Out and about in our new 'hood, San Miquel de Allende

Calle Quebrada near my place 

I am Canadian. I was born, raised, married, and lived in Canada for fifty-seven years, until Lawrie and I moved to Mexico in 2008. 

I love my country, but I admit, I really love the European feel of Mexican towns and cities, where small businesses are conveniently located. Similar to Isla Mujeres, in our new 'hood, I can find a lot of items within a few blocks, interspersed between the houses. 

It's a bit chillier here in the mountains north of Mexico City, and I needed warmer clothing. Two blocks away, a small store had the quilted black vests, which are very popular in San Miguel, for $270.00 Mx pesos. (About $18.00 CDN). I stood on the sidewalk with Sparky at my feet while the young lady rooted around to find the size I needed. I tried it on and handed her the money. Done! 

No plastic bags as of Jan 1st.

Up the street is a veterinarian who also stocks doggie beds, bowls, harnesses, and food in his tiny space. Sparky has a second bed to snooze while I am writing, and new inexpensive water bowls on each level so that he doesn't have to walk too far for a drink. They also carry a brand of food that he can eat without bloating up with stinky gas. 

I know, TMI. Too much information.

My jazzy new red hose!

The best find so far is a tiny hardware store that is about five feet wide, and who-knows-how-deep. It disappears into the dark, dimly lit depths, beyond where I can easily see. 

The family is helpful to this Spanglish-speaking Gringa. Sparky and I step about two feet inside the doorway and wait at the counter while they find what I need. 

A few days ago, I wanted another garden hose so that I didn't have to lug the only hose from the second level to the rooftop to water the pots. Their son custom-made me a new one. 

"How long?" He asked.

I shrugged, "Ten meters, I guess."

"What colour? Red? Green?"

"Red!"

"Do you also want the male and female connections?"

"Sí, por favor."

And for about $10.00 CDN, I got my custom-made garden hose.

Fresh juice stand

The chicken store, drugstore, bakery, pharmacy, hair salon, barber, shoe store, and street vendors are all within a two-block radius of our house. On the main streets are dozens of restaurant options and cafes. 

I enjoy this small-store shopping, and I am resisting the big Costco shop that we typically did once a month when we lived on Isla Mujeres. 

I buy fresh, eat fresh, and do not stockpile supplies. How much food does one person really need?

Cheers from San Miguel de Allende

Lynda and The Sparkinator

~

Come join the adventure!

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Why did you move to Mexico?

Mi amigas at Rosa Sirena's. 

Whenever I first meet a new visitor, their questions are frequently the same, starting with; Why did you move to Mexico?

The answer to that question is simple: Lawrie and I loved the Mexican culture; plus, living on a tropical island, just minutes away from big-city amenities, was a bonus. 

We built our home in 2007 and fell in love with the turquoise water, the pleasant oceanfront temperatures of between 20 °C (70°F) and 33 °C (95°F), the food, and the people.  

Looking toward Cancun from Isla.

The community of Isla Mujeres is close to the City of Cancun, only 20 minutes via passenger ferry, or about 45 minutes via a car ferry to the mainland. The island has an active group of retired, semi-retired, or still-working foreigners from the USA, Canada, and Europe. There is always someone available anytime you need company, a few laughs, or a good meal. 

With the explosion of new high-end eateries, you and your friends can sample their menus and not repeat your choices for months.

Chedraui grocery store. 

Isla Mujeres also has a variety of small stores that specialize in fresh chickens, pork, vegetables, fruit, and general groceries.  In 2011, a Chedraui Super Store opened, offering the islanders a wider range of food, wine, and baked goods. 

Cancun, with a population of approximately 900,000, has the obligatory shopping centers, big chains such as Costco, Mega Commercial, Soriana's, Home Depot, Sam's Club, and Walmart. You can find pretty much anything you want, but not every time. The stock changes with the seasons of the year, as well as during gringo-season when the northern homeowners return to their tropical homes.

More of my wacky, wonderful friends.

Turkey, cranberry sauce, and canned pumpkin typically start appearing again in late October in time for the American Thanksgiving celebrations and Christmas. Not many store owners understand that Canadian Thanksgiving is in early October. It’s today, actually, and our feast features pretty much the same foods. The original immigrants to both Canada and the USA came from the same ethnic backgrounds. 

Back in the 1700s and 1800s, my immigrant ancestors settled in what became Nova Scotia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan in Canada, plus the future American states of Maine, Indiana, and Louisiana. I could celebrate both Thanksgivings, but that would be too much of a good thing.

Dr. Greta Shorey, housecall

On Isla, there a several English-speaking doctors and dentists. The doctors in Mexico still make house calls, and their services won’t break the bank. If you have a serious medical issue, Cancun has several excellent and affordable hospitals staffed with American-trained doctors.

There are also well-trained dental surgeons who specialize in dental tourism, such as Dentaris in Cancun. You can get your dental work done, in between tanning and quaffing margaritas. Their driver shuttles the patients from their hotels, the airport, or any of the passenger ferry docks to their clinic on Bonampak Avenue in Cancun.

And when you want to visit family, friends, or another foreign country, Cancun has easy air access to and from major airports worldwide.

Sparky, enjoying an October swim.

However, it’s not always margaritas and sunshine. Sometimes things just don’t work out as planned. 

The local water and sewerage company spent the entire summer digging up the road on both sides of the island to install new water connections to the many large homes being built in the Punta Sur area.

Then the second part of the contract was to connect those new homes to the sewer system. The new trench was dug right through the water and the electrical connections, cutting off all services to many homes and blocking their driveways. 
It was a nightmare for the homeowners.

If you plan to retire here, come with an open heart and a sense of humor; otherwise, the administrative silliness will make you crazy. 

Some people can't adapt to life in Mexico. Some couples break up because one of them can embrace the culture, but the other one can't, and returns home.  

It’s Mexico! Stuff happens!

Cheers from paradise, Lynda and Sparky

(Originally published October 13th 2019)

~

You Won’t Be Able to Put This One Down!

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We’re signing off - with heartfelt thanks to everyone.

Us - a long time ago, 1980!    

It is time for us to take a break.

Our weekly blog Notes From Paradise started as an email sent in June 2009 to twelve members of our immediate families.   

Over the next two years, the list of followers grew to 500, and then in September of 2011, we switched to an internet blog page. 

We have had almost 630,000 page views since 2011.  About a year ago, we changed the name to Notes From Isla Mujeres, Mexico, to make it easier for new readers to find us.

Hacienda Mundaca Park

We’ve written blog posts highlighting the island’s intriguing history and the enchanting Mexican culture. 

We’ve introduced ourselves to many of the old-time islanders to listen to and to recount their fascinating stories. 

We've traveled to several cities in Mexico and written about their history, culture, and attractions. 

Izamal near Merida 

We've described the lavish and laughter-filled quinceaños, weddings, and the baby's first birthday-baptism parties.

We’ve narrated some of our more memorable experiences, like watching the chaotic Carnaval parades, or trying to stay awake for the New Year’s Eve bash in Centro, only to be outlasted by the three-year-olds. 

We have written several times about being Mickey and Minnie Mouse in both the annual Christmas Golf Cart parade and the Day of the Kings festivities. Putting happy grins on the kids’ faces is the best reward.

Mickey, Minnie, and Sparky 

We've bragged about Isla’s sugar-white beaches and the endless sun, and then grumbled about tropical storms and hurricanes. 

We’ve written about swimming with whale sharks, the sea turtles nesting on our beach, helping friends rescue a trapped mama turtle, the roaming crocodile, and our lounge of lizards lounging in our backyard. 

(Apparently, a group of iguanas hanging out is called a lounge of lizards. I love that expression!)

We have promoted many of Isla’s hardworking charity groups, such as Isla Animals, HALO (Helping Animals Living Overseas, Isla Has Talent, the diabetes clinic, the free dental clinic, Helmets for Kids, Ruben’s Kids, Plogging for Isla, and many more.

If we liked a new business or restaurant, we happily gave them a free ‘plug’ in the blog. Neither one of us ever asked for anything – no discounts, no freebies, nothing. We enjoyed the successes of our fellow islanders.

We were advised that we should ‘monetize’ our blog and make some cash off of the advertisements, but quite honestly, we couldn’t be bothered with writing articles that pleased our advertisers. 

We wrote what interested us. We did, however, try Google Ads, and are happy to report that in total we made about $109.00 in revenue!  Woo-hoo! Impressive!

 The Adventures of Thomas the Cat

The discipline of writing a weekly article has given me (Lynda) the confidence to self-publish four books. My first book was a bilingual book for children, The Adventures of Thomas the Cat, followed by the three Isla Mujeres Mystery series: Treasure Isla, Trouble Isla, and Tormenta Isla. Book #4, Temptation Isla, will hopefully be launched late in 2018.

And we’ve tormented our family and friends with being included, photos and all, in many of our weekly ramblings. We have had hundreds of people tell us they really enjoyed reading our weekly articles, but we are signing off with this post.

We would like to thank our families, friends, and faithful readers for your support over the last nine years.

Thank you all!

Cheers from Paradise

Lawrie, Lynda, and Sparky

If you are thinking of retiring to Mexico …

Lobster fishermen

Don’t!  Unless you love adventure, living fearlessly, and enjoy diversity.

When we decided to retire to this little island in the Caribbean, we’d already had some experience with Mexico. 

I started holidaying in the mid-1960s on the western side of the country, Lynda a bit later. (Damn, we should have learned more Spanish than baños and cerveza!)

Love that turquoise-coloured water

We chose Isla Mujeres for a number of reasons. The first hook was the amazing turquoise water; ten years later, we are both still mesmerized by the ocean. Another reason was the kind and friendly people. They are an intriguing mix of Mayan, Spanish, and several other cultures.

Lynda and I had previously lived on a small island off the coast of British Columbia, Canada, and we knew it takes a certain mentality to flourish in a remote community. 

Colour and fun during Carnaval 

You have to be handy and inventive, as you can’t always call for help anytime that you need it. Isla has lots of handymen, who are usually busy doing jobs for other folks, and they will get around to you sooner or later, but not always immediately. It isn’t laziness; it is because they are just too busy, but it is not polite in this culture to say ‘no’ to anyone. So they agree to help out, mañana. But as the song says: “Mañana doesn’t mean tomorrow, it just means not today.”

Cowboys waiting for their parade to start

We started with a new build, so everything worked for a while, then the salt and humidity created problems. 

Stupid little things started to go wrong, and I once again became Joe Handyman. Light fixtures rusted. Light sockets corroded. Door locks seized. Door hinges stiffened. Taps seized up with mineral deposits. It’s a never-ending job.

Dia de Independencia

And some other challenges with living in a foreign country:

The first question our American friends ask is, “What do you do for Medical?” We’re Canadian, and we had universal health care, back in Canada that we took for granted. But after six months of being outside the country, we are no longer eligible for coverage. We thought about health insurance but decided against it. Nobody gets out of life alive. Just think of your grandparents; they didn’t have insurance or health plans.

Revolution Day parade 

About a month after moving, I developed a high fever and bronchitis. We called the local doctor, who immediately came to our house, administered a shot, wrote out a prescription for antibiotics, and advised bed rest for a few days. The bill was five hundred pesos, which is not a lot of money for fast and caring service. We haven’t met any zillionaire doctors in Mexico.

The one thing we didn’t realize, until we left our country, was that the officials and politicians would lose interest in helping us solve problems. 

A Flowery Cross for the top of a new casa 

Yes, we get our pensions directly deposited into our Canadian banks, but it is an ongoing war with the bureaucrats. First, it was a withholding tax on my pensions, even though we declare any and all income on our Canadian tax returns. Then it was an eighteen-month wait for Lynda’s pensions to be processed because she had to prove exactly what day we left Canada in 2008. 

We drove 8500 kilometers from BC to Isla Mujeres, and neither the American nor the Mexican border guards are required to stamp our passports. We had to get personal friends (not family!) and past employers to verify the date that we left the country. 

Flowery Cross Day May 3rd

We finally got that resolved, and now, we are fighting over the withholding tax on Lynda’s pensions.

Over the years, we have discovered that a lot of expats don’t tell their respective governments that they are living outside the country. They keep a mailing address in their original country, and it simplifies everything. I guess I’m stupid. I have this honest streak and went by the book. It has cost us dearly in time, money, and frustration.

Another beautiful sunset

Once Canadians leave the country for more than five years, we lose our right to vote in any elections, so now the politicians don’t care at all about our challenges. 

But we still have the privilege of paying our Canadian income tax every year. 

According to our American friends, they can still vote, but the ex-pats' votes are only counted in certain circumstances. Either way, it is odd.

Would we make the same decision and retire to Mexico? 

Hell yes! It is an amazing country and culture.  Just remember that you need that sense of adventure.

Your family will always be family, and although you won’t be right next door, they will still love you, and trust me – they will visit you.

Cheers, Lawrie

(Lynda’s busy writing Tormenta Isla Book #3 of the Isla Mujeres Mystery Series)

There's Trouble on Isla, Big Trouble!

Book #2 in the Isla Mujeres Mystery Series

 Treasure Isla 

Book #1 Isla Mujeres Mystery series