Tag Archives: bacalar mexico

Familia Nueva

29 Dec

Spending our first Navidad y Año Nuevo in Mexico has been both a time of celebrating a journey that started more than a year ago and a bittersweet absence of the family traditions that we have maintained for many years. With the sale of our Austin home and the yet to be built house in Bacalar, we are staying here and there with our possessions scattered.

This week we had the delightful experience of meeting Nancy and Judy who found Dos Tortas on LIPS (Lesbians in Paradise) Facebook page. They are retired and live full-time in Mexico and were on a holiday vacation to a warmer clime. Judy recognized me on a chance encounter in the town square and the rest is herstory. We’ve been exploring pyramids, kayaking and sharing stories of world travels and life in Mexico. Lisa and I now have familia nueva and a place to visit on our trips to and from the States, or a getaway from the tropical summer.

There has been so much unknown in this process of jumping off a cliff and praying to grow wings or find new solid ground. Being open to the unexpected and having it land in our lap has renewed our faith that this is the right move. It’s more than a bond of strangers in a strange land. It’s knowing there are Tortas the world over and opportunities for close relationships wherever we go.

If you want to see more photos from our visit to the Mayan pyramids of Kohunlich, visit our Facebook page. As always, comments are appreciated.

Our New Torta friends.

Our New Torta friends.

Just sayin.

Just sayin.

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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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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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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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Meet the Neighbors

6 Oct

From the minute I hit “send” on Sunday my thoughts turn to what to write for the next week. I look for interesting patterns, new items to share, or ah-ha moments. This week is encounters with insect, reptile and bird neighbors. The photos are from the internet, not mine.

Lisa saw a very large snake crossing the driveway where we live. Upon research, we learned that the mangrove snake is one of the largest snakes in the tropics. What Lisa saw was at least 6′ long. They are harmless to humans who leave them alone.

Mangrove Snake

Mangrove Snake

We have a neighbor about twenty miles up the lake who has a young crocodile hanging out near her dock. With the swollen lake, the cocodrillos sometimes move into human habitats. There have been numerous postings to the expat Yahoo Group as to how to relocate the 3′ long youngster. The running request is that it goes FAR from Bacalar.

Young Cocodrillo

Young Cocodrillo

We frequently see snail kites, large black and white hawks that chow down on the juicy snails that abound in Laguna Bacalar. Locals harvest the snails for ceviche, a delicacy for humans and lunch for the hawks.

Snail Kite

Snail Kite

Last night Lisa called me to come quietly and bring the camera. I was not lucky enough to catch a photo of these camera shy moths that have been hanging around. Here is the internet version. They have large “eyes” on their wings to trick predators.

Large Moth

Large Moth

We watch dragon flies flutter in the evening air and geckos, small nocturnal lizards scurry across the ceiling both inside and out. Life in the tropics is certainly a chance to meet many new and interesting neighbors.

Another Amazing Sunrise

Another Amazing Sunrise

Have Faith

Have Faith

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Inicios Nuevos

29 Sep

New beginnings – We marked one month of living in Mexico this week. It still feels like one big vacation. We’re incredibly grateful to have a beautiful home to live in while waiting for our house to sell in Texas and eventually build our home here. Days begin with taking photos of the latest amazing sunrise, yoga, and meditation. Lisa has been working diligently on learning Spanish. She listens to a CD for thirty minutes and has conversations with anyone she comes into contact with. Local folks seemed pleased with her effort and are more than willing to enunciate and use simple language. I am all too familiar with the sensation of one’s head exploding in the effort to learn a second language. It is a necessary part of the process.

We made a new friend, Kathe who lives in Chetumal, about a half hour drive from us. Several years ago, Kathe and her partner traveled from Canada to Panama and back in an RV. She kept a blog which I include here. On her blog she shared a story, “Loose Chickens” by Nancy Vineski. The story was included in Chicken Soup for the RVer’s Soul and made me laugh and think about the choices we have made to live in Bacalar, MX. I include it here. As always, comments and suggestions for future blogs are appreciated. What do you do to rattle your cage? Please share.

Sep 8, 2007
Loose Chickens

By Nancy Vineski

It all started with a few loose chickens. . . .

I was a real estate agent and had gone to check out one of our listed
properties. It was an egg-laying operation, a commercial facility involving
thousands of caged chickens. The warehouse-like building held hundreds and
hundreds of small cages, each containing two hens. The cages were so small
that the chickens were unable to turn around. In front of the chickens, one
conveyor belt brought feed and behind them was another belt that carried
their eggs away. While the plant manager was briefing us, I noticed a dozen
loose chickens and an employee following them and scattering grain.

“Do you need help catching them?” I asked.

“I’m not trying to catch these birds” he replied. “Oh no, we let these
wander around. If the caged ones can’t see a few chickens living a free
life, they’ll lose hope and stop laying their eggs. Without these loose
chickens, the rest will just give up and die.”

Instantly, it struck me how similar our lifestyle was to these caged birds.
How many of us live our lives in cages, looking out and seeing others having
the adventures, living their dreams, being free? I realized that there are
two kinds of chickens: those who live in cages and those who roam freely. I
wanted to be one of those loose chickens!

Within a couple of months, we wangled a year’s unpaid leave of absence from
my husband Tom’s university employers, closed my small business, found
someone to house sit our home, took $10000 out of our retirement savings,
bought an old VW camper-van and set off to explore Mexico and Central
America.

That year stretched into two and we decided not to return to our old jobs.

It’s been nine years now of full-time RVing full-time, exploring full-time
living. The house-sitter became a tenant who became the guy who bought our
house. The camper-van turned into a twenty-five-foot trailer, which turned
into a thirty-seven-foot motor home. And a few years ago our son Bill also
became a full-time RVer – a family of loose chickens roaming free.

Reprinted by permission of Nancy Vineski (c) 2000 from Chicken Soup for the
Traveler’s Soul by Jack Canfield Mark Victor Hansen and Steve Zikman.

Peace

Peaceful Beginning to the Day on Lake Bacalar

Some Days Just Amaze

Some Days Just Amaze

With a Good Book

With a Good Book

Loose Chickens

Loose Chickens

The Think You Think You Cannot Do

The Thing You Think You Cannot Do

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Rainy Season – Lessons in Going With the Flow

22 Sep

Having recently moved to the tropics of Southern Mexico from the desert-like climate of Central Texas, we initially loved the sweet little afternoon rain showers. But then the rain didn’t stop. For close to three weeks it rained, rained and rained some more. A tropical depression invaded the Yucatan in more ways than one. Hurricane Manuel pummeled Mexico from the Pacific and Ingrid from the Gulf. In Acapulco forty-thousand tourists were evacuated and mud slides swallowed a whole community. In Bacalar, the worst we had was mold, mosquitoes, a leaky roof and a few docks under water. It seems like all I had to do was think about my kayak to hear thunder. It’s creepy.

Many of the expats are on their summer jaunt to the US. The Tortas were spending way too much time on Facebook in this beautiful, strange land, so Thursday we decided to brave the elements and travel 2.5 hours to Tulum to visit our Austin friends Karen and Skip. It was a change of scenery and an excuse to ride in air conditioning. Living in the wilds of Tulum has its own challenges. Keeping the jungle from swallowing your house is a full-time job. We did head out to see if the beach had been washed away in the recent flooding, only to be blessed with a beautiful sunshiney walk. Nine months ago during our initial visit to Skip and Karen’s, we were exploring the possibility of making the move to Mexico. They took us to the same beautiful beach as a talisman for all the hard work ahead. Never could we have believed that in nine months our life would be completely different and we’d be living in Bacalar.

When rain flows, it can take everything in its path for a ride, even the Tortas. The opportunities to “let go” abound. We are continually letting go of an old way of life, as well as the expectations for this new one, and we are ever grateful for the occasional sunshine.

Finally the Sun!

Tulum Beach Nine Months Later

Tulum Beach Nine Months Later

Moon on Bacalar

Thought For the Day

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