Expats in the electronic age

Sunrise a few days ago

One of the greatest things that the tech-age has brought for expats is everyday tasks that used to be a challenge are much simpler to complete.

Affordable and quite reliable telephone service is available over the internet.  With a service such as MagicJack a low annual rate of less than fifty dollars gives service to and from Canada and the USA without long distance charges.  Expats can easily keep in touch with family and friends using an assigned telephone number from their home community.

Hidalgo Avenue in Centro - before the restaurants open up 

Banking of course is easier via the internet with debit cards and credit cards.  However, the island’s ATMs are currently experiencing a problem again with cards being cloned.  It’s a world-wide problem, apparently originating in Venezuela.  We’re fortunate in that we have a local bank account where we keep a small amount of cash, and can pop into the branch for more pesos as we need them.  Our RBC account in Canada allows us to transfer over the internet directly from one bank to the other.  It takes about five days but works great.

Fun colour combination

Shopping on-line is available in most countries but here it’s a big advantage, bringing a wider choice of items directly to our little island in paradise.  Amazon, EBay, Walmart, Costco, and big local chains such as Liverpool offer delivery to the island.

E-books have really made our lives easier.  In our previous travels to foreign countries we typically had one suitcase with nothing but English language novels to occupy rainy days, or cool evenings.  With our electronic readers we can be anywhere in any country, and as long as there is an internet connection, we can purchase a new book. Best invention ever, for travelers.

Door-to-door furniture salesman

Passports, will soon be renewal on-line for Canadians.  For us that would be a big bonus.  No more trekking into the Consulate Office in the hotel zone of Cancun to submit our applications. 

And in case you are wondering why the photographs, which we normally choose to illustrate the article, have this time around absolutely nothing to do with the article …… a picture of a debit card?  An ATM? An internet phone?  A bit boring to say the least.  

Great mural - there are no design committee rules here

So, instead we’re posting a sampling of recent random photos of life on Isla.  

Enjoy!

Hasta Luego  

Lynda and Lawrie 

For the iguanas - should be Lazy Lizard Lounge!

This guy likes our loungers - the sign above is for him!