Pass the Tamales

22 Dec

To say that I moved to Mexico to avoid the Christmas hype would not be far off the mark. The endless Christmas carols, holiday traffic, and buy, buy, buy mentality starts earlier and earlier. I used to look forward to breaking out the outdoor lights, brewing up a batch of my mother’s home-made eggnog and dusting off the cranberry recipes. While we had pretty much quit giving gifts, we certainly enjoyed time with family and friends.

This will be the first Christmas we have been away from our family. We’ve missed a few Thanksgivings, but never Christmas. How did I not see that I would have feelings about this? It hit me that I am dealing with this sadness by acting like I don’t care. “I don’t even LIKE Christmas. The people here are all weird. Do we HAVE to go to all these parties?” Waaah.

The truth is that this is the new life we’ve chosen. Our kids are grown and creating their new families and traditions. We will see them in January and have lots of time to connect. We are getting to know our new peeps and the last thing I want is to be aloof and distant, been there, done that.

So pass the tamales. I know that eggnog recipe is around here somewhere.

Thanks to our friend Scott for this wonderful little greeting card.

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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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Madre Mia

8 Dec

The Tortas have returned from Florida where we enjoyed a very family Thanksgiving. We have not been together with my siblings for many years. We hiked, did some boating, saw manatees, ate and ate some more.

Thanksgiving in Key Largo

Thanksgiving in Key Largo

Upon returning to Mexico, we landed in Cancun and breezed through customs. Outside of the airport I was looking for a bus to take us to Bacalar when a tall, official-looking young man asked me if I needed help. In the conversation, he called me “Madre”. At first I was annoyed (my go-to response) but within a breath I realized that calling a woman madre in Mexico is a term of respect. In the US we call someone a “mother” and it is akin to cursing.

While much is challenging living in Mexico, it is small, unexpected cultural experiences that endear the country to us. Being in Florida reminded us of the incredible wealth and infrastructure that the US has that makes life so easy for so many. And we don’t even know it. In poverty, human connection is the major resource. Sometimes it shows up simply as treating each other with resect.

Tortas on Holiday

Tortas on Holiday

Starfruit Key Largo

Starfruit Key Largo

Florida Sunset

Florida Sunset

Thought for the Day

A Wonderful Recipe

 

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Feliz Dia De Gracias

1 Dec

The Tortas are off on holiday to Florida visiting family. Here’s an earlier post from our preparation for the move to Mexico. It all seems so long ago. Have  a wonderful holiday.

Date night with Lisa.

Date night with Lisa.

I met Lisa on September 16,1994 in a lesbian bar. That’s why last night was such a perfect send off for our last weekend in Austin. We had spent the day packing the trailer. Looking from our pile of stuff to that tiny trailer had caused me some exceedingly restless nights. Lisa’s history of packing 18-wheelers gave me some hope, but I still had little faith. The end results were amazing. We had help from our sons, their dad and Lisa’s cousin. I was in charge of recording where everything was put in the trailer, writing furiously as they squeezed things into every nook. If I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I would never have believed how much we fit in that trailer.

Friends had told us of a fun sounding event happening last night. It was a reunion of folks who used to hang at a bar named Rusty’s, long gone the way of lesbian bars in Austin. We took naps, dusted off our only pair of clean shorts and headed over to Maria’s Tacos for an old fashioned lesbian soiree and drag show. We had a blast. A last chance to dance a little two-step, run into some old friends and visit the time capsule of our past. It was absolutely the best send off possible. Had I not seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed we could step back in time, except of course for the cell phones, gray hair and extra weight LOL.

An end to a perfect day.

A Room Full of Stuff

Fit this in the Trailer? OMG

Packed

Packed

Find Something? I doubt it.

Find Something? I doubt it.

Grandson, Lisa, DIL, Sons & their dad.

Going to Miss You Sweeties

Maria's Tacos

Maria’s Tacos

Great Drag Show

Life is a Cabaret

Refrigerator Magnet

Thought For the Day

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Tortas on Holiday

24 Nov

Hola Dear Followers,

The Tortas are on a new adventure, traveling from Mexico to the US and back. We are spending a couple of weeks with family in Florida (another jungla!) hoping for some sunshine and fun.

Here’s an earlier blog entry for your reading, Starry Starry Night. We haven’t had many starry nights recently with all the rain. I’m hoping to get my star chart out when we get back.

Blessings to all as you gather with family and friends to remember what’s really important. Love one another and show it.

Feliz dia de Gracias

Feliz dia de Gracias

Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude

Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude

 

Machete – Tool of La Jungla

17 Nov

Herramientas or tools is a mouthful for most English-speakers, but a necessary word to master for living in Mexico. In order to manage our lawns in the US we have mowers – riding, push, electric, gasoline, and human powered. Then there are edgers, hedge trimmers, clippers, rakes, blowers and you can probably think of more. In Mexico there is the all-purpose machete. Our half acre of property was cleared in half a day by two men wielding blades. There is historical kinship to the sword. Revolutions have been fought and roads built by armies swinging a machete.

This week I purchased my very own machete. I figured that it would come in handy working on our property. With the upper body strength of a flea, I bought the smallest and most light-weight machete I could find. I then turned to that trusty educational source YouTube. I learned more than I could have imagined about the usefulness of this handy survival, self-defense, multi-tool. I’m off today to get it sharpened and then will attempt to not cut off any limbs, mine or anyone else’s. Wish me luck.

Ain't She Sweet?

Ain’t She Sweet?

Property Cleared

Property Cleared

Monday's Sunrise

Monday’s Sunrise

Another Tool of La Jungla

Another Tool of La Jungla

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Ah Retired

10 Nov

Two and a half months and we’re beginning to feel the edges of what it’s like to be retired. After a lifetime of “chop wood, carry water, repeat” days begin without an alarm clock or schedule. This week we returned to Chetumal, as my persistent rash is defying usual treatment and we are on to Plan B. We live in such a sanitized world in the US and acclimating to a new environment is a rite of passage for expats here. For some reason the skin really takes a hit. I will never need lip balm again, nor lotion for dry skin, and I will adapt.

Chetumal is the capital city (pop 140,000) of the state of Quitana Roo. It is the source of all things city for those of us living in quiet Bacalar (Walmart, Sam’s, movie theaters, medical, immigration, and live music). It’s a thirty minute drive and Lisa and I are learning our way around as streets are rarely identified and the city layout defies logic.

After a quick visit with Dr. Quintanilla, we headed downtown to El Centro.

Museum of Mayan Culture

Museum of Mayan Culture 

The museum houses both a permanent display of the great Mayan cities and visiting free exhibits. I really enjoyed the Day of the Dead exhibit by artista Carmen Vazquez. Visit our Facebook page to see pictures of her amazing art.

Replica Mayan Village

Replica of a Mayan village

 

Model of Tikal, Guatemala

Model of Tikal, Guatemala

Mayan Columns

Mayan queen

After our museum visit we discovered a great little Turkish restaurant across the street and treated ourselves to coffee.

Turkish coffee is beautiful little china cups.

Turkish coffee beautifully served in tiny cups.

And now for the best part…we went to our first movie in Mexico…Gravity in 3D (tres day) with Spanish subtitles. With my old person card, we paid about $10US for us both. There were seven other people in the theater. Free museum entry, discounted movies…not bad, and we even enjoyed the movie!

Last night we also stopped to enjoy live music at a restaurant where we are making friends with the staff. Do you believe it, two dates in one week? Ah, we are learning to enjoy the retired life.

Que padre!

Date night with Lisa.

Date night with Lisa at El Pargo

A chance to practice Spanish.

A chance to practice Spanish.

When the mind is like water, calm and peaceful, it reflects the beauty in the world. When it is agitated, you can have paradise in front of you and not see it.

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“Es la Hoon-glah!”

3 Nov

“Es la jungla Alex!” (It’s the jungle) says Violeta, the housekeeper here in Bacalar, when I tell her about the bites that I have acquired and the itchy rash covering my body as a result. Es la jungla!

Very Itchy Rash

Very Itchy Rash

So I trot myself off to a doctor who looks at the rash and tells me essentially the same thing. When people are new to “paradise” they don’t have the antibodies to the mosquitos and various insects that creep, crawl and sting.  So I leave the office with crema and allergy pills and the promise that it will get better and I will acclimate.

Living in the jungle is definitely a new way of life. There are the beautiful lush flowers and plants growing everywhere. Most of them we see in little pots as house plants, but en la jungla are growing wild and huge.

Another thing about living in la jungla is that it gets very dark VERY early. I can be talking on skype to the U.S. in the same time zone and it is quite light there. Here, it is completely dark, pitch black. It’s like someone throws a switch and the lights go out.

This week we were invited to a pizza party at the home of a friend who lives back in the jungle three miles off the main road. To us newbies it seems odd to start a party at 3pm, but when you consider the ride home in the dark it makes sense.  So on Wednesday, we enjoyed our pizza and left the party for home and promptly got lost. I do not recommend back-tracking in the jungle, in the dark, and trying to find your way out.  It took four of us keeping our wits to figure out the right route and reach the highway for home.

One thing for sure, life en la jungla (hoon-glah) is never dull and we are quite glad to be here. And my rash is much better and I will live.

The Jungle

A Restaurant in Bacalar

All the things you want to do

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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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Lessons in Sadness and Inspiration

20 Oct

My visionary voice for this week’s blog is clearly on vacation. The first topic I have considered sharing is the sadness I’ve been experiencing.  I have committed to honesty in this life-changing process of moving to Mexico, the good, the bad and the ugly. I clearly have a lot of judgement about being THAT honest. I posted a selfie on Facebook and was admonished to “smile” and look happy. After all, I’m retired and living in paradise, what’s the problemo?

My first inclination has been to push the feelings away, not tell anyone and pretend they don’t exist. I don’t want people to try to fix, analyze or criticize, as if  I could control the world. I can understand why people who are depressed go for years without telling anyone. But I am not depressed, just sad, and I’m not sure why, nor do I care to spend a lot of time trying to figure it out.  I have faith that I am loved and that sadness is a normal part of life and that the answer will come to me. It usually does.

The second topic is inspiration. I have come across two people this week who inspired me greatly. One of them is Diana Nyad. You may recall that she recently completed a Cuba to Florida 110 mile swim at age 64, after three failed attempts. Watching her interview with Oprah on youtube was riveting. She did not let the haters deter her from big and bold failure. Against huge odds she didn’t give up. I am always interested in how to stay motivated and love hearing other people’s stories.

I came across more inspiration from a young man named Slim, who has the website The Next Forty Days . Slim weighed 600 pounds in 2012. He saw a video  by Arthur Booreman who used DDP Yoga to reclaim his life of obesity and disability. I had also seen Arthur’s video and as a result, purchased the CDs that have become favorites for Lisa and me. Slim was inspired by Arthur as well, and used DDP Yoga to springboard his life into something incredible. He not only lost 150 pounds in six months, he and his wife Laura began setting forty-day goals of all types. They’ve given up meat for 40 days, done a juice fast, volunteered, raised money and so much more.  He has devoted his time to helping other people while figuring out how to change his own life.  I am a geek for goal setting.

So maybe my sadness has been a rebound of setting the BIG goal of participating in a 46 mile kayaking marathon that I splashed all over last week’s blog, SMART or Estupida. My fear of failure, that I wasn’t even aware of, reared it’s head and roared. People have commented about how “inspirational” I am. My goal with this blog has been to leave bread crumbs for anyone who cares to make big changes in their life. I guess Diana, Arthur, and Slim have done the same and I am willing to follow their trail.

Laguna Bacalar, Mexico

Laguna Bacalar, Mexico

Let Go Of The Life You Planned

Let Go Of The Life You Planned

Selfie

Selfie

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