Tag Archives: retire mexico

Dia de la Tierra

21 Apr

This week we celebrate Earth Day 2013. I remember the first Earth Day in 1970, the year I graduated from high school. I was surprised that my father would join a group of students picking up trash in Ken Lockwood Gorge near my childhood home in New Jersey. I thought only young people cared about the environment…LOL!!

In researching the Pueblo de Bacalar, I was curious about the town and what it would be like to live there. Austin is a green city and people are very conscious about the environment. I know from our travels that the rest of the world isn’t always as committed. One thing I discovered about Bacalar was an Earth Day Celebration from 2011 that I wish I could have attended. People coming together to celebrate the earth, the laguna and their comunidad. In a declaration of intent, residents committed to protecting the earth, the inclusion of all people through non-descrimination, and the education of children to continue the work. The faces in the pictures are mixed in ethnicity, race, age and resource. During our visit to Bacalar in December 2012, I noticed blue recycling barrels everywhere. There were bi-lingual notices asking people to protect the lake by picking up trash.

Seemed like my kind of town.

Celebration!

Celebration!

People Coming Together

People Coming Together

Ritual to Bless the Earth.

Ritual to Bless the Earth.

Earth Day photos by Jacqui McGrath

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Chucking it all and moving to Mexico

14 Apr

Spring weekends like this one are frequently thought of as, “the reason I moved to Austin”. Not too cool and not too hot. I enjoy it before the scorching, dry summer starts. On Friday I was riding my bike home from work anticipating this lovely weekend when a thought popped into my head crisp and clear, “we’re really going to do this!”. It made me laugh out loud. We’re moving to Mexico! We’re going to build a small house on a beautiful lake and retire. OMG.

I want to thank my friend Karen. It’s one thing to read a book about someone who chucks it all and moves to a foreign country, but it means so much to me to KNOW someone who’s done it, to talk to them and visit them and say, “I can do this” and then doing it.

We had another garage sale yesterday. Poco a poco, little by little. Time to start seriously packing things that we ARE taking. It will make staging the house for sale easier. Off to enjoy the rest of this lovely weekend. Next spring will be a whole different story.

Lovely Sunrise

Lovely Sunrise

Bacalar Rising

Bacalar Rising – Time for a Swim

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So What Exactly Are We Talking About Here?

31 Mar

What is an adventure? When I think about having an adventure, I think of an experience outside of my day-to-day vida loca that is foreign or sometimes a bit scary. The numero uno question that we get when we tell people we’re moving to Mexico is, “Is it safe?” While I admit that everything in life is a risk (when I’m feeling snarky, I’m tempted to say that if I wanted to be safe, I’d stay in bed) some things are riskier than others. When people talk about Mexico and safety in the same sentence, I find that they:

1) don’t really know much about Mexico except what they read in the news.
2) don’t know us very well and don’t consider that we know much about Mexico and have done our homework; and
3) don’t really put risk into perspective.

In 2012 34,767 people died in automobile accidents in the US, almost exactly the number killed in the four year period prior to 2010 in the Mexican drug war. While it’s not a perfect comparison, it’s a bit of perspective. The country of Mexico is big, three times bigger than Texas and the drug war is not targeted at US expats.

In spite of the risk, we still ride in cars everyday and we’re still moving to Mexico.

Dictionary.com states:
ad·ven·ture [ad-ven-cher]
1. an exciting or very unusual experience.
2. participation in exciting undertakings or enterprises: the spirit of adventure.
3. a bold, usually risky undertaking; hazardous action of uncertain outcome.
4. a commercial or financial speculation of any kind; venture.
Obsolete .
a. peril; danger; risk.
b. chance; fortune; luck.

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Trip to the Mercado

24 Mar

I’m especially fond of Mexican mercados. It is one of the things I am moving to Mexico for. Growing up in NJ (the Garden State), I was accustomed to stopping at roadside stands to purchase corn, watermelons and especially those fabulous Jersey tomatoes. Visiting my home state a few years ago, I was amazed to find that there was not a roadside stand to be found. I guess those small farms are long gone. In Texas, I frequent the farmer’s markets looking for that connection to fresh farm-grown food. It’s a special experience for me.

My memory of Mexico in the 70’s was of visiting the mercados, big and small. They were a cross between a farmer’s market and a flea market, made up of temporary stalls, in large open areas or closed off streets. The mercado was usually held once or twice a week depending on the size of the community.

I remember the fruit tasting like nothing I had ever eaten in the US. Whatever was in season was piled high for several weeks, only to be replaced by the next seasonal fruit. I made myself sick on mangos, bananas and avocados.

In Bacalar, I searched eagerly for the mercado. Pineapples and papayas were especially good in December. The market is housed in a permanent building and is open every day. Of course there are also other small stores in town that sell fruits and vegetables and a supply of packaged goods that would rival any 7-11. I look forward to getting to know the vendors and inquiring about the possibility of bulk buying. One thing that did surprise me was finding green grapes from California for sale. The world really is getting smaller.

Mercado 2012

Mercado Bacalar

Mercado

Mandarins & Pineapple

Please share your thoughts or experiences in the comments section.

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Garage Sale #3

17 Mar

Lisa joked yesterday that our house is getting larger! LOL As we clean out closets, empty shelves and sell furniture, there is more space and open-ness to our home. We have filled the storage trailer with our garage sale items and when they’re gone, it will hold our “goes to Mexico” possessions. Eventually the house will be empty and then we put the FOR SALE sign out, hopefully the process will be fairly painless. We’ll see.

Telling people at our sale that we’re moving to Mexico brought different reactions. Everyone seemed to wish us well, but a few seemed somewhere between envy and “I’m going to do something like that, I’m just not ready yet.” As usual I handed out the link to this blog.

We made $200 which is peanuts compared to what the books, yarn, clothes, tools, furniture, dishes, CDs, cost us. It only adds to my resolve to not continue to acquire so many possessions I don’t really need. We are building a small house to support that commitment. I guess a home without so much stuff doesn’t have to be very big after all.

Garage Sale #3

Austin, TX

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Cenote Azul

8 Mar

There were many things about Bacalar that attracted us to living in this beautiful little corner of Mexico. Cenote (Sen-OH-tay) Azul is a beautiful circular natural pool about a mile south of Bacalar along the laguna. Centotes are ancient sinkholes. More than likely they were once underground and over time the roof caved in creating a limestone well. Cenote Azul is said to be the largest in the Yucatan at 300 feet deep and 600 feet wide. The pool is free to the public. There is a restaurant at it’s edge where we had a snack after a wonderful swim with our realtor Steven and his partner Claudia.

I loved swimming in Lake Bacalar, but the water of Cenote Azul was liquid light. It felt like swimming in an ancient Mayan site sans the sacrificial virgins.

Cenote Azul

Lisa relaxes

Claudia & Steven

Snacking after a swim

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Rancho Paradiso

25 Feb

I have lived in Texas almost 40 years. It’s one of the few places you hear of people going to their “ranch” on the weekend or for a vacation. I always wanted a ranch. In Mexico, people name their homes or property. I always wanted a home with a name. So when we found our dream property in Bacalar, Mexico, I immediately began searching my imagination for the perfect name for our future home. Rancho Paradiso (Paradise Ranch), the perfect blend of Tejas y Mexico.

Of course the first time we walked the half acre on beautiful Laguna de Bacalar, we didn’t realize that, “this was it”. Visiting the property of a fellow ex-pat (Canadian) and seeing the layout of his home and gardens gave us the vision of what we could accomplish and thus created la idea of Rancho Paradiso. My inexperienced videography doesn’t exactly show off the property in it’s best light. It’s a narrow, sloping, lake property that will need terracing. We will build a small house with lots of outdoor living and a star-gazing roof. I have hand drawn plans that are similar to the ones I was drawing at 21 when I lived in Cholula, MX. We have miles to go before we get to the building phase but for now, it’s fun to troll pintrest looking for gardening and decorating ideas. Stay tuned.

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Memories

18 Feb

Over the years we have gathered memories in the form of photos, journals, high school year books, etc. Some of the photos are in albums but most are totally disorganized in boxes. And in the tradition of my mother, there are no dates, names or identifying information. I stare at the pictures and try to determine the age of my children or siblings and what we were doing. I have pretty much divided the pictures between my three children, with some that I wish to keep. It has been a slow process and I want to stop strangers on the street and tell them to START ORGANIZING YOUR PICTURES NOW, before it’s too late! Or maybe I’m the only person who keeps photos in boxes in the top of my closet, but I don’t think so. I once went to a party and met guys with book shelves full of travel photos, organized in three ring binders by trip, year and clearly labeled. I’m afraid I never got that gene. Sure, I should scan them to CDs or the Cloud, but that’s not gonna happen. I also have a box of hand written journals that I started keeping about age 14 after reading The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. I have made my daughter swear that she will not read them until I am dead. They are boxed and ready for shipment. Pulling up roots has certainly been more of a self discovery process than I imagined. But truthfully, it’s one of the reasons we’re doing it.

Dos Tortas do San Francisco 1996

Dos Tortas do San Francisco 2006

Turkey

Turkey 2010

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The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

13 Feb

I have always been a fan of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. I have several statues and framed pictures of her gracing our home in Austin. I also know that I want to participate in the traditions of our new community. She is very important in Mexico and when I saw the announcement for the procession and mass, I was in. The evening of December 12 we waited in the zocalo for the parade that was winding it’s way through Bacalar. The sky was menacing and we were hoping the rain would hold. After a half hour the procession rounded la esquina. The statue was beautiful with 20-30 people following. As soon as they passed, we ran toward the church as the sky opened and it POURED! We ended up sitting in the most beautiful candle-lit church with windows and doors open to the elements. I wish I’d taken a picture. It was so serene. We lit candles giving thanks for finding this most beautiful home.

Procession Quadalupe 2012

Procession 2012

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Day Three – Waterskiing

8 Feb

The “carrot” for Lisa to move to Bacalar with me was that she could have a boat. For almost 20 years I have know that her dream is to own property on water that is home to a ski boat. I am not a fan of things that go vroom, so I have been less than supportive of the idea. I’m more of a kayak, sail boat, bicycle kinda gal. When Steven (our realtor) rounded up some friends to take us out on the lake, the water was “like glass”, which is perfect for water skiing, or so I am told. The guys were a lot of fun and watching Jimmy (boat owner) get up on skis for the first time was a blast. But the significant thing that happened for us was that we stopped at David’s house. He is a part-time resident with a lot that is approximately the same size and slope as the one we considered. His property provided us with a vision of what we could do with the lot we visited, where we would put the house, etc. All of a sudden, the pieces fell into place. I will post pictures of the property next time.

WaterskiingBacalar

Lisa having the time of her life.

LisaskiingBacalar

Clouds reflected in the Laguna de Siete Colores

DavidsDockBacalar2012

David’s dock and terraced property.

Bacalarbeauty

The perfect reflection.

 

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