chelem, Yucatan, Mexico. Just a tad bit different. We had guests stop by for a short visit there a few weeks ago. They were on a cruise ship that made a stop in Progreso so they thought they'd take a gander at our new digs. We picked them up at the Mercado….. and then took them on a drive down the Malecon and then by the nicer homes of Progreso. It was a short tour. Then we crossed the Yucalpeten Puente (bridge). The weather was playing nice that morning and the sun speckled waters made the boats in the marinas look shiny and new or at least seaworthy.

We drove them by our favorite watering holes, our favorite place to grab a taco on the square, our favorite hardware store, Tocha, where we go first before we head off to the Mecca of Merida and her box store temples. Our guests were polite. They made nice noises. They actually oohed and ahhhed when we drove by a little tienda all freshly painted white with its bright red recumbent Coca-Cola bottle displayed on the side of the building. They said nothing about the trash that lurks in the corners and escapes across the dusty roads or the air of neglect that seems to permeate a good number of the buildings. They didn't have to. We knew what they were thinking. We knew because we think the same thing every time we take a drive. Why are we here?

The answer is always the same. The beauty.

The beauty is found in a crumbling bar at the table of a disparate band of expats struggling to figure out ways to make the burdened lives of the people of their adopted home more congenial without forcing their own ideas of "better" upon them.

It's there in a hot summer night with the sound of foreign and native laughter mingling in the joy of a child's first birthday.

It's there on an early morning beach in the shy smile of a sea worn fisherman as he offers a beautiful shell to the gringo lady he has seen devotedly combing the sands much in the same way he searches the seas.

They are both treasure seekers.

Beauty is that nugget of hope that if we look deep enough, work hard enough, and dream high enough, we will find the treasure.

SO YOU WANT TO MOVE TO THE YUCATAN.........PART TWO

I hope that everyone had a great weekend and a Happy Mother's Day! I had calls from both my boys and spoke with my Mom at length so all went well here. Also my "mexican family," came over with a flower arrangement as well as a couple of friends, so all is great in paradise!

I have been thinking about part 2 of my moving to the Yucatan series, I have so many things to say that I am having a hard time getting it all organized. Today I think I'm just going to talk about the little everyday questions, things that we take for granted back home. I don't feel like going into legal issues of crossing borders, visa's etc., will save that one for another time. So, here goes:

People always ask me, "Can I drink the water?" The answer is simple, NO! We use bottled water for everything, ice cubes, making jello, drinking etc. Some people here have city water, some have wells, we have both. The reason being sometimes (not often) the city seems to run out of water and none is pumped to your house. We have the well as a backup. Our well water is slightly salty, we live so close to the beach, and I hate to use it, but it works fine for flushing, washing etc. We use bottled water for making coffee and cooking. Bottled water is delivered to our doorstep 2-3 times weekly and costs us about 12 pesos (less than a dollar) for the big 19 liter bottle.

Next: trash pickup. Here along the beaches of the Yucatan, trash pickup is virtually non exisitant we have a guy who comes buy every 7 -10 days and gets our trash. But most people don't, they bundle it up and take it to the dump. Burning seems to be allowed, I certainly see enough of it, but I hate the smell and it has been so dry here that I certainly wouldn't recommend it.

Another thing, we don't flush our toilet paper here. Can you believe it? We all have small waste paper baskets beside the toilet and that's where it goes. That one took me a long time to get used to. I don't totally understand the workings of this, why or why not, Doug does, you could ask him. I don't really find discussions on septics and drain fields all that stimulating. Most of us follow the adage of it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down. Needless to say, we empty the trash in our bathrooms alot!

Hot water is considered an amenity here. Many homes along the beaches and in the cities of Mexico don't have hot water, it's normal. When we moved here we had our house replumbed so that we could have hot showers and hot water at the sinks. Generally speaking if you buy a home here unless it has been updated by an American or Canadian you won't have hot water. We have a construction crew that works for us as well as some of our friends and clients. In all honesty we are in the real estate business, not construction, but our guys do such a good job for us we like to keep them working. We would be glad to introduce you to them or make recommendations on other contractors.

Another amentity is an oven, most people simply use cooktops or little portable electric burners for all of their cooking. I wanted an oven, I mean how can I make brownies or roast turkeys without one? Many Mexican dishes are sauted or grilled so ovens aren't the norm.

If you are any kind of medication besides narcotics, you don't need a prescription. Just write it down and take it to the local pharmacy and they will fill it for you. I am talking about meds for chloestral, high blood pressure, Viagra, birth control pills, antibiotics etc. However here in the Yucatan they just don't fool around with heavy duty pain killers, Valium, oxycontin etc. If you need something like that you must see a doctor and get a prescription.

And finally most us us have gecko's that live in our house. No screaming now! They are cute, stay up high around the corners of your walls or behind wall clocks and eat mosquitos and flies. I welcome them, natural bug control! Speaking of bugs........we are not a cock roach infested country as people may think, I have seen one in my house in over a year and a half. I lived in Florida back in the 80's and had my house exterminated every month trying to keep the foul things away. They don't seem to show up much around the beach area. I feel sure that the one that saw got brought in with some boxes of stuff that I had purchased.

I just found out that Mexico is being considered by the Discovery Channel for a possible chance of being in the Amazing Race. Here is the link where you can vote for it. Please take time to do that if you love Mexico as much as I do. There has been so much negative publicity lately, I would love for people to see the many beautiful and positive things that this country has to offer.

Another beautiful sunset from my buddy, Star


My son, Justin and his girlfriend Chrissy, dancing on the beach!
So until next time, warm breezes and cold beers coming at ya from Chelem, remember if you are interested in property here, check out our site!

SO YOU WANT TO MOVE TO THE YUCATAN..........PART ONE

I have been receiving so many calls and emails about how things are done here and everyday life that I have decided to start a series on everyday life and customs in the Yucatan. Please feel free to ask questions and I will answer them in future posts.

Most of us that have been to Mexico on vacation envision ourselves there, living the good life, laying on the beach with a frosty cocktail in hand while someone is cleaning our home and watering our tropical plants for us. Those of us that live here have a name for those dreams, Margarita Madness! Yes we do live in a beautiful, tranquil paradise, yes we can hear and smell the ocean, go for beach walks, pickup shells and starfish and dine out on fresh seafood or half of what it costs back home. Yes, real estate and taxes here are a fraction of what we are used to paying, but it is not all Utopia. It takes a special person to be able to pickup and move to a different country. If it were easy, everyone would do it! I have put together some thoughts that I have on the subject, mostly in response to questions that I get from our real estate and property/construction management clients. Others are just observations from Doug, our friends and myself.

First of all you are not in your native country, you are a guest in someone else's. No one here really cares what you had or how you did things back home. Whether you have alot of money or not doesn't impress the locals or the expats here. The bank doesn't care, the electric company doesn't care and most people you meet don't care. What matters here are a smile and a nice polite, positive attitude.

Second this is a totally different culture; the local people are not going to change just because you showed up. They are going to continue to do things the same way that they have always done them. They don't have the most up-to-date tools and machinery, most of them don't even have cars. They are happy working with the same tools that they have always used and done a good job with. They know how to do it their way and it works for them. They are kind and generous to a fault, willing to share whatever they have to offer from their simple lifestyle. They quietly laugh among themselves at the gringos that come here flaunting their money and aspirations of changing the whole state of the Yucatan. The Mayan people are known to be great builders, look at the Mayan Ruins, Chichen Itza is one of the new seven wonders of the world. They built it all without our gringo advice. They are also artists and farmers, gentle kind people. Ask them for advice on how to grow your garden. To this day they continue to work wonders without all the fancy gadgets that we use. If you want them to build something for you or fix something for you, be specific in what you want, leave them alone and they will do a great job for you. Start micromanaging them and they will politely quit and go somewhere that their talents are appreciated.

Next, Spanish is the native language here, not English. Lea trn to say a few things in Spanish and it is so appreciated. Start with the basics, please and thank you, this is a polite country please respect that. How many times back home did we make comments, "If they're gonna live in my country they need to speak English." The same applies here in reverse, my Spanish is horrible but I can make myself understood and I'm learning more all the time. When you initate a conversation here it is customary to start of with How are you, how is the family, would you like something to drink, it's a nice day isn't it? Don't just start off with "This is what I want you to do today," it just isn't polite. Don't worry about your Spanish skills, try to learn a little everyday, people love to help you with it. Then just get out there and try!

The Yucatan isn't for everyone, if you are a Type A personality, impatient, demanding, a whiner or crybaby and complainer or if you expect it to be just like where you came from but cheaper, you proably won't make it here, if you do you won't be happy!

Everything moves at a slower pace, thats why we moved here, right? We don't pay ou local bills online; we actually go to the phone company, stand in line and pay it in person, same with the electric company and satellite TV. They have implemented online bill paying but I have been trying to figure it out (it's in Spanish, duh!) for a few months and have decided that it's just easier to go in person. Paying bills can take the better part of the day, prepare yourself mentally, put on a big smile and just get it done. You can always relax with a cocktail once you've finished!

I guess that it all goes back to the old adage of having to give something to get something. Give your new life a chance, come here with a great attitude, try to learn something new everyday and remember this is Mexico! You are not in Kansas anymore Toto! I love living in the Yucatan, I never want to leave it: in my heart I'm living the American Dream in Mexico!


Another reason I love it here, I can grow orchids in my front yard!

THE END OF SEMANA SANTA IN CHELEM

Well all of us expats living in Chelem breathed a sigh of relief on Monday when Semana Santa(Mexican Easter Celebration) was finally over. It has been going on since the 4th of April and our sleepy little fishing village has been teeming with visitors to the beach, carnivals and rodeos. Now life is back to normal. We have alot of former Mayan Living Real Estate clients coming in over the weekend, Steve and Mary from Kansas are coming back for their first stay in their new home. The paperwork is completed and closing is on Friday, they will be here Friday night. Dan and Deronda are also coming in from Florida Friday afternoon to take a peek at their new home here in paradise and enjoy the sun and a few cerveza's. Our adopted son, Curt is flying in from Atlanta and will be staying a few months in his beautiful beach home. So this will be a fun week, seeing old and new friends and helping them all get set up in their homes.


This is a picture taken from my upstairs deck, we live on a dead end piece of sand and normally have no traffic at all, but this is what the past few weekends have looked like. I am so glad that all have gone home and Doug, my dogs and I are able to walk the beach and have it all to ourselves again.

The town square has been full of vendors selling all kinds of rafts, floats and beach things.....

Hats anyone?
The town square has all kinds of rides for the kiddies and grownups. This area doesn't get active until after dark,during the day, everyone is at the beach or at the bars and restaurants, eating freshly caught fish and have cold drinks.

Saturday night is the rodeo and bullfight, I have never been to a bullfight, thought that it was cruel, but this one was fun, nothing was killed or stabbed, no blood, no guts, just pretty horses, matadors and some big bulls. This is outside waiting to get a seat, hotdogs and french fries must be traditional fair food the world over.
And then there are always the vendors selling the usual junk....... In the background with the blue tarps is.......you got it right, the seats for the rodeo, it is made of sticks tied together with rope.
Oh wait just a minute, Doug and Eduardo need to get a couple of cold brews before we sit down!
Can you see how this thing is constructed? Only in Mexico!
This is where we sat, we looked out at the bull ring thru sticks woven together and tied with string. I felt very secure, not!

Our view


Our own personal bull fighter!


The bull in action

Traffic leaving town



Ahhhh, back to the quiet paradise of the Yucatan, where even the dogs smile!