Unfortunately I’m under the weather. Dos Tortas will be back next week.
Advice For Living In Mexico
28 MayWhat advice do you have for those planning to move to or travel in Mexico? I penned “Retiring To Mexico Is It In Your Stars?” and reposted in July 2016. It has been my most popular blog. It’s worth taking a look back and see if things have changed in four years of life on the Costa Maya.
Lisa making friends everywhere.
Learn Spanish – Our Spanish has improved tremendously in four years. But not without lots of work. Lisa had zero prior Spanish. Her first words were highway signs as we drove south from Texas. Today she understands almost everything. She will miss words but understand the basic conversation. She also speaks passable Spanish. Lisa is not afraid to make mistakes and will try to converse in all situations. People love her for her willingness and she continues to grow in confidence. We both use the Ap Duolingo. Mexican friends are the best.
After an hour conversation, a shop owner in Ticul shares local history and gives great discounts!
I had passable Spanish upon arrival. I was worthless on the phone. Understanding was my weakness. I now too understand most conversations. I no longer avoid making phone appointments. I feel confident and am continually improving.
An international group of friends celebrating our marriage in July 2014.
So yes, LEARN SPANISH. Don’t avoid it no matter how uncomfortable.
Start Preparing Today – I did a lot of research before we took off for Mexico. Many people want to get on Facebook and simply ask questions. It’s lazy and does not prepare you for the strong independent life you will need to lead. If you are planning on living in a gated community with only English speaking immigrants and hiring bilingual help, you will miss much of the beauty that is Mexico. No strong opinions here.
Come Happy – I stand fast with this suggestion. There is so much here that delights, the people, the culture, and the natural beauty. However, like life, the same things that delight will dismay if you take them personally or impose your own standards. The relaxed living means things don’t get done in a timely fashion. The use of plastic is through the roof and recycling cannot begin to keep up. Much of the natural beauty may be littered in trash.
There was so much trash floating in the water of this little village, it was hard to be here.
Words are incomplete to describe our chosen life and country. It is painful to see the distrust and animosity between the US and Mexico. We are like sibling who’ve had a falling out and haven’t spoken in years for an infraction we can no longer remember. So sad. We will continue to be ambassadors. Please ask questions and suggestion topics.
DOS TORTAS
This Is Your Assignment
21 May
As I sat and pondered a topic for this week’s blog, I was approached on Facebook by Camille E. Torok de Flores for inclusion in a series she is putting together on Blogs About Mexico Worth Reading. I expressed interest so she sent me a list of questions to complete. While I have blogged in the past on most of these topics, I realize that four years into our life in Mexico perhaps it’s time to revisit the answers.
Why do you blog? What is the purpose of your site? For whom do you write? In the beginning of the whole move to Mexico process, the blog was a response to the questions asked by family, friends and strangers, why and aren’t you afraid?
Then there was the retiring, planning, packing and never ending garage sales. My brain was spinning and the blog was an opportunity to process and share.
When we arrived in Bacalar, everything was new and exciting. We were adjusting to a new life and every aspect was intriguing. There were endless blog topics just walking around town.
The next few years were occupied with jumping through hoops to begin construction of our home, the construction itself and its completion. Mixed in were our various travels both within Mexico and to the States.
Where do we go from here? It’s a good question. September 2017 begins our fifth year in Bacalar. I do not know my readers well. I would love to hear from you what you get out of the blog?
Where can you be found? (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest etc)
I am on Instagram at dos_tortas Pinterest at Bacalar, Mexico and on Facebook at The Adventures of Dos Tortas.
What is your favorite blog post? Why? No favorite stands out for me, although my readers clearly have a favorite, First of All Have Fun (February 2017).
What has been the most difficult for you to blog about? Why? My most difficult blogs have been the ones that I share the pain of having left our family or the death of friends. Being vulnerable is required to live an honest life. But it’s hard.
What advice do you have for those planning to move to or travel in Mexico? I can see that it’s going to take more time than I have today to answer these questions. It’s time for a personal reassessment so look for future blogs to cover these topics.
What has been the best experience you’ve had in Mexico? What did you learn from it? To be continued.
What has been the worst experience you’ve had in Mexico? What did you learn from it?
DOS TORTAS
A Week In The Life
14 May
Life in the jungle can be quiet at times. The question I was asked most frequently during our recent visit to Austin was “what is your day like?” This week the excitement entailed watching a rain storm (I am grateful, our plants were thirsty). Lisa washing the truck in preparation for its sale (thank you Lisa, it’s been hot here!) and a trip to Chetumal.
All shiny and clean, inside and out.
Yesterday the Laguna was flat with no breeze so I headed out in my little blue kayak. Thirty minutes later, I turned around to race a storm home. The sky to the north looked ominous. The wind picked up and I surfed homeward. What fun with the wind in my back. How quickly the weather can change on the Laguna.
On Wednesday we went to Chetumal, our nearest city and state capital. Halfway, there is a security checkpoint. We are near the border with Belize, so this is routine. We are used to being stopped in our big black pickup, but assumed it would be smooth sailing in Lolita. Not!
Our new little car.
The security guards are dressed in black, long sleeves, bullet proof vests, boots, the works, and standing in the sun on a blacktop highway. I don’t know how they don’t pass out. We were signaled to pull over and asked the usual, “where are you from?” We said that we live in Bacalar, but the officer persisted in wanting to know where we were from. We told him, Texas and for some reason he proceeded to tell us all about his 15 day vacation to Florida. His eyes were wide and animated as he talked of Miami, Key West, Ft. Lauderdale…his enthusiasm for our country was palpable!!
While this may have been an odd security checkpoint conversation for us, to him it appeared an opportunity to share his experience with someone who understood. It was sweet and comical. What a hoot. We laughed for miles.
DOS TORTAS
You Know You’ve Made It When…
7 May
Lisa and I have always been very self-sufficient women. When we retired to Southern Mexico in 2013 there were many tasks to be accomplished that needed more language proficiency than we had at the time. We got assistance with the initial immigration process, opening a bank account and all of the federal and local permits required for building our house.
There are some tasks that are worth figuring out ourselves. It improves language skills and confidence. This week we bought a car.
In Mexico, there are two types of residency cards, temporary and permanent. We are quickly approaching our permanent status. As temporary residents we are permitted to drive a car with US license plates. Not so with permanent residency. Besides it was time ro get rid of the truck.
Mexican green card.
Our trusty Ford 150 pick-up not only carted all our possessions to Mexico, and made two long trips NOTB, but hauled endless building supplies for the construction of our house. With 158,000 miles, it has served us well and we are so grateful. She is however, too damn big.
Pulling out the drive in Austin 2013.
City driving in our truck has been a nightmare. Mexican cities are old and streets are narrow. Parking is a whole other story. Buying gasoline is our biggest monthly expense. Our plan all along has been to return from our US vacation and begin car shopping.
Registering the car and ordering our Mexican license plates.
While on our trip, a car was posted for sale to the Bacalar Yahoo Group. It was exactly the size we wanted, a 2008 Chevy Captiva, merlot red, little wagon with ridiculously low mileage.
Meet Lolita, the newest Torta!
We struck a deal this week. On Friday we managed to get the car registered in our names and purchase insurance all in about three hours. Feeling quite proud of ourselves we headed out for a road trip to Tulum. It’s nice to feel that we can manage basic tasks in Spanish. Our hard work has paid off.
DOS TORTAS
The Long Trip Home
30 Apr
After a twenty hour return trip from our vacation to Austin Texas, the Tortas are very glad to be home. No, it doesn’t normally take that long, but we had a five-hour layover in Dallas. It’s a long story.
A great find tucked away at the end of a hallway in the Dallas airport allowed us to work out the kinks. Every airport needs a yoga studio.
Lisa is a veteran so we checked out the USO.
What a welcoming spirit and comfy chairs to pass the time!
A shout out goes to our house sitters Paul and Natasha. We returned to healthy, happy dogs and a home much as we left it.
Puppy kisses from Luna who was very happy to see us.
After sailing through customs, we met up with Lisa’s mom in Cancun. She was arriving from California. Our travel was not particularly stressful, just long. It is great to be home.
DOS TORTAS
Go With God Sandy
23 Apr
The recent visit to our hometown of Austin, Texas included a drive through the old neighborhood. You could tell which houses had had a facelift or complete makeover and likely changed hands. One house stood out with its overgrown yard and clunker parked in the driveway. It looked absolutely the same as when we left almost four years ago. We laughed and wondered aloud how Sandy was doing.
Pulling out of our driveway August 2013
Leaving Austin after having lived there forty years for me and more than twenty for Lisa meant lots of goodbyes. We visited with friends, some of which we hadn’t seen in years, but who wanted to connect before we took off for the wilds of Southern Mexico. We even threw a party in our yard, complete with live music. There were many opportunities for folks who wanted it. But we never saw Sandy.
She was our neighbor a few doors down. She played softball with Lisa’s team for a few years. I remember hanging out in her hot tub with a group of women naked and laughing. It was a first for me but lots of fun.
Over the years, Sandy became more and more of a recluse. I stopped by her house more than once to invite her to some event and she was clearly uncomfortable and did not invite me in. The house reeked of cigarette smoke. She promised to show, but never did.
Sandy’s trusty little white truck.
I knew Sandy had retired from her job as a surgical assistant to an eye doctor. She also volunteered with children. I wonder what happened. Lisa and I had dinner last week with some mutual friends who informed us that Sandy had died. When she didn’t show for a cancer treatment, the clinic sent the police for a wellness checkup. They found her in her recliner.
I believe a lifelong struggle with depression and alcohol contributed. She only died the first of March and it makes me so sad. I just came from the grocery store and saw someone who looked like her and did a double take. Then I remembered.
Adiós means “go with God”, so adiós Sandy. I know that you are at peace. We just never know when we say goodbye if we’ll ever see anyone again. So hug them tight and tell them you love them, even if they’re your neighbor.
DOS TORTAS
God Bless Texas
16 Apr
The Tortas are heading into their final week of vacation in Austin. It’s been fun beyond words. When we lived here, we did not take the time to be tourists in our own city. We’ve been eating great food, visiting locations old and new, and loving on family and friends.
I’m not a big fan of taking photos of food, but here are a few that I couldn’t resist. A vegan bacon cheese burger from the Cove in San Antonio. Absolutely delicious. Stuffed zucchini at Cuba512 at Westgate and Wm. Cannon. We’ve eaten Thai, Indian, and lots of Texas Mexican food. Yum yum.
A cemetery in Round Rock from the 1800’s that houses the remains of Texas slaves. There are also beautiful old headstones from later times.
Sunset Valley Farmers Market
An art gallery in San Antonio while visiting friend Alison.
A Texas rattlesnake at Roberta’s house.
McKinney Falls State Park outside of Austin.
Maria’s Tacos with friend Harper.
As you can see it’s been a varied and enjoyable trip. The upcoming week is scheduled with lunch dates and a party. Today we’re hanging out with the grands. Our trip has been so much more than we expected. A truly memorable vacation. God bless Texas.
DOS TORTAS
Texas Fun
9 Apr
The Tortas are having a blast on our annual trip to Austin. The weather has been perfect and our stay comfortable thanks to the loan of a house and car by friends. We feel very grateful.
Port Aransas on the Texas gulf.
No trip to the coast would be complete without renting a giant unicorn floaty-thing. Hunter and Grandma rode the rough surf taking in faces full of water. Hunter loved pushing me off the raft. Building sand castles took me home to my childhood on the Jersey Shore. The kids and grands camped in the trailer with the dogs. The Grandmas got a hotel.
Grandma Lisa, Sophia and Dad play in the tide pools.
A visit to the State Aquarium rounded out the weekend. Otters, sharks and stingrays, oh my. Everyone had a great time and the kids slept on the long ride home.
Great Grandpa joins in the birthday lunch. Sophia loves her hat and all things pink.
A birthday lunch to kick off a celebratory weekend for Hunter who turned six on Saturday. He reads and does math and creates Lego masterpieces. Quite a kid.
Making funny faces.
We are having so much fun. Life is good.
DOS TORTAS
Lawn signs seen about Austin.
Out And About
2 Apr
The Tortas are on vacation, I know, maybe it’s better to say, the Tortas are NOT in Bacalar for the month of April. We are visiting family and friends in Austin, Texas. As a result, there will be an nominal effort at keeping up the blog.
Grabbing a selfie with our good friend Roberta at our favorite breakfast spot, Kirby Lane.
A respite to contemplate and relax.
Since arriving, I have been in a state of anxiety at landing in a big city and driving around at a gazillion miles an hour. People don’t make eye contact and are focused on their devices or wherever they are headed. Having lived here forty years, everything feels familiar but foreign at the same time.
Texas Bluebonnets
Today I went for a walk on one of Austin’s many lovely green belts. It was just what I needed! There was cool air, fresh fragrances and lots of friendly dogs and their walkers to greet. In Bacalar, we live outdoors so much, that we feel claustrophobic in the US. Note to self, get outside and connect with nature IMMEDIATELY upon arrival NOTB (north of the border).
Prickly pear cactus blooming.
A trail to explore.
We’re off on an electronics-free weekend camping trip with kids and grands to the Texas Coast. Hopefully I will have some pictures for next week. Until then, if you want to reach us, please use email or FB Messenger and do get out for a walk, wherever you live.
DOS TORTAS
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