Tag Archives: expat living in Mexico

OMG Driving In Mexico

3 Jan

There wasn’t time to grab the camera as a doble remolque (18-wheeled cab pulling two trailers) passed us on a double yellow line as we both crested a hill! Much like in Japan where buses have the right of way and pull out from the curb without warning…a big ass truck in Mexico can do almost anything.

Most articles about driving in Mexico start with, don’t drive at night. Given the conditions of the roads, we heartily agree. Here are additional considerations.

  • Signage may be nonexistent and if you’re watching for a turn, SLOW down. There is little warning that your turn is coming up.
  • The same goes with road construction (and it is everywhere). The guy waving a flag may give you ten feet of warning to avoid a ten foot drop.
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Luckily it is fairly easy to turn around.

  • Speed limits are a suggestion which makes for a relaxed trip. In three years we’ve seen one cop with radar.
  • It’s always best to drive with a partner if possible. A second pair of eyes notices the man gathering wood along a road with absolutely no shoulder.
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It took us awhile to understand that using rocks to slow traffic is common. This sign says not to leave them in the road. Good idea.

  • A wide shoulder on a two lane road is used to facilitate passing. Pull to the right to let a vehicle pass you OR to allow a car coming at you to pass oncoming traffic. Flashing headlights may provide some warning. Do however watch for pedestrians, bicycles, motos or goats ambling on the shoulder.
  • A vehicle with its left turn signal on is telling you it’s clear to pass. If you want to make a left hand turn, pull to the right shoulder and wait for all lanes to clear. At the same time, if you see a car using turning signals for anything, they’re probably a foreigner.
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A peloton with motorcycle support. A rare sight.

  • Stick to the toll roads if you can afford them. At the same time, they may be as torn up as the libramiento. It’s a flip of the coin.

We are blessed in Bacalar. The road from Cancun to Chetumal may be the best maintained road in Mexico AND it’s free. Hoping your holidays were tranquilo and your new year is full of love. DOS TORTAS

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Traveling Tortas

13 Dec

Crossing the border at Agua Prieta, across from Douglas, Arizona was the easiest crossing into Mexico from the U.S. we have made yet. The Tortas have been on an epic journey to California to attend the birth of our grandson and bringing Lisa’s mom Alice to live with us in Bacalar. The guards took one look at my white hair and packed truck and said, move along. Gracias a Dios. The ability to speak Spanish always helps. 

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Sunset south of Phoenix, AZ.

Immigration did not make us offload our truck which would have been a major inconvenience.

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Packed to overflowing with “just one more thing”

There have been long days driving and we are so ready to be home in Bacalar. The odometer noted  five thousand miles driven, a few days ago. We’ve been gone almost six weeks.

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Looking south near Bisbee AZ

The mountains of Chihuahua have been beautiful. We have seen lots of Mexican terrain, but none of the culture, museums or people. Lisa and her mom have head colds. We have been pedal to the metal, hotel to hotel and getting lost following outdated maps. We’ll be home to our little house on Laguna Bacalar in a few days. Until next week, stay warm. Peace from DOS TORTAS.

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Mass Shootings or Farmer’s Markets

6 Dec

Bloggers living in Mexico notice with increased interest when scarey stuff happens in the USA. By comparison, Mexico is looking good. 

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Myself, I try to avoid the news. It’s hard to do I admit. Whether online or on TV there’s such a pull to understand the non-understandable. I refuse to be afraid.

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So instead, I will present another aspect of California that hasn’t made the news lately. The Tortas visited two really nice farmer’s markets on our recent trip to California. I always head to the ethnic food vendors. Mediterranean was especially good at both Windsor and Bakersfield markets.

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Olives, dates, tabouli, hummus and pitta bread are all impossible to find in our little corner of Mexico.

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Of course, every Mexican village has the most wonderful mercado. They are filled with hundreds of items you don’t get in the US, fresh coconut water, tree ripened bananas, and plants and pottery that are really, really cheap.

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US-style farmer’s markets are catching on in Mexico where there are large foreign populations. I attended one in Merida and they were selling bread! Mmmmmm. Fortunately or unfortunately one will never appear in Bacalar. We live in a part of Mexico with a very small foreign community. Which is just the way we planned it.

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Green juice vendor in Bacalar.

So if you’re looking to move to Mexico, don’t come because you’re afraid of the US. You’ll bring your fear with you and be equally unhappy here. Just my opinion.

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California Dreamin

22 Nov

After driving three thousand miles across Mexico and up the Baja to Northern California for the birth of our grandson, the Tortas say, “never again” that is of course until the return trip.

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First phase of our trip.

The ferry from Mazatlan to La Paz was not the seventeen hour trip advertised on the website. It was more like twenty-four hours. Geesh.

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Arriving in La Paz on the Sea of Cortez

The ferry ride was an adventure to say the least and the drive up the Baja was as breath taking as any I’ve seen, purple mountains, winding cavernous roads, forests of cactus, huge boulders and ocean vistas.

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Stopping for a little walk and to admire the view.

We arrived in Bakersfield to pack up Lisa’s mom (Everyday Courage). Our grandson, Maxwell Michael Toth was born November 19th, clocking in at 7 lb. 8 oz. and 24″. We are two happy grandmas.

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Grandma Lisa and a less than 24 hour old Max.

We’ll hang out here for awhile before heading south. The goal is to be home by Christmas. We miss our puppy who is growing like a weed, but there’s nothing like grandchildren.

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Mexico Dodged A Bullet

25 Oct

I find it hard to believe the media. Was hurricane Patricia an anomaly or was it hype? Either way, I’m very happy that there wasn’t catastrophic damage and loss of life to the people of western Mexico. 

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Thanks to our friends Karen and Skip of Tulum for this perspective of our distance from the storm. Mexico is three times bigger than Texas.

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I lived in Okinawa, Japan for two years and experienced two typhoons. A tornado once touched down across the street from our house outside of Austin, Texas. We were unscathed through it all. My first experience with a category five hurricane was Katrina. I was working for the Texas Department of State Health Services at the time. I volunteered to help and was assigned to work in the command center. What an eye-opening experience! Between hurricanes, tsunamis and earthquakes, the world has learned the hard way about preparedness.

Before

Before

After - The kitchen shelves were installed this week. I'm still in awe.

After – The kitchen shelves were installed this week. I’m still in awe.

Living so close to the coast, we have different preparedness needs than many. Our main concern is wind. To that end we will install hurricane shutters on the Laguna side. The house is a concrete bunker and there is a drainage system both inside and out.

A fountain and pond on the north side of the house.

A fountain and pond on the north side of the house.

Texas has a great preparedness website if you need help. Any emergency plan is better than none. One thing we will be sure to have is a can of gas. Stations ran out of fuel as people headed inland to avoid Patricia. My daughter who lives on the U.S west coast fault line has a kit for her dog as well. As new dog owners, this is new territory for us. What’s your plan? DOS TORTAS

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Rainy Day Sunday on Laguna Bacalar

18 Oct

It seems Mother Nature decided to make up for this year’s lack of a rainy season on Laguna Bacalar, all in one week.The birds love it and lord knows we need the rain. The sky is grumbling and showing no signs of letting up. Gotta love it.

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Our ramp turned water slide.

It’s been a good opportunity to see how all the landscaping in our new house manages runoff. But mostly it’s been a forced stay-at-home opportunity to relax. We’ll have to do some tweaking on the landscaping, but all in all, it looks pretty good. The big challenges living here are wind and rain. It comes with the territory in this most southern part of North America.

The carpintero came yesterday to install an interior door. His progress is slow since most of his work is done outside. The door is stunning, so we don’t mind waiting. This week we will have kitchen shelves installed. ¡Gracias a dios!

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Jose Lewis master carpenter.

We also managed to get some artwork on the walls. Lisa and I bought a lovely wooden wall sculpture in Valladolid on our Tour de Yucatan this past June (2015). The colors match perfectly don’t you think?

Our Lady of Guadalupe, sacred Catholic icon.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, sacred Catholic icon.

I was raised Catholic and The Virgin of Guadalupe has always been the female expression of God to me. It actually seems like our house was built just for her.

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View including the porch.

Another piece that we bought on the Yucatan trip was a mother and child mestiza woman. She sits in our little rainy-day bamboo garden.

The bamboo explodes with growth in the rain.

The bamboo explodes with growth in the rain.

While we are enjoying the cool weather and adjusting to life in the jungle, we continue to heal, Lisa from back surgery and me from chikengunya (see We Plan God Laughs) All is well, just very wet.
DOS TORTAS

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The Day After Christmas

11 Oct

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I call it the day after Christmas syndrome because when I was a kid, Christmas was the biggest deal in my life. My dad would wait until we kids were asleep and work all night to create a huge “wow”. We tip toed down the stairs at five a.m. to a sparkling tree where none had been the night before. Bicycles had been assembled, trains circled the tree, roller skates, and sleds. Of course it wasn’t all at the same Christmas, but it feels that way in my childhood memories.

Early picture looking up from the lower stairs to the Laguna. Before.

Before.

After.

After.

Christmas changed over time. As I became older and more jaded, the day after a much anticipated event was always a let down. My expectations were bigger than the thing itself. The “stuff” I acquired  became my happiness along with the adrenaline that came with it; happiness with a bow and sprinkles.

Before

Before

After

After

This week could have been one of the largest “Day After Christmas” events in our lives. More than two years in the making, we moved into our dream home AND we got electricity! We could easily see how much work there is left to do. Instead there’s been nothing but gratitude, gratitude, gratitude. No Day After Christmas disappointment here. Just peace and joy in success. We were happy all along.

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What You Really Need is a Sense of Humor

30 Aug

The heck with fearlessness! Forget optimism. Without a sense of humor you will never make it as a foreigner living in Mexico. 

With permission from my friend Carla who does Facebook stand-up.

“My bottle of over-the-counter drugs contained pills in two different colors.
*Scenario one – Darn, we’re out of transparent gel caps. I’ll just use those brown ones until the new boxes come in.
*Scenario two – Hey, this bottle is only three/quarters full. That won’t do. Let’s see, there are some extras over here. Antibiotics? Ok can’t hurt, I’ll use them.

Two months later, I think it was scenario one”

Hahaha. Seriously this could happen to you!

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As I see it, my choices are:

Leave

Live here and be miserable and complain incessantly, or

Get a sense of humor.

I choose the latter although many folks choose door number two and of course some people leave.

Laugh at death!

This week I went to retrieve the final approval to build LIsa’s mother’s house. A mistake on the part of our former builder, plus a regime change in the government agency equalled additional time and more $$$. We had received notice that the paperwork was ready so off I went to SEMARNAT, the agency that regulates waterfront construction.

Sitting behind her computer, the officer began typing. She stared at the screen intently, typed a little more and stared some more. I waited, and waited, took some deep breaths, and stayed calm. Gringos are notorious for being impatient. Finally I asked in my friendliest voice if there was a problem? She shrugged her shoulders and declared the network “slow”. It does no good to be frustrated with the lack of communication. “In a minute” could mean a half hour (if you’re lucky).

Mañana doesn’t mean tomorrow. It means just not today.

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As the move-in date comes and goes for our new home, we keep busy and know the universe has its own timeline. Our house is full of workers laying tile, painting the floor, building a stone entry, sanding concrete counters, installing appliances, lights, ceiling fans and more. Our bulldog project manager David meets tomorrow with the key players needed to get electricity installed!! The meeting took four months to arrange. Send prayers.

Tile placement for the stairway to heaven.

Tile placement for the stairway to heaven.

This is a pivotal week. The push is on to finish the interior so that we can begin moving. In the meantime, no taking ourselves too seriously. If it’s not fun, it’s not worth doing. DOS TORTAS
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A Not So Fun Ending To A Fun Vacation.

9 Aug

“Hiking?!! Why would you do that?!” was my friend Bella’s response to my swollen purple knee. Ha, she doesn’t know me very well. But that was Tuesday, so let me back up….

My last Sunday in San Miguel de Allende presented a cool clear morning and I was eager to soak it up before returning to the humidity that is Bacalar. Retired expats plan lots of activities in San Miguel and my host Nancy invited me to join in the Sunday morning hiking group. I, unlike Bella am always up for a hike, so off we went.

Serious hikers.

Serious hikers gathered at the gas station.

I guessed from the hiking boots and walking sticks that the group meant business. Never one to backdown, I didn’t ask questions as to the level of difficulty, type of trail etc. I also didn’t take into consideration the amount of rain we’d been having or my inadequate footwear. Little did I know the price I would pay.

Heading west.

Heading west.

Everyone spread out as the leaders kept a brisk pace.

Gentle incline.

Gentle incline.

While this wasn’t a technical hike, San Miguel sits over 6,000 feet. Being a sea-level dweller, I found myself expending some effort to keep up.

Mountain mist and muddy terrain.

Mountain mist and muddy terrain.

Picking and choosing my steps through the runoff, I actually stepped out of my shoe at one point as the mud grabbed hold and refused to let me go. And then finally…the top and a lovely view of San Miguel and the scrubby terrain.
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Lunch break.

Lunch break.

The return trip was much quicker (downhill usually is). I listened in on the conversations. Some folks were full-timers and others like many retirees who love to travel, merely call San Miguel home-base. The main grumble was the traffic and parking. As attachment to individual transportation shows no sign of letting up, I am not surprised. However to their credit, the group encourages car-pooling and pays drivers for rides and gas.

And down we went.

And down we went.

A winding muddy trail.

A winding muddy trail.

We were ten minutes from the cars and I was ready to be done, perhaps too ready. The final obstacle was a swollen creek. All it took was one wobbly rock and down I went. I hit my knee hard, but saved the iPad, which of course is the most important thing!
imageBy Monday I was in considerable pain, bruised and swollen and wondering how I would travel back to Mexico City and catch the flight home to Bacalar. More information was needed so off we went to the emergency room. Less than an hour and a hundred dollars later I was X-rayed and learned that nothing was broken, thank God. For my ride to the airport on Wednesday, I took a shuttle from door to gate which was a big help. Two weeks later I am still healing and doing the dance, so to speak, between rest, pain meds, and walking. The house completion is moving at lightning speed. Let the packing begin! DOS TORTAS
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The Sistine Chapel of the Americas – Atotonilco

2 Aug

During my recent visit to San Miguel, I used my host’s weekly tennis match, to amble down the road to the chapel of Atontonilco, aka the Sistine Chapel of the Americas. The village’s annual celebration had taken place the weekend prior and the fragrance of fresh cut flowers still filled the air. The church dates back to the mid-1700’s and was built after Father Luis Felipe Alfaro stopped to rest under a mesquite tree and had a dream. Jesus wearing a crown of thorns instructed him to build the church, and the rest is history. Buses of penitents visit daily.

Main Alter

Main Alter

A side nave dedicated to the Virgin of the Rosary was built in 1766.

Note the Gold Leaf

Note the Gold Leaf

We had previously visited this church in February 2014 when the Tortas passed through San Miguel. A side chapel (1759-1776) was closed for renovation at the time. This visit, I gladly paid my $15 pesos, about a dollar and passed through the gate to see the new area.

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The Crucifixion of Jesus

I didn’t know where to look first. Every inch of the hall was covered in colorful frescos and life-like statues. It took a few minutes to realize that I was seeing the Way Of The Cross, a depiction of the crucifixion of Jesus. Having been raised Catholic, I knew by heart the images of Good Friday and could almost smell the incense and hear the prayers.

Jesus Dies On the Cross

Jesus Dies On the Cross

For non-Catholics, the imagery can be a bit creepy. People in Mexico who are deeply religious resonate with the suffering. Jesus died for their sins. It’s personal.

Jesus' Body Is Removed From The Cross

Jesus’ Body Is Removed From The Cross

I had the church to myself to wander and was in awe of its beauty and attention to detail. Centuries of faith and devotion were palpable. It is easy to understand how Father Miguel Hidalgo could visit the church on September 16, 1810, and be so inspired that he took the alter banner of the Virgin of Guadalupe and led Mexico’s fight for independence. While few gringos visit Atotonilco, it is well worth the taxi ride from San Miguel. DOS TORTAS image

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