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The End of The World As We Knew It – September 2013

30 Mar

We were going through some of our things in storage this week and came across our trusty 2013 calendar. It was the “month-at-a-glance” tool that we used to coordinate our busy lives in Austin and ultimately our escape to Mexico. Having worked for the government for many years, I am a planner, coordinator and timeline kinda gal. The calendar which held our to-do lists (camper shell for the truck, paint bedroom, make appointment to get new wills written) has now become a journal of sorts. We were so impatient to get the house sold, pack and be on our way. The details of appointments, purchases and goodbyes seemed endless. We sure were busy.

If it were the end of the world and future archiologists were digging through the rubble and came across this calendar, it would be clear that something important happened in September 2013. The record of a very busy life seemed to mysteriously end the first of September. That of course was when we hit the road, Mexico bound.

It’s good to look back to get perspective as our ability to be happy in the present moment continues to be challenged. Granted, as we wait to close on our property and begin construction, we ARE living in paradise. Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude.

So what exactly is the complaint you might ask? It seems silly, but we are kinda bored. When living in limbo it is difficult to start long term projects. Getting to know people has proven more challenging than we thought. Everyone here seems just as busy in paradise as we were in the States. I guess it’s time to pull up our big girl pants and figure this out.

So if you’re considering a trip to visit us. Now would be a good time.

The. End of the World As We Knew It

The. End of the World As We Knew It

Ain't It The Truth

Ain’t It The Truth

Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude.

Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude.

Harvesting from our property

Harvesting from our property

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These Flip-flops are Finally Settled – For Now

9 Mar

Since the beginning of September, the Tortas have been homeless. We’ve been traveling, staying with friends, family, and living out of suitcases. Even paradise has it’s challenges.

While visiting Texas in January, we heard of the availability of a house in Bacalar. It is beautifully furnished, spacious, has two bedrooms, a fully equipped kitchen and overlooks the laguna, all for less than $500US.

The downside was no wifi, but that has been remedied. We moved in February and will bring our trailer and unpack some of our belongings this week. Although the house is completely equipped with about everything we need, our personal chachkas will make it feel more like home. The building process is taking longer than we expected and the ability to settle in our own space and relax has greatly improved our frame of mind. What blessings the universe showers.

We have been meeting with our builder and have preliminary drawings for our house. The next step is the “permisos” or permits. There is an environmental study that needs to take place among others. All will take time.

While we wait, we are ramping up our exercise program and improving our eating. Months of traveling and someone else’s kitchen have taken their toll. Once the actual construction begins, there will be lots to do, even if it’s sitting and watching paint dry.

Our New House

Our New House

From the Front Porch

From the Front Porch

Down to the Laguna

Down to the Laguna

From the Mercado

From the Mercado

Roof View

Roof View

Thought For The Day

Thought For The Day

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Holding on to Friendships that Span Time and Distance – The Tortas say Adios

2 Feb
Dear Austin Friends

Dear Austin Friends

Thursday we gathered with Austin friends to share hugs and stories of our new life in Mexico. I am always surprised by the sweet affection of women I have known and worked with for twenty years. There were many promises of visits from these avid blog followers.

Friday morning we squeezed in final moments with our grandchildren before getting on the road for south Texas. The plan was to sleep on this side and hit the border early.

Leaving McQueeney, Texas

Leaving McQueeney, Texas

Lisa's mom and third Torta Alice with our grandson Hunter

Lisa’s mom and third Torta Alice with our grandson Hunter

We crossed easily at Los Indios, a small border crossing where we were waved through. An hour later we stopped at the aduana and received a minimal inspection. I took my first deep breath of the day as we sailed through immigration. Our theory is that showing our green cards looks very official and clearly states that we are Mexican residents. The fact that we are three older women probably supports that age-old myth that we could not be smugglers.

The drive to San Miguel was smooth, with only one back track. Traveling through the mountains made for a beautiful trip and we arrived on schedule at the home of our friends Judy and Nancy. We leave Tuesday for the pyramids of Palenque and on to Bacalar.

Next week we will report on our stay in San Miguel. Happy Superbowl Sunday all.

Mountains outside of San Luis Potosi

Mountains outside of San Luis Potosi

Over and through.
Over and through.

Our mascota el pato.
Our mascota La Tortita.

The Cobblestones of San Miguel de Allende
The Cobblestones Outside San Miguel de Allende

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Missing Texas? Really?

19 Jan

Being visitors in our home country and state has been an unusual experience. With a Walmart on every corner, it is difficult to be interested in the passing landscape of highway travel. Driving in traffic is a universal complaint and a very different experience from Mexico which has its own version of congestion. So what exactly do we miss? Now don’t laugh, it’s the Country Western radio station! Yup, you can’t live in Texas without something rubbing off. I listen to the radio in Mexico, but as in the US, there’s way more chatter than music. I love música mexicana, but I cannot follow the DJ dialogue AT ALL and grow bored and turn it off. We both laughed out loud when we found ourselves b-bopping down the road singing along to music that we didn’t know we missed. After all, we met in a CW bar and started our courtship two-stepping.

So yes, there have been surprises during our visit. One that wasn’t unexpected was the birth of our granddaughter Sophia Aria who made her appearance yesterday. She weighted in at 8lb 2oz. The best part for me was seeing my son fall madly in love with his new daughter. As the father of a two year old son who’s life revolves around all things on four wheels, my son has voiced self doubt at his ability to father a daughter. I think we can set that notion to rest.

Please join me in welcoming the newest Torta.

In love with Sophia

In love with Sophia

Loving Sophia

Diaper changin Daddy 

The Newest Torta

Our First Granddaughter

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Electronic Hell

15 Dec

I have a brother who has no email address. He has never Googled nor ordered anything from Amazon. He doesn’t know what a Kindle is. I booked his recent flight to our family reunion while he was on the phone feeding me credit card information. I can’t send him pictures from our vacation, and he’s never read my blog. He takes great pride in not participating in a much bigger world, preferring his life on simpler terms. No passwords, I get it.

I remember when I got my first cell phone. I didn’t like the idea of being tethered to anyone who had my number. Then like everyone else, I quickly couldn’t live with out it. I purchased an IPhone to keep up with my kids and feel like technology wasn’t passing me by. Without my laptop and internet, I couldn’t have spent hours researching “retiring to Mexico” from the comfort of my lap. It would have been old school library and books.

Since coming to Mexico, we have heard of many ways to stay plugged in. For the past few months we have used wifi (in Spanish weefee) to access the web and Skype to the States. I believe there is a data plan in Mexico that can be used with an IPhone which will allow people to reach us via Skype and can also serve as a Mexican phone, all in one. Probably when we get back from the States in February, we will look into it.

This week Lisa had a liquid explosion which dumbed coffee on her laptop and I lost my IPad, both on her birthday. The laptop was rescued but the IPad is gone. It took me about 12 hours to pull myself out of a pity party and get my head on straight. The IPad allows me to take the lovely sunrise pictures that I post to Facebook daily. Sometime during the sleepless night following our disaster, I had a vision of a Bush man of the Kalahari Dessert. He was wearing a loin cloth and carrying a spear used to provide food and water. No laptops, I-this and that, charging cables, internet woes, error messages, and above all no passwords. While I will likely get another IPad, the freedom from electronic hell does sound appealing. I’m just not sure about the loin cloth.

Easier Than You Think

Easier Than You Think

Revisiting Some Favorites

Revisiting Some Favorites

sunrise10

First Sunrise Living in Bacalar

First Sunrise Living in Bacalar

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Xcalak – Mexican Frontier

27 Oct

This week the Tortas headed out for a two-night visit to the Caribbean coast. We have been living in Bacalar, Mexico almost two months and not done any, “sight seeing” choosing to spend our time acclimating to our new home.

Xcalak is a frontier town wedged between Laguna Xcalak and the Caribbean, at the end of the line on the Mexico/Belize boarder.  It is small (300 habitants) and has a distinct frontier feel. People come here to snorkel, dive, fish, bird watch or just kick back. There is a nudist hotel, Playa Sonrisa (Smile Beach) with day passes available for those who hate those pesky tan lines.

Fourteen Cuban refugees managed to find their way here a number of years ago, and their escape boat sits on the beach paying testament to desperation.

Cuban Refugee Boat

Cuban Refugee Boat

In this jungle town you would not expect to find a restaurant the likes of The Leaky Palapa. It is world class dining and folks drive hours to eat here. We were lucky enough to spend an evening with the owners Marla and Linda. They exchanged Canadian winters for life on the beach in sunny Mexico. We enjoyed a lovely dinner sitting on the roof trading travel stories, laughing and learning about life off the grid.  Their reservations for New Year’s Eve are filling up fast. Better get your name on the list.

We stayed at the Flying Cloud Hotel, not very relaxing during off-season renovations. We did get a chance to check out the dive shop next door and will return in the spring to check “learning to dive” off our bucket list. The wild weather made for a night of intense storms and no electricity in the morning.

Stormy Skies

Beautiful Stormy Skies

Lisa did manage to get in some snorkeling while an ear infection kept me beached.

Lisa Snorkeling

Lisa Heading Out To Snorkel

The coastal road proved to be a challenging choice for our trip north toward home. I volunteered to check the depth of the washed out road.

How Deep Is It?

How Deep Is It?

A Slippery Step

A Slippery Step

After a good laugh, we continued our way to Mahahual for lunch and then home. We will definitely be back to enjoy the friendship and beautiful reef in this out-of-the way town that was worth the trip.

What Could Go Right

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So What Exactly Are We Talking About Here?

31 Mar

What is an adventure? When I think about having an adventure, I think of an experience outside of my day-to-day vida loca that is foreign or sometimes a bit scary. The numero uno question that we get when we tell people we’re moving to Mexico is, “Is it safe?” While I admit that everything in life is a risk (when I’m feeling snarky, I’m tempted to say that if I wanted to be safe, I’d stay in bed) some things are riskier than others. When people talk about Mexico and safety in the same sentence, I find that they:

1) don’t really know much about Mexico except what they read in the news.
2) don’t know us very well and don’t consider that we know much about Mexico and have done our homework; and
3) don’t really put risk into perspective.

In 2012 34,767 people died in automobile accidents in the US, almost exactly the number killed in the four year period prior to 2010 in the Mexican drug war. While it’s not a perfect comparison, it’s a bit of perspective. The country of Mexico is big, three times bigger than Texas and the drug war is not targeted at US expats.

In spite of the risk, we still ride in cars everyday and we’re still moving to Mexico.

Dictionary.com states:
ad·ven·ture [ad-ven-cher]
1. an exciting or very unusual experience.
2. participation in exciting undertakings or enterprises: the spirit of adventure.
3. a bold, usually risky undertaking; hazardous action of uncertain outcome.
4. a commercial or financial speculation of any kind; venture.
Obsolete .
a. peril; danger; risk.
b. chance; fortune; luck.

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