Yucatan Gringos

Life never goes as one plans it. . that is a given. . Dreams, wishes, plans always get more complicated and difficult to achieve as you work towards them. . . . Or at least that seems the way it has been in my life. . ..

According to our first ’set of plans’ - we should already be living in our new home on the beach. . . Walking the sandy beaches, sleeping to the sound of the waves, making new friends and discovering new places . . . But, we are still here in our little home in the woods in Texas. . . At this point we are unsure as to whether or not we will achieve our goal. .

Little stumbling blocks have been thrown our way. . Enough so that we had almost decided to give up the dream. . .But after several (or more) weeks of consideration, we decided to keep trying. . . The little house in Chelem had been sold, but the sale of our home here fell through. . It seems the housing market had something to do with that, in that the potential buyers of our home saw no way they could sell their home in order to buy this one. . . And there were other matters that appeared to be blocking our path. .

Currently we are attempting to get a ‘concrete’ list of what all will be included in the bid to build our home. . . Prices have gone up down there in Mexico, so we were not surprised in finding the first bid price given us quite some time back had risen some. . But it is not the small increase in price, but exactly what all the contractor will do for that price that we are attempting to negotiate now. . In listing all that we had been told previously (verbally) by setting it in writing, we were surprised to find that some items suddenly seemed to not be included. . We had agreed (previously) to purchase a number of item ourselves that the contractor would install. . . That was no problem. . Most of these items we had already located at various stores in Merida. . Yet the more we have attempted to get a solid reply on exactly what the contract will include, the more vague the answers we get back are. .

I have sent a list of questions with the request that these questions be answered individually and with clarity. . on matters that seem to be in the ‘grey’ area of whether or not they will be done. . We are awaiting now a reply back on these. .

Meanwhile, we have decided to get another bid. . and on this one we are requesting a price for the complete project. . . We have seen the work of this contractor on one of our trips down, and were very impressed by the quality and the workers. . (I am sure there are a number of good builders there in the Yucatan area, and if we were ‘down there’ at this time, could probably shop around . . but that is not the case and we are having to do this long distance. .). . .

So. . .that is where we are right now. . .awaiting answers back . . . We are still unsure as to whether or not we will even be able to make the move in the near future (other factors come into place here). . . But, we are still trying to work on our dream. . .

The second best reason for our move to the Yucatan of Mexico would have to be ‘location.’ . . This area being possibly that last place one can find affordable property, in particular located on the beach. . unless, of course, one has more financial resources than we do. . . A lot of research was done of other locations - the Mazatlan area was our first choice, but before we even got to the point where we could make a trip down there to research property, prices had risen above our ‘affordability.’. . . Obviously, too many others had the same idea as we had, for during the time from our research to being able to start the actual looking, a flood of buyers had driven prices skyward. . . So, on to other areas . . . and the Yucatan - the Merida and Progreso area - became our focal point. . and we discovered many other favorable qualitites to this location. . just about thirty minutes from the beautiful white city of Merida. . .

Sleepy little fishing villages along the coast were first being awakened by the interest of foreign buyers . . . Properties were still available at prices those such as ourselves could afford. . It appeared this was our opportunity to find what we were looking for. .

Which is what we did. . . But progress to make the move was much slower that what we had anticipated. . . Until lately, as it appears things have started to come together to enable us to make the transition. . . Buyers have appeared for our property here in Texas, though still not ‘cemented’ in the actual purchase. . And the sale of our small home on the beach is under way (as we found a beach lot to build new on). . Though still many factors have to be worked out. . and I have the monstrous task of going through all here to sort out just the essentials to take with us. . and I will have to figure out what to do with the rest. . and the reality of actually leaving our home here mixes with the adventure of starting over in our home on the beach - misgivings, anxiety, feelings veering from one end to the other, flood my mind daily. . . We have grown ‘roots’ here, along with making many good friends. . These will be hard to leave behind. . While at the same time the excitement of watching our new home come to life as it is being built, of joining in with a laid back culture, of making new friends and establishing new roots are just as enticing as the pull that this home has. . .

This is where we are right now. . . Anything could happen to sway the adventure to either direction. . One never knows what life will throw at you. . . So, I take it a day at a time, and see what each one will bring. . and leave the rest in God’s hands. . .

Our son Scott posed a suggestion for topics for this post. . . (as we are currently in the ‘waiting’ mode of getting things moving for our intended ‘move’). . . What are the top ten reasons for moving to the Yucatan?. . .

He suggested a few topics. . . the availability of beach front property (at a still reasonable price) in the area. . . the government spending of ‘many’ dollars for improvements in the area. . . the free trade zone. .  and I added quickly the more reasonable cost of medical and living. . the many Mayan ruins and cenotes to explore. . and a few others that I will expand on later. . . . But, after a few more hours of thought on the subject, I realized that the number ONE reason that we have decided to move to the Yucatan is quite simple. . . Why ‘not’ just plain ‘enjoy’ our retirement years. . .

At 60 years of age, and hubby several older, we are really ready to enjoy whatever years we have left. . . We have often, over the course of our married life, explored various locations for real estate that offers a more ‘exotic’ and peaceful way of life than the one we were living. . . We have moved around quite a bit in this journey, mainly due to the traveling nature of hubby’s work. . . Oregon was breathtaking. . .and we took to the mountains most weekends, awing in the pristine beauty of nature in the crystal clear rivers and streams, the majestic forests. . but my most memorable time was our stay on the coast. . .something about the water. . something about the constant rhythmic beat of the waves. . California was intriguing, and I quickly understood our forefather’s ‘westward ho’ reasoning. . Many other states were visited in our traveling lifestyle, but during the course of all these years, we still researched areas that had a ‘link’ with water and a laid-back lifestyle. . . Still, our choice of a living location was based on economic and family reasons. . . which brought us to this ‘home in the woods’ - that we ‘actually built ourselves’ and where we have made many friends that we will hate to leave. . .

But. . . there is a lot of work and upkeep to 17 acres of land. . . the yearly taxes on the place keep rising. . our home is comfortable and ’snug’ - but during the colder season that is just where we are confined. . . Why ‘not’ take off on an adventure to a warmer climate, into a home on the beach, and sample the simple life while we still have a chance???

So . . the number one reason that we are attempting to make this move to the Yucatan is simple. . . We want to. . .We want to sample the simple life. . . we want to stroll on the beach. . we want to watch the sun rise and set over the endless waters. . “I” would like to be able to ‘delegate out’ some of the many humdrum, endless chores that go with being the ‘homemaker’ - (be able to afford a maid!!). . to just take life easy and hopefully find more time to relax, to get back into my interests of writing and art, to savor the joys of this earth. . . and to welcome my family and friends into our home on the beach. . .

As a footnote. . . here are two sample pictures of some of my silly ‘art’ that is available on t-shirt, aprons, mugs and more at my gallery at zazzle.com. . . take a look and you just might find something that ’strikes your fancy’. . .and if you do (!) . . then maybe I can afford that maid!. . Best wishes to all. . .

Wow. . .cold here this morning. .(in our Texas home) . .January 2, 2008. . .. 13 degrees early morning hours. . makes us yearn for the warmer climate of the beach in the Yucatan. . . Bill has been checking temperatures there on almost a daily basis, more anxious than before to be in our new home there. . .But that is still a long ways off. .

The holiday season here has been very busy. . . Started off with celebrations on Thanksgiving day, at a friend’s home. . . Velma . . . who can put on a feed that will ruin any diet. . . . Velma and Jr. live across the farm to market highway from us, and they are just one set of friends that it will be hard to leave. . . Both Bill and I are doing are best to persuade them (and any of the others that we can talk into it!) to join us in our move south of the border. . .

Then there was the Christ-giving here, where we celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas in one day, and of course the presence of friends here was requested. . . and the feed was enhanced by all the dishes brought in by the others. . . That was quickly followed by another feast at Erlene and Steve’s place. . .

(arghh!!!!!. .stupid dial-up!!. . . one thing that I will really be glad to leave behind!. . I lost the rest of my post due to disconnect. . . sigh. . I will attempt to finish again. . .)

I think that I had written something along the lines of. . ..”Erlene is another master of the art of cuisine. . and proved it in the feast we had there. . .Erlene and Steve are recent to our list of friends. . but no less dear. . . ”

Then on to Mary and Willie’s place for Christmas Day, where the courses changed to the Mexican flavor. . . games of 31 followed, as they did at all the get-togethers. . . and of course the New Year had to be brought in with a bang. . .

Back to our house, where the kitchen counters proved too small for the buffet and drinks. . . but we managed. . . card tables were set up in the living room and games and drinks flowed as we welcomed in the New Year. . .

Now it is over and I must get my mind back to things concerning the impending move. . . gotta figure out the details of the home plans. . . gotta go through all things and decide just what all is going with us. . . yard sales and such. . . so much to do. . . will be a busy year. . Hopefully ending up with us celebrating the season for 2008 in our new home on the beach. . .Just need to bring along all our friends. . .

Happy New Year to all!!. . Wishing you well and may God bless each and every one of you with happiness and peace. . .

Well Christmas is almost here for most of the world’s population–We on the other hand celebrated  ours - On the 15 th of December we joined Thanksgiving and Christmas into Crist-Giving. This was done so all of the family did not have to figure out a way to be in all the families home on the same day - with some being several hundred miles away..

This allows all our children and their spouses to enjoy a day of celebration at our home and then have Christmas Day to enjoy at others without having to try to be in several places at one time ..

The children and grandbabies  love this as they get presents early - WOW

Since we returned from Chelem on the 13th Nov. I have not felt at home as much as before. I fell in love with the Yucatan…I want to move now !!!!!

I always thought I would die in Texas as it should be for someone who has lived 99% of their life in Texas..Now taint true-Bury me in Mexico-It feels like home..

Needless to say I miss the Yucatan, the easy pace of life, the people and the weather!!

Oh well - we’ll be there soon - was just informed that our building permit is approved,  in place  and ready to start our new home when we are.

All I have to do now is pick up the pace on gathering aluminum cans on the side of the road to increase the money flow — HA-Ha — Hmmm maybe not HA HA

Every one out in cyber  land have a most Wonderful and Blessed Christmas,  see ya soon in the Yucatan.

While Bill and I ‘dream’ of life down on the beach in our new home in Mexico. . . our everyday life here in Texas continues. . . It is the holiday season - for everyone else Thanksgiving has come and gone and Christmas preparations are underway. . For our family we have combined the two holidays into one - Christ-giving or Thanks-mas - depending on which family member is speaking. . I prefer Christ-giving, and initiated this special day due to the fact that it is so difficult for grown (and married) children to ‘get together’ with old mom and dad on a day of the Holiday. . .

The date for our special event is somewhere in between the two real holidays. . . a day that all the children can make it. . . This year it falls on December 15th, a Saturday. . . A week away, things are busy in our home getting ready for this event. . . The tree is up and decorated, the grocery list is underway - for the turkey dinner with all the trimmings (hey! - this is neat - I only gotta cook it one time!!) - and we have also done away with ‘all the presents for everyone!’ - Wow! That can get expensive. . . with everyone bringing just one gift and putting them in a pile - then the Chinese gift exchange takes place later in the day. . . (except for the grandchildren - gotta have presents for them under the tree!)

While we are getting ready for this special event this year here in our home in Texas, we visualize this same scenario for next year. . . hopefully in our new home in the Yucatan. . a long way off yet, and lots to do. . . but our last trip down that way sure has inspired our yearning to be ‘there’. . .

Happy Holidays to all. . . Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed and wonderful Holiday Season. . .

Do reindeer really fly?

Greetings all!!. . . We made it back home from our two week stay (mostly in our little house on the beach) in the Yucatan - Tuesday evening. . . Needless to say, I had several days of ‘catch-up’ to do around here (mostly laundry from the trip!!) before I could get to writing this post. .

Again, we flew Mexicana, but this time I got ready for the ‘baggage inspection’ to insure my personal possessions from the ’sticky’ fingers of theft that happened last trip. . (by the way, I am still waiting to see if I will get reimbursed for the items stolen). . I stashed perfumes, toiletries, etc. in large plastic bags, but ’sealed them with duct tape’!!. . .hah!. . Any (so called) inspectors could take a good close gander at what was inside, but taking off the duct tape not only takes patience and time, but rips the bags as well!!. . The luggage appeared to not have been inspected on the trip down, but the return trip had the ‘little’ notices of inspection on the bags - the contents appeared to have been ’shuffled’ through, but everything was still secure within the ’sealed plastic bags’. . hmm, this may be the answer to anyone wishing to thwart ‘theft in the baggae department’!!. .

But. .as for the trip itself. . .It was a very busy two weeks but we crammed all we could again into the time there. . . The first day we stayed in a hotel in Merida, as the main object of this trip was to obtain our FM3’s. . . We waited to meet with our lawyer for this. . The initial ’start’ in obtaining them was done, and we would have to wait to hear back from him. . . So - off to the little house on the beach. . . First to unload all our baggage - which filled the back seat and trunk of the little car we rented - then back to Merida to purchase ‘necessities’ for our stay. . . a new water pump (last trip we had hand ‘bucketed’ the water from the underground cistern to the cistern on the roof), air mattresses, a small table and folding chairs, groceries and other items . . . the litte car was again loaded as we headed back to our little home in Chelem - it was dark by then, but Bill got the new water pump (my bomba!!) installed. . .

Friday some hurried cleanup and putting order to the home (plus making sure my ‘bomba’ was working every hour or so!!). . then off to the airport to pick up our son Scott. . he had four full days with us there. . . again it was dark when we got back to our house. .

Saturday we researched places to see (within driving distance) and got a late start for the Mayan ruins at Dzibilchaltun located just a little north of the city of Merida. . . We hurried through seeing what we could, but they were closing the gates shortly and we did not have the time to view all the ruins as we would have liked. . .The place was much bigger than I had imagined it would be and definitely is on my list of ‘go backs’ with more time to walk through and gaze in awe at the wonders of the Mayans. . .

Sunday we started out earlier, headed for the Cuzama Cenotes which are located not too far southeast of Merida. . . It was an adventure finding the place, as there were no signs posted along the roads for the ‘tourist’ . . maps in hand and a few stops to ask directions of locals, and we managed . . . festivites seemed to be going on in every little town we drove through. . we were hungry so stopped in one. . friendly people were everywhere, the food was good, and we were surprised to discover than a Mayan pyramid was ’smack-dab’ right there in the middle of the town. . .

Continuing on, I wondered at the ‘tiny’ tracks alongside the road. . . until we found ourselves seated in small carts (similar to mine carts) pulled by horse-power that cruised these tracks back into the woods towards the cenotes  - an adventure - the first cenote was large, a staircase that I managed lead down into it. . . the other two were narrow and I did not venture down the steep stairs and ladder into those. . . Scott swam in them all. . . as did many other tourists who had managed to find this place. . .

Monday and Tuesday we had some meetings with lawyer and agent to keep, but managed some sight seeing and shopping in between. . . Scott tried his hand (and feet!) at wind surfing. . . and we just savored the life on the beach and ‘home cooking’ on our new grill. .

Scott headed back to Colorado early Wednesay, and we got ready for the painters we had hired . . . a hurried day painting one room ourselves to move all our things into. .then hectic days of moving things back and forth for the work crew. . . We chose white and red to trim the house with. . .

The painters finished up Friday, so Saturday and Sunday we ‘relaxed’ - cruised the beach, picked up shells, met people - (one lady down some houses from us from Nevada, who sold all she had, packed up her life in the back of her pickup, and headed to her new home on the beach). . Monday morning early we headed back to Texas. . .

It is really surprising how many people one comes in contact with that show a keen interest in the subject of ‘moving to Mexico’. . . many in the form of having had the same thoughts and aspirations themselves. . . And it appears that the knowledge of the impending influx of ‘expats’ to their country is well known by the Mexican government, and plans are underway in the Yucatan to ‘gear-up’ for this economic boon in their near future. . . Besides the superhighway under construction from Merida to Progreso, there is a study going on right now on the feasibility of a fast train from Progreso to Quintana Roo. . Private investors are involved in this planned project and commercialism is likely to explode upon the route. . . You can read a quick and more thorough note on this topic at Yucatan Living. .

As for anyone interested in gaining more knowledge, or more so - in actually becoming an owner of property in Mexico, my best advice here would be to obtain a reliable real estate agent who knows all the paths to take and has connections to make these happen. . We happened upon our own agent, George Mazun, currently working with Mayan Living, through recommendation from a satisfied customer. . and have found that he is more than just a reliable agent. . . Word of mouth goes far, and one can ask and research on many topics and ‘names of agents, builders, etc.’ through the Merida Insider, an online home of gringos living there - or planning to live in the area. . . .

A caution on engaging just any real estate company - some have taken to ‘charging’ just to show you their listings. . . Remember that the real estate laws are different in Mexico. . . the same home can be listed on several different sites, so search around if you find one you want to look at and compare the companies listing it. . . Also give plenty of time in contacting them - - things move slower in Mexico. . .

As we are scheduled to ‘take off’ again to the Yucatan this coming Monday, I will cut this post short and get back to ‘the getting ready to leave’ chores. . . We are planning on at least a two week stay this trip. . . I hope to have lots of news and pictures for this blog when we return. . .

Have a great Halloween everyone. . . talk with you later. . . .

It appears things have simmered down over the Decreto 801. . . The bill is to be rewritten, or done away with, and life continues as normal in the Yucatan. . .  building permits and building continue uninterrupted. . .

Therefore we will be leaving shortly for a two week stay in our little house on the beach. . One item we will take care of while there is obtaining our FM3’s, and we hope to make some progress in getting permits and such ready for the construction of our new home on the vacant lot. . .

At this point, there is not a lot of news to tell. . . We hope to make a post or two while we are down there. . . taking a laptop and hoping to find internet connection ’somewhere’. . . So, until then. . or until we return. . . ‘greetings to all’. . and talk with you later. . .

Finally!!. . . a bit more ‘informative’ piece on the new law - Decreto 801. . .

What had been floating around in posts ranged from one extreme to the other. . . with no real word on what the law consisted of. . . It turns out that the law is quite complex, and was initially aimed at conserving the coastline and the natural environment there-on. . . it is ‘not’ a overall ‘ban’ on the entire coastline, but certain geographic areas with restrictions, and there seems to be no authority in charge to enforce the law. . . Reported being 96 pages of fine print, it appears to be ‘fuzzy’ . . . and most believe it will either be overturned or rewritten. . .for a more thorough review read the latest report in Yucatan Living. .

From what I gathered from this report, it does not appear to affect the areas that are already developed. . . which would be where our two properties exist. . . Actually, I think that the initial intent of the law is quite admirable. . . “to prevent further coastal erosion, to protect flora and fauna in sensitive breeding grounds, and to conserve the aquifers which provide most of Yucatan’s fresh water.” . . . and I hope that in the ‘rewriting’ of this law that it does justice to this cause and to the land owners of the coast. . .

There have been many article written on global warming also, and the prediction that the coastlines will recede as this takes place.  .  . and some ‘joking’ (?) that one should buy property further back and wait for the shore to come to them. . . The ‘ever-popular’ National Geographic magazine has done a number of articles on the subject. . yet even in all the studies by professionals and scientists alike, there is dissension as to the total cause and time frame of these events to take place. . .

The climate of this planet is NOT constant. .that is a given. . take a look at history. . Ice ages come and go. . . We are currently in the middle of a warming trend within an ice age. . Is man contributing to the warming trend?. . I am quite sure. . . Can this be reversed?. .Not unless we are ‘all’ willing to give up our current way of living. . .

Whatever happens, if man could predict the future, we wouldn’t be in the mess we are in today. . . Yes, we should all be in some concerted effort to do what is possible to conserve the resources that we have and to preserve what nature has provided for us. . . But, I do not think that we can hold back what comes natural in the course of events and time. . Plants and species live and die off. . Ice ages and warming trends come and go. . Man has come and will ‘go’. . And at some future date (hopefully not within my lifetime!) the home that we plan to build on the coast in the Yucatan will be merely another ‘underwater curiosity’ for future archeologists to explore. . .