A Year in Review

Our attempt at a Christmas newsletter … a year in review. 

Arrived in Mexico, Playa del Carmen, November 2017 to retire in this country.  Liked the Caribbean, began the search and with the assistance of Conny put an offer on a condo in Tulum.  We spend a lot of time with Conny in our search.  She is a wonderful person and becomes our first Mexican friend.

My November birthday - hopefully, the first of many on a Mexican beach.

A visit from Anne and Jeff early in the New Year was wonderful, as sadly we missed their wedding which was not only a celebration of their fifteen years together but a fundraiser for Jessie, Anne's daughter as she prepared to swim the English channel, a costly undertaking.  Of course, she succeeded and has done several challenging open water swims since then.  Apologies Jeff, I seem to have lost my photo of the lovely groom.

Christmas Photo 2017


By the New Year, getting tired of the real estate process, we head to Costa Rica (via Texas) for a five-week vacation...Playa Hermosa in Guanacaste province.  Our little casita with cactus growing on the roof was a 10-minute walk to the ocean and had a lovely tropical setting.  Only 7 casitas in 'the Village', including that of our host Alan and his family.  We walked in the morning when it was cooler and hung out either at the pool or the ocean in the hot afternoons.

 

A little herd of goats from a nearby farm wandered up the driveway most days to munch the tropical plants.  A fun day exploring beaches with Yvonne and Shayne as they explored Costa Rica, then wandered down to Nicaragua.  We were awakened most mornings either by the Howler monkeys or the chatter of the White-throated Magpie Jay.  Sunsets were beautiful at the beach and there was free music a couple of times a week.  The beach was virtually deserted and this was high season.  The sea here is surprisingly is much cooler than in Mexico.

 

A tour into the jungle with a boat ride up a river reveals many birds and monkeys and these crocs.  The tour guide takes us home to his casita in the jungle for his family to feed us.





Boat trip on a river - crocs in the wild





Replica of painted wagons



Renting a car and driving into the Mt. Arenal Volcano region shows a very different Costa Rica from the coast.  The land is lush with brilliant, colourful blooms and large, shimmering blue butterflies.  Walking the Hanging Bridges in the Arenal Volcano National Park, we look down on the jungle canopy, pass waterfalls and have a great bird's eye view of nature.   

Volunteers along the route point out a sloth high in a tree and the poisonous snake on a tree trunk (below).  We are lucky, for a few moments the clouds lift and we see the top of the volcano.



Back in Playa del Carmen, we settle into a new place for the next 3 weeks.  The process of purchasing our condo was to take a maximum of 45 days and ended up taking 90 days!  We passed the time seeking out street art, going on some tours, enjoying the beach and walking our new little buddy, Kisin (a Mayan word for devil).  Playa Esmeralda is one of our favourite beaches.  It's a good walk to get there.  Since we've come back, there are huge changes: a boardwalk has been put in so people in wheelchairs have access to the beach.  There is a big wooden palapa to provide shade for those who want it and a couple of the wheelchairs to borrow that can go in the sand.  There's a safe area for kids to play in the lagoon.  Lovely.

Random photos from Playa, including a day trip to Chitzen Itza, a very commercialized archaeological site.  Today the lovely wall mural of Freida Kahlo no longer exists.  Before we went to Costa Rica there was no Sargasso seaweed at the beaches.  On our return, the beaches stink and there are huge piles of seaweed everywhere.  Such a tragedy.

End of April - the condo is ours at last!  The inside is all beige, so Paul gets to work right away adding colour, then adding decorative painting.  This process takes time before and after our summer trip back to Canada.  We have fun shopping for some Mexican decorative items for our space.



Bedroom: from this



To this



Colour everywhere and lovely design.

We go to a carpenter's shop with plans and 'Google Translate' in hand and get a custom TV stand, shoe bench and a piece for the wall to hide mid-wall plugs … and Paul does more decorating magic...plus a couple of 2nd. hand furniture finds.  It seems like its less expensive here to have custom-made wood furniture than to buy it made from a store.  Only solid wood will do, due to the humidity.

With all the work inside the condo and the persistence of the Sargasso seaweed at the beach, we are regulars at our lovely condo swimming pool in the hot afternoons and an evening swim is a great prelude to sleeping well.

When back in BC this summer we manage to bring some artwork back, which makes it feel more like home.  This is a pastel drawing of a Mexican woman done decades ago in Zihuatanejo by my uncle.  After all this time in Canada, she returns to Mexico.

Before leaving, we get to meet Conny's new husband who lives in Geneva.  What a lovely couple she and Diego make.  She wants us to look after her Jeep when she goes away in the fall and is encouraging us to take a trip in it.

 We return to Canada with many priorities: meet our great-nephew who is now over a year old; re-connect with family and friends in Ontario and BC, sell off the rest of our stuff and get rid of the storage unit we have been renting if possible and starting the process of immigration to Mexico.

We just missed Elliot's first birthday.  He didn't save any cake for us!  It's so good to see Maria and Matt too.

Mark & Carol take us to the MosaiCulture, giant topiary in a park representing scenes from across Canada.  They are truly amazing.

It's a great day bicycling along the Ottawa River, past the locks and to the Changing of the Guards at Parliament Hill.  We lunch at the Market and stroll through.  I manage to resist a Beavertail.

One of the places I like best is the Sugar Bush.  For years, Grandpa tapped trees, then mom and dad took over and now Mark, Carol and Maria (with Matt) are carrying on the tradition.  This is a small operation.  Everything is done by hand.  The sun filtering through the high canopy of the sugar maples is other-worldly.  It's quiet and peaceful.  Mom & dad's ashes are spread here. We pack the wood that Mark has chopped into the shed, so it's dry and ready to become fire to boil the sap of next spring.  He's done a lot of work back here in the bush and to the Sugar Shack.

Thanks to the loan of a vehicle from Mark and Carol we can travel to Kingston to meet up with Ada and Brian, two friends from our RV life.  This is my first time back in Kingston since graduating from nursing school in 1974.  We are given the grand tour of this very pretty city with such history.

Off to BC...rent a car...get to the Boundary.  Even though we followed the news this spring, we are shocked and saddened by the devastation of the town and of hearing people's stories.  So many people helping their neighbours.  So many small businesses were unable to conduct business.  It's hard to imagine the years it will take for recovery.  Where will all the families go - is there enough land in the valley to re-locate people who had lived in the flood plains?  What are the solutions?



Julie and James have welcomed us to their home in Midway and we stay there while they are hard at work at their boat-access cottage at Christina Lake.  Kindly, they also arrange for us to have a weekend there with them (plus Deb and Al).  It feels like a vacation!

We are in high gear, selling items via the local FB buy and sell site and a weekend of garage sales with Julie, James and their friend, donations to thrift stores in town … and still stuff!!  aack!!  We have to keep the storage unit … No - Julie and James come to the rescue and invite us to keep our 5 storage boxes in their house.  We vow that on our next trip we will relieve them of that burden.  The hard part for us is taking only 2 tubs of household goods with us to Mexico, deciding what to take and keeping it all under 70 pounds. Things are put in - taken out - and put in again.

We are meeting with bankers and our investment counsellor and chartered accountant, trying to prepare as best we can for our new life abroad and for the details of what is needed by Mexican immigration.

We have a relaxing and special time with Nancy and Pete, love dog-sitting Chester and have fun going over some of the ropes with them of RV'ing with their new rig.  Robin and Robert generously put us up for a few days, even though they are still working through their recovery from the flood.

We make it a priority to get to Oliver to visit with more friends from our RV life - Susan and John.  RV'ing is an interesting way of life with many great people to meet.  These are two of them.  It's with great disappointment that we just can't squeeze in the time to get to Montana to visit with Bob and Sheila (& their big dog Duke), more friends from the RV days.

It's impossible to get to see everyone and we so appreciate friends who invited us over for a visit and often a meal or snack...such generosity.  It's the people of Grand Forks that we will miss.

Sailing on the Arrow Lakes one day with Pat and Les is a treat.  They too love a break to warm weather in the winter, perhaps we will have a chance to meet them somewhere when the snow flies in Rossland.

Vancouver - such a great place to visit...and the opportunity to spend time with long time friend, Anne and her family.  Arrival in Vancouver always feels like coming home, no matter how long we've been away.  We catch one show of the Symphony of Fire, wander downtown and other neighbourhoods and walk on the beach.  We come across an Anime conference and they are only too happy to pose for us.

Then it's off to Vancouver Island for a month.  We are staying with my beloved Aunt Mickey who needs help every day from her daughter as well as home support workers.  Allison needs a holiday, so we will live with Mickey and try to provide her with some stimulation, love and care.  There's lots to see and do in Victoria, another place that going back to feels like home.

We take time while Allison is there to see long time friends Debbie and Derek for a few days in Campbell River and to see Paul's lovely cousin Fred and wife Liz, also in Victoria.  Later we get to go to Fred's surprise birthday party and finally get to meet all their kids and partners, and their children.  We are so disappointed to learn that we can't visit with Paul's long-time friend Gene because unknown to us he has moved away from Victoria...pffiffle!!  We're glad about your new life Gene, just missing you.

We are royally welcomed to Rick and Karen Dakin's beautiful home, garden and vineyard on Saltspring Island.  They truly spoil us and its fun catching up after all these years.

Back in Vancouver, the Mexican consulate is very helpful.  In three closely spaced trips to their offices we have been interviewed, had our papers stamped and approved and are assured that everything looks good.  Next stop, immigration in Mexico.

In Cancun, we get through Customs and Immigration OK, but our tubs don't come off the luggage belt.  Missed baggage reports are done and a promise to deliver our goods to Tulum when they are found.  Four days later they arrive at about bedtime.

For two months Paul finishes his painting and decorating of the condo.  We join a foodie group inspired by chef Diane DeMeo who is creative, fun and so sharing.  We mostly eat street food. We enjoy the people who come out for the foodie adventures and try to not miss those nights.  Diane is working on a Beer, Wine and Food Festival again this year and is in the running for an international award for this event.  We hope to volunteer when it rolls around in February 2019.

Finally, we bicycle over to the Tulum ruins.  What a beautiful setting, perched high on 39' cliffs with sweeping views of the Caribbean and fortified on land by 3 walls about 16' tall and 26' thick.  An important trading centre during its heyday between the 13th and 15th centuries, its position facilitated trade by both land and sea.  One of the last cities built by the Maya and the only one on the coast managed to survive for 70 years after the arrival of the Spanish.  We will come back here again.

The coatis hung out at the admission gate, unperturbed by tourists

On an ex-pat FB site, we read about a Street Art Festival in Akumal, with artists from all over the world coming to participate.  We go on the second day of the festival and enjoy talking with the artists and watching them work so much that we catch the collectivo the next day again when most murals are complete. 

  

We enjoy these entertainers in the late afternoon:

With our new found freedom with wheels, we head 45 km from Tulum to the Coba archeological site.  While the Tulum ruins had a spectacular setting, there is something special here about walking the ancient limestone roads or Sacbes, meaning white roads which were trading routes through the jungle amongst the ruins.  The limestone reflects the moonlight, illuminating the way and allowing travellers to continue their journey while avoiding the heat of the day.

The many upright stelae that marked everything from ceremonial life to important events in the community are impressive carvings in stone … so worn that imagination is needed to finish many of the images. 

Coba is much older than Angkor Wat, and like Angkor, many buildings have been taken over by the jungle. 

Nohoch is the largest pyramid at Coba (138' tall) and you are still allowed to climb the 120 steep stone stairs to its top.  Paul does and drinks in the views of the jungle canopy.  He climbs up and down like a nimble old goat, while much younger folk go up and down on all fours, or come down backwards like descending a ladder:

Going up - 3rd from bottom

Coming down, Paul's view

Leaving the site, we stop to eat at a place on Lake Coba and drive by the lookout tower that can be climbed to get a better view of the lake.  The grasses along the sides of the lake are used by nesting crocodiles.

Photo from Wikipedia

The road from Coba back to Tulum has several villages with stalls lining the road that sell the work of Mayan artists.  Some are the usual tourist shops, while others sell beautiful works.  Browsing is an enjoyable experience.  We feel sure that we will visit Coba again.

Our lawyer's assistant calls to say that we have been approved for Permanent Residency in Mexico and have an appointment in December, just before we leave on a month-long trip to be photographed and finger-printed.  YAHOO!!  With Resident card in hand, we'll apply for our CURP number (sort of like a SIN) and a Seniors card that gives us discounts on many items including transportation and pharmacy goods.

We tackle the job of opening a bank account and while it takes four visits and about eight hours, we are successful.  To celebrate, we head off to the 42 km Laguna Bacalar (AKA:  the Lake of Seven Colours) and a Pueblo Magico for a few days in Conny's Jeep. 

Our Ride

Because of its limestone bottom, the Bacalar lagoon is very clear.  In celebration, we had hit the road without thinking of weather and other practical things.  Rain is in the forecast for our entire visit!  Our arrival day is the best, so we quickly arrange a boat tour on the lake before the skies open up.  With the rain clouds that come and go, we see fewer colours in the lake, but it is still very beautiful.

  

Touring the historic fort of San Felipe built in 1733 to repel the devastating attacks by pirates gives us some respite from the rain and we learn tons about pirates.

On the way home, we drive into Mahahual … walk the Malecon and have lunch.  Part of the restaurant has a thatched roof and we have to move when the rain pours down to avoid the leaks.





Soon we are off on our one-month driving trip to the states of Campeche, Yucatan and Quintana Roo. 

Its been a year full of excitement, frustration, misgivings and celebration.  We have much to learn and much to do to integrate into the community.  Our Spanish is much too sparse but we don't let that deter us and interact with local people whenever we can.  We live in a mixed community and are recognized as full-timers with many Mexican neighbours calling out greetings as we walk by. 

We miss family and friends … you are always in our hearts but feel we have made the right choice to come here.  The much lower living expenses will allow us the freedom to travel while we can.  We are beginning to plan another five-month backpacking trip to Europe for the spring.

We wish all of you the richness of health, peace, laughter, contentment … and some excitement in the coming year. 

Adios.  Hoping to see some of you in 2019.