expat living in Mexico | the adventures of dos tortas

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A Vacation to San Miguel de Allende

After spending a wonderful week in Northern California visiting my daughter and her family, I returned to Mexico City to begin the next leg of my adventure. After a long day of traveling, I zipped through immigration at 10pm and was very glad to see my host Benito waiting for me with a smile and my name on a placard. God bless AirB&B.

The most luxurious bus I’ve ever ridden in Mexico, complete with leg rests, movie screens and wifi left from the airport the next morning for Queretaro with connections to San Miguel de Allende, my vacation destination.

Executive Class

Torta friend and long-time San Miguel resident, Nancy met me at the bus station and we haven’t slowed down since.

Picking up your mail in San Miguel.

The following day, I explored downtown, while Nancy went to play tennis. Life offers many opportunities here that we do not have in Bacalar.

Absolutely love putzing in the shops around the Jardin (Center).

And then there are the second story gardens. The unusual amount of rain this year has everything green and lush.

Shops and houses are built around courtyards. Just look up!

The locals, expats, and tourists meet in the downtown park for a San Miguel favorite pastime, people-watching. You never know what you’ll see…

The majestic cathedral of Saint Michael is the heart of the city. A giant Freda Kalo provides a photo-op.

Nancy is an amazing ceramic artist. This is one of her pieces showing in a local gallery.

Galeria San Francisco.

I have a feeling it will take several weeks to post all the wonderful photos from this amazing city. I leave Wednesday to see my wife and view the progress on our house. Today is also the first anniversary of our marriage ceremony last year in California. Happy Anniversary Darling.

Tags: expat living in Mexico, retire to mexico, san miguel de allende

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Glass Half Empty or Half Full?

5 Jul

Last night’s tormenta shook huge palm trees like feather dusters. The room lit up with flash after flash of lightning as a thunderstorm raged overhead. It was enough to wake the dead. Only Lisa slept through the whole thing. It goes to show how different two people can be. She’s a glass half empty kinda gal, whereas I seem to be the nauseating glass half full sort.

Palm trees are perfectly adapted to withstand heavy wind.

Having owned and operated a construction company, Lisa knows about all the work that goes on behind the scenes. There are electrical, water and gas lines. With a concrete house, they are imbedded in the wall. There is wood drying for doors that need to be built. Much is left to do. I am blissfully unaware and only see a house where there was none two months ago.

Orange tubes will hold electrical wiring.

In a few days I am leaving for the U.S. to visit my daughter who is pregnant with her first baby. When I bought the ticket two months ago, we had no construction site and little faith in the process after two years of delays and promises. I am trading in one labor and delivery for another, although her baby is due in November, ours should be ready by August.

The roof goes on this week.

For the next three weeks I will watch the progress via Internet pictures and Skype. There is much structural work to complete. I will return in time for the finishing touches, tile, interior colors, lights, counters, etc. While I feel sad to miss this part, I have yet to perfect being in two places at one time. And the truth is, if you’re going to have a problem, you couldn’t get one any better than this.

Tags: expat living in Mexico, glass half empty, Tormenta

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The Swim Across Laguna Bacalar

21 Jun

Lisa and I came to live on beautiful Laguna Bacalar for quite different reasons, she for a boat, and I, to SWIM. Yesterday was the tenth annual open-water swim across the Laguna. With over eleven-hundred participants competing in two days of events, Bacalar is overflowing with energy and people from all over Mexico, Belize and the U.S. The weather was perfect with water temperature in the low 80’s.

Getting marked #637

I have been training for weeks building up to the three-quarter mile event. My friend Polly and I did a practice swim last week and I felt relaxed and confident.

Colorful vendors plying their wares.

Of course we had cheerleaders.

Fellow expats Pat and Rick make up the Bacalar cheering section.

Boats ferried participants across the Laguna to swim, on mass back to waiting family and friends. It’s not my first open water swim. All those churning bodies and kicking feet can be a bit disconcerting.

Making my way out of the water and through the crowd.

My time 34:25.

My biggest supporter.

Later in the evening there was an awards ceremony. I was hoping for a trophy, but the competition in my age category was stiff and I did not place. First place winner finished in 22:37. Wow! Lovely to see so many older participants.

My competition.

Local children put on a dance performance to much appreciation from the crowd.

The show stopper of the evening was my friend and fellow bacalareña Polly who won in the female over seventy category. Beside her was the first place winner in the Paralympic group AND oldest man. He’s eighty years old and a double amputee from Mexico City. It was a great day and I’m not even half dead today! I promise an update on house construction next week. With walls going up and the roof just weeks away, it’s time to go shopping for tile, lighting fixtures and everything else that goes into a new house. As always, your comments are appreciated. DOS TORTAS

The Adventures of Dos Tortas

Tags: aquas abiertas, expat living in Mexico, Laguna Bacalar, open water swim

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Show And Tell – Art Purchases

14 Jun

Life rarely turns out the way we plan. Sometimes it is way cooler. Our three-week road trip to explore the Yucatan was originally conceived to search for repurposed doors, windows, and hardware for the home we are building along the Laguna of Seven Colors in Bacalar, Mexico. The design for the house is Pueblo or village style. It has stucco walls with arched wooden doors and lots of rounded corners. There are palapa overhangs for shade and a large screened porch. We like the look of concrete floors and persianas, (louvered windows) and open indoor/outdoor living. It is small compared to the mansions being built along the laguna, less than a thousand square feet. Perfect for Dos Tortas.

We managed to find old wood doors, but unfortunately they were made of soft wood and not the hard woods needed for building in the jungle. The purchases we did make were local art for decorating our home. So much fun!

In Valladolid we found a “bazaar” which means – used items. We spotted this wooden panel deep in the back of a room. She spoke to us and was the most significant purchase we made. I have a collection of Guadalupe’s. She will get her own wall in our home.

This piece is made of wood by a local artist.

The panel is made of wood by an artist from Tizimin.

A mestizo mother and baby will be a garden piece, when we have gardens someday LOL.

An iron sun will be incorporated into a roof railing to welcome the daily sunrise.

Here comes the sun.

Next were hemp baskets. Before synthetics, hemp was a major industry in the Yucatan. I bought a colorful tortilla basket in the convent store in the magical city of Izamal. Perfect for keeping the tortillas warm on the kitchen table.

Basket of many colors.

I broke my own rule and purchased this basket in a tourist shop. The price was right and I hadn’t seen another like it.

I paid less than $20 for this 9″ tall basket.

No one traveling to the Yucatan can resist the beautiful pottery. I know we will return to Ticul after the house is complete. At the moment, we have nowhere to store the really big pots that I adore.

Mayan Goddess

I was told that this small replication was a bruja or witch. Usually women who were known as witches were midwives or healers. Needless to say, she had to come home with us.

Bruja.

The last small pot was made by ceramics artist Roger Juarez. Visiting his Mayan studio was a highlight of the trip. By this time the truck was quite full. Only promises to return kept me from blowing the budget.

We were happy to get home to Bacalar. House construction is now in full swing. It is hard to be patient at this point, but knowing I have such lovely pieces to decorate the house…will be worth the wait. DOS TORTAS

Tags: expat living in Mexico, Life in the Yucatan, Mexican pottery, travel Mexico

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The Great Yucatan Meander – Final Leg

7 Jun

Traversing the Yucatan in a big-ass truck is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Once our house construction is complete we will be purchasing a more economical, easier to park vehicle. But for now, it’s perfect! So we set off for three weeks to meander, shop, swim and explore our way around the Yucatan.

Fun with pyramids.

No tour de Yucatan would be complete without visiting the pyramids of Uxmal (oosh-mahl).

Impressive city.

Uxmal is a large fascinating site and one of the most visited in Mexico. Record heat insured there were no crowds to contend with. Even arriving early did not keep us from mucho gratitude for our air conditioned ride.

The attention to detail is staggering.

Walking through the city, we were transported through time. It’s hard to imagine what life was like. People spent so much effort simply surviving in this dry climate. Catching and storing water was paramount. And yet decorating their temples seemed equally important for survival. Chac the rain god was everywhere.

Here is evidence of the thatched-roof Mayan homes still seen everywhere in the Yucatan. Their thick walls do an excellent job of insulating. Hang a hammock and you’re all set.

Like cenotes, you would think after awhile, ancient sites would get boring. Not for Dos Tortas.

We were wishing to make off with some of the stonework simply laying around. Ha!

There was so much to see and do. Three weeks flew by.

We’d like to incorporate some of these images into our house design. Construction is finally underway. For house pictures visit our Facebook page. Next week we’ll have show-and-tell for the purchases made during the Meander. See you then and as always your comments are appreciated. DOS TORTAS

Tags: expat living in Mexico, Life in the Yucatan, Uxmal

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Cenotes – Sacred Mayan Wells

31 May

The Yucatán is home to more than seven thousand ancient watering holes known as cenotes (sen-óh-tay). The clear, cool, mineral-rich water bubbles up through layers of limestone and has a silky smooth quality that wraps its arms around you. The wells can be found on private property or equipped with a restaurant and entrance fee. There are two large cenotes in Bacalar. Cenote Azul is the restaurant-type where I swim several times a week.

Our Yucatan meander included three cenotes in the city of Valladolid and one in Ek Balam.

Lisa finding a way to get into chilly water at Ek Balam.

You would think that at some point it would be like “ok, been there done that”. But the cenotes of Ticul took it up a notch. Thanks to Roman, our tour guide, we got to visit private, little-known pools of joy. His secret is safe with us. We couldn’t find our way back if we tried.

Thirsty trees reach for water.

All cenotes were formed deep in the earth. Then the roof caved in on some, requiring stairs to access them.

Once open to the sky, the water isn’t as pristine. But if the roof remains intact, a crystalline clear swim awaits. The second cenote we visited required a bumpy ride down a long dirt road. Roman left the best to last.

I could have stayed all day.

This spot was heaven on earth. I am convinced that we will never tire of exploring the cenotes of Yucatan.

The following day we we said goodbye to Roman with promises of a swift return. Off to the pyramids of Uxmal and the final leg of the great Dos Torta Yucatan Meander.

Tags: adventure mexico, bacalar mexico, Cenote Azul, expat living in Mexico, yucatan cenotes

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Off The Beaten Path – Ticul

24 May

While waiting for the construction of our house to begin, the Tortas took off on a Yucatan road trip from our home in Bacalar Mexico, across the top of the state of Yucatan, taking in two cities, an amazing pyramid, two coastal towns and an island. With no real plans other than looking for local art and repurposed items for our house, we chose approximately a three week timeframe and hit the road. After leaving Celestún, into our second week, we drifted southwest toward the ancient site of Uxmal and decided to make Ticul our base camp.

Instead of relying on our guide book, we did a bit of Trip Advisor searching and found a wonderful little place, Posada El Jardin. I was especially attracted to the review that said that the hotel’s owner was willing to act as a tour guide. That’s how we met Roman.

Ticul is known for pottery made from local red clay. Need we say more? There is both original and excellent replicas of ancient Mayan gods and goddesses. Roman, a Ticul native also made sure we got good prices. He was a treasure.

There are times when speaking Spanish comes in very handy. We visited with Andres, a former school teacher and now shop owner, for the better part of an hour, discussing Ticul, its history, politics and problems. I learned that 911 had a huge impact on this little town. As security heightened worldwide, people were less able to bring home items purchased on their vacations. A city that used to see dozens of tour buses daily, rarely sees any today.

Next stop was the home of Roger Juarez, nationally recognized potter and Ticul native. I would love to return and learn to throw pots with Roger.

A nationally recognized artist in the 1990's.

Roger is a national treasure. I wished that I had asked him if this piece was for sale.

Touring Roger’s property that had been in the family for generations was a treat in and of itself.

Next week we will continue our visit to the Cenotes of Ticul. Just when you think it can’t get much better, it does! DOS TORTAS

Tags: Adventure in Mexico, expat living in Mexico, Life in the Yucatan, ticul yucatan

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Flamingos Flamingos Flamingos

17 May

Our guide book is either really outdated (2010) or Celestún has seriously gone downhill. I believe it’s the latter. The “quaint” little hotels described were even below our standards which are pretty basic. However we did find what we came for – flamingos!

An evening walk on the beach to find the palapa, a palm frond covered hut where tours are scheduled, found a family from Mexico City negotiating for a morning boat ride. The captain told us their’s was a private tour when I inquired as to the possibility of joining them. One thing Mexico teaches is patience. After a bit of friendly conversation and some whispering between them, we were invited to join their group. Who can resist the Torta charm?!

Visiting Celestun from Mexico City.

Off we went the following morning to the Reserva de la Biosfera Ría Celestún.

Seeing these majestic birds is truly breathtaking. The majority were pale pink indicating young birds. Celestun and Rio Lagartos are breeding and nesting grounds and one of the few places flamingos can be seen in the wild.

Next we were off to the mangroves.

A ride through the mangrove tunnel.

We stopped to visit a fresh water spring.

Clear reflection.

You can see the water bubbling up in the middle of the photo.

Natural fresh water spring.

For those of you who know the avid swimmer I am, it didn’t take long to climb into the pool.

One way of swimming my way around the world.

The family from Mexico City, who didn’t appear to be the adventurous type, stood by in amazement as this gray-haired grandma reveled and played in the stunning water. They inquired politely about the presence of cocodrilos, crocodiles, and after some not too gentle intimidation from me, all got in the water. I’m quite certain if we hadn’t been there, they’d have returned home with a far less interesting story to tell. Haha.

Of course you can’t pass up the lovely sunset photo.

After an evening walk collecting shells, we packed our bags for an early retreat. It was sad in a way to find this dingy little town surrounded by so much natural beauty. Such is the enigma of Mexico. We were certainly glad to have stopped and if the opportunity arises to return, we will be better prepared and more wary of the expectations created by guide books.

Tags: expat living in Mexico, Life in the Yucatan, retirement adventures, travel Mexico

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Categories Retire Mexico, Southern mexico

Life Returning to Normal – Whatever That Means

8 Mar

The Tortas have returned to Bacalar after two weeks in cold, drizzle and fog. We loved visiting with friends and family, but we didn’t get the usual lovely Austin early spring. The day after we left, the city was shut down with freezing temperatures and ice. Whew!

Travel is tiring no matter how well the trip goes. Even the young adults sitting behind us on the plane chanting “Cancun, Cancun!” didn’t put a damper on our mood. Earplugs helped.

The sunset leaving Tulum heading home to Bacalar.

Returning to our paradise means kicking our house construction into high gear. We have met with our architect and a three week deadline is ticking to complete the structural plans. It was fun to talk sky lights, niches and ceiling fan placement. We will walk the property on Tuesday with our builder to discuss house placement tweaks to optimize the view and air flow. While it seems that it has taken an inordinately long time to build this house, blessings can come in disguise. We are finally clear on what we want and the universe is getting onboard.

A built-in cabinet that we will incorporate into the house design.

A huge blessing is the current dollar to peso exchange rate. As we prepare to transfer money to our Mexican bank account, the dollar is the strongest it’s been in 22 years. It means that our cost to build will be less than when we arrived in 2013. Another blessing being showered on The Tortas.

Sunday morning sunrise over Laguna Bacalar.

We are happy to be settling back into our routine of exercise, meditation and our daily to-do list…make a dentist appointment, schedule maintenance on the truck, clean out the refrigerator, etc. It’s a simple life and extremely satisfying.

Tags: Adventure in Mexico, Amazing sunrise, expat living in Mexico, Laguna Bacalar

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The Artistry of Bacalar

25 Jan

San Miguel de Allende in northern Mexico is an artists’ haven. We stopped last year on our drive back to Bacalar from visiting family in Texas. There are artisan markets, galleries, beautifully landscaped architecture and well, sigh…I returned to our little town of Bacalar feeling depressed and longing for a more stimulating creative environment.

The street in San Miguel.

In the year since, I have discovered the amazing arts community that is Bacalar. It began when I opened my eyes.

Colibri

This beautiful hummingbird and the blue deer that follows grace the wall of a house that is under construction. The colors are vibrant and my bicycle excursion up a new street uncovered them, much to my delight.

Venado Azul

Down the street from our house, the newly named Frida Kahlo school for differently-abled children received a new mural outside its gate over the recent holiday vacation.

My favorite mural is on a main street leading off the town square.

The sky begins on Laguna Bacalar.

Even a little house that looks like it’s about to fall down provides the canvas for an artist’s expression.

The work covers part of the front door in its beautiful expression.

The work covers part of the front door in its beautiful display.

There are amateur murals, perhaps from a community project of years ago.

Note the crocodile in the foreground.

A recent state-wide celebration included the commission of this mural on the wall of the Bacalar Tourist Center.

Flying fish than can be seen when I'm out in my kayak.

Flying fish that can be seen while kayaking on the laguna.

Next week starts the annual Art Rendezvous at Casita Carolina. Local and visiting artists gather for five days and capture the sights – mercado, pyramids, palm trees and colorful residents. On Saturday next there is a community party and art sale. Everyone is invited to participate. I’ve decided to paint even though I haven’t picked up a brush since high school.

With exceedingly low expectations of my artistic abilities I will join in and chronicle the fun. Clearly our community is far more artistic and creative than I previously saw. With such a beautiful environment, how could it not be.

Follow up to last week’s blog Los Perros of Bacalar –

I did not expect that blog followers would be willing to open their hearts and resources to the dogs and cats of Bacalar, silly me. This weekend there was a sterilization clinic with additional pictures on the Dos Tortas Facebook page. It is a public page that you can access without a FB account. If you wish to contribute please contact me for further information. A large bag of dog food costs $25US and the average cost to sterilize an animal is about $20. We have the offer of a permanent location and would like to have monthly clinics. There are start up equipment costs, but money goes far in Mexico.

Our visiting veterinarian and expat nurse extraordinaire Patty.

DOS TORTAS

Tags: Art Rendezvous, Casita Carolina Bacalar Mexico, expat living in Mexico, retire to mexico

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Categories Expatriates, Southern mexico, Uncategorized

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the adventures of dos tortas

A Vacation to San Miguel de Allende

Glass Half Empty or Half Full?

The Swim Across Laguna Bacalar

Show And Tell – Art Purchases

The Great Yucatan Meander – Final Leg

Cenotes – Sacred Mayan Wells

Off The Beaten Path – Ticul

Flamingos Flamingos Flamingos

Life Returning to Normal – Whatever That Means

The Artistry of Bacalar

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