That first full day, we knew that we would be learning something new everyday – that is a natural part of moving to another country. Your mind must remain open and keep your patience pants on. The look on Danny’s face when he came back in the house after successfully going to the street to meet the water delivery service and managing to exchange our empty garrafons for full ones, all in Spanish, with pesos, and without my assistance. He was beaming with pride – big high-five to him! He is managing to communicate more every day. He is learning many words and although he doesn’t form a complete sentence just yet – he can get his point across on a couple of things – it is a great start. Monday, he started with his tutor, Diego, for private lessons. Diego is a long-time online acquaintance and lives with his wife (from Iowa) here in PM.
My Spanish is more advanced and I am learning and struggling my way through things. A friend helped me open a bank account but I was able to obtain my tax ID at a government office and a Mexican cell phone without assistance! I was also able to purchase a car (using a reasonable amount of Google Translate) with the accessories, trim level and color we (Danny) wanted! Please welcome Mexie to our family! She is a 2026 Toyota Sienna in a beautiful red color. She will be instrumental in getting our stuff hauled around the country.
You purchase a new vehicle differently down here. There is a list price that includes taxes on the windshield and on the website. That is the price everyone pays on the exact same car with the exact same features coming out of the dealer. There are no accessories or packages pre-loaded. No haggles and no fuss. We purchased and had them install a tow-package and ordered rubber mats and a cargo liner. The price was fairly comparable to a US vehicle of the same make and model. Most other things are much less here, particularly groceries. For the Mexican number, we purchased a new phone to keep it separate and will consider that our “house phone”. The price came to $272, which covered the cost of the phone along with data service for 12 months – not bad at all. When this year is up, we can buy data for our SIM card for under $10/month.
Our challenges have been few and far between. Our biggest challenge in this house is the temperamental hot water and pressure. That is not uncommon here and the maintenance neglect on this house shows that. The owner does not live here and I am not sure how much they rent it out. Other than that, we love it. The house is located on the outskirts of town, approximately 3.5 miles from the main beach. We are in a gated community with lots of families, cats and dogs, and it is very quiet. We can walk to get essentials in under 15 minutes. The local bus (called a Colectivo or Combi) stops outside our gate. In under 20 minutes and 50 cents, we can be at the beach or anywhere else in town. The closest grocery store is a 30-minute walk or 10 mins on the bus. A taxi from the grocery store is $2.50 if needed to return home with bags. We don’t have laundry machines in this house so we send it out for cleaning – for about $10-15 all our laundry, including bedding, is picked up, cleaned, folded and returned back to us in under 24 hours, or same day if necessary.
I know we won’t get any sympathy here, nor are we asking for it, but it has been cold here! Getting down to 60 at night, only up to 70-75 during the day – the locals (and the news outlets) are saying the Yucatan has never experienced a cold snap like this. It has been a struggle for many of the locals, even schools closed or opened late. We adapted with our blankets and just waited for things to go back to normal.Things look better next week – just in time for our first guest. Looks like we will have a steady stream coming through until late March and we are excited!
We also booked our first “exploratory trip” to Bacalar. Known as the Lagoon of 7 Colors, this slightly inland lake is approximately a 4 hour drive south of here, close to the Belize border. It is known for its resemblance to the Maldives with its stunning shades of blue and turquoise. Most to-do options are on the water, such as stand-up paddle, kayaking, boat tours, snorkeling and sailing. There is even an underwater cenote located within the lake. It’s a small beach town with not much to do but chill, eat and drink – perfect birthday weekend getaway! We booked the cutest cottage with a large garden for Journey to run around.
Hasta la próxima…