Blogs from Mexico, North America - page 13

We have been at the condo now for about 2 and a half weeks, have done lots of renos to brighten the place up and there is always something to fix, but that keeps us busy the way we like to be. We have taken some beach time, we have done lots of walking and bike riding to keep active. Being active is a very important part of retirement for us, we want to remain active and fit, we are even attempting yoga on UTube with Boho Beautiful. We have eaten at home a lot but have also been trying local restaurants in the area and have found a few excellent reasonably priced places. The further you get off 5th Avenida the more reasonable the prices are, Playa del Carmen thrives on tourism.... read more

Bye Bacalar, Bye Enrico e Michelle, bye Campeon. We loved you all. We enjoyed the last days in Quintana Roo but it’s time to move on, direction Chiapas. First we need to grab a bus to Chetumal and then another one to Palenque, night bus that arrive at 4:30am, at 5 we are already in bed, inside a little cabaña on the edge of the jungle. The weather is shit but luckily we didn’t get not even a drop of rain on us, it’s raining hard but we are sleeping deep and for when we woke up, at 8:30am, the sun shining on the muddy puddles. I already been to Palenque 10 years ago. I remember well how much humidity. This is the most raining part of Mexico. Still around 27 degrees. First thing after Daria’s ... read more

After all the tacos at El Camello we drove 4 hours to reach our next destination, La Casa Del Nonno (Grandad’s House) at the Laguna in Bacalar. It was dark when we arrived so we didn’t get to see the resplendent lake. We were up at 6am the next day to drive to Mahahaul which was a couple of hours away so once again, we didn’t get to see the Laguna but the Chinchorro Adventure was awaiting us. The fast boat was well geared for 10 of us, some for diving, some like us, just for snorkelling. The company was really pro - run by Germans so everything was in order and we were given wet suits, flippers, snorkelling gear and a great crew on board. El Banco Chinchorro is an atoll 40km away from the ... read more

We arrived late in Valladolid. Check in is at Hotel El Canton (not recommended). The rooms are not even that cheap but quite bad anyway. Daria is not happy, nobody is and so we have a shower and run out for dinner asap. Daria tells me this weird, kitsch (but not cool) place reminds her of a horrible hotel she stayed in with Ele in Delhi in India. Even the guy at reception looks more Indian than Mexican. We wonder who designed this place... After a day visiting the cenotes we were tired and so the idea was to go to bed early to get an early night and so an early morning. Like this it was, on the way back to the hotel me and Daria saw a huge scorpion, the first time I saw ... read more

In Mexico the 2nd November is a huge celebration known as ‘El Dia de los Muertos’ which literally translates as ‘The Day of the Dead.’ It’s a time when families come together to celebrate, honour and remember those who have passed but instead of this being a day of sadness and grief, Mexicans use it as an opportunity to celebrate the thin veil between life and death with music, song and dance, offerings of food and flowers and coming together as a family. As the tradition grows and develops, so do the celebrations. For example, we weren’t expecting to see any Halloween type things but on the 31st October while we were in Isla Mujeres, the main square was full of kids trick or treating, dressed up in Halloween costumes and oddly Disney costumes as well(the ... read more