Sunday in the Yucatan

The past few weeks have been just crazy! As it starts getting colder up north more and more people are dreaming of buying a beach home in sunny Mexico! Our phone has been ringing off the hook and I spend hours daily answering emails while Doug is out showing properties. I'm not complaining, this is how we make our living after all........ For those of you looking at properties here south of the border, now is the time! The inexpensive ones are being sold as fast as we can list them! Check out our website http://www.mayanliving.com and see what deals we have to offer and how many homes have been sold lately.

On another note, Doug and I hadn't had a day to ourselves in weeks. We decided that we would take Sunday, turn off the phone, ignore emails and just enjoy our time together. It is a shame to being living in such a cool place and not experiencing it. We had heard through our Mexican grapevine that they were having some kind of small boat races on the lagoon Sunday morning so that was our first stop. It was a perfect day, clear skies, light breeze, temperature around 85 with no humidity. One of the first people we saw was Jose, Eduardo's brother. He explained that the race was called a singa, which means the type of boat used. There would be different races with the winners of each participating in a grand finale. The prizes were a refrigerator, TV and stereo. Doesn't sound like much to us gringos does it? But for the locals these are luxury items and the competition was fierce.

This is Jose, sizing up the competition,

Spectators

View of the shore from the pier

The guys lining up, getting ready to start, there are no motors, just an oar placed in the middle of the back of the boat and swung madly, reminiscent of a gondola in Venice

These local fisherman are really working it!

The crowd watches and waits.....

Unfortunately our buddy Jose, didn't win, however he is a good sport, gives a "thumbs up," and continues on with the day.

The much sought after prizes,

Okay, enough of that guy stuff, I wanted to go check out the flamingos, I just love them as I may have mentioned one or twice before. A friend of mine was saying that she had just seen a lot of them on the back road from Chuburna to Komchen, so off we went. There have been sooooo many flamingos here this year, I see them everywhere, but this was the most I have seen at one time! They were everywhere in the mangroves and lagoons!

This is what the lagoons look like when you are just driving by. If you look very closely you will see flocks in the very back. One of these I'll have a really good camera and then I'll never stop taking pictures of all the cool things here in the Yucatan!

These guys were really close to the road, and we didn't seem to bother them at all!

More flocks

And more flocks, you guys know how much I love pink flamingos!

They don't even look real do they?

Okay, enough is enough, but I just think it is so cool, that I can take a 2 minute ride and see these beauties in their native habitat!

Until next time, remember that there is still an untouched place not far from home. The reason so many expats have picked Mexico is the quick access to the US and Canada. Add in friendly people, low cost of living and of course flamingos and it all equals paradise! Warm breezes and cold beers coming at ya, Chillin' in Chelem!

Revolution Day in Chelem

Celebrated throughout Mexico, November 20th marks the day in 1910 when the war to overthrow the dictator General Porfirio Diaz began. The revolution was fought due to the growing disparity between the rich landowners and the rest of the population who were mainly poor peasants and farmers. The day is celebrated with colorful parades and parties and celebrations.  Here in Chelem of course there was something going on too!   We were able to attend the morning celebrations, but had many real estate clients in town so we were back home and at work by 9:00.


It all started by the lagoon, all the local school children were dressed up in their Sunday best for Revolution Day!  Here is a picture of the beginning with Senorita Revolution leading the parade,



Next the Colorguard:


Those that aren't in the Colorguard marched too,


Here come the kindergarten children,


Look at how precious they are, all dressed up in white, hair slicked back, wonder if they looked so clean at the end of the day?







My girl Gaby, she is just the best!

I love the horses and hats!



These guys on horses are exactly what my Mom thinks is normal here.  Can't convince her that people have cars!



Finally my "adopted" grand baby, Yomara, isn't she a beauty?

Weather in Chelem

The last week has been very unusual here in Chelem. After going through months with no rain, it has rained now all week long. And I mean rained! The wind has blown and the temperatures have dropped down to the high 70's. Our normally green Gulf Coast waters have turned rough and gray. The tides have been much higher than normal and much of the coast has seen the effects of erosion. Now we have hurricane/tropical depression/tropical storm Ida heading towards the Riveria Maya coast. While we have no fears of it hitting us, it means more rain! This morning I got up and saw a ray of sunshine, I grabbed my flip flops and shades and headed to the beach. The smell of the salt was much stronger than normal, the high tide mark was higher than I have ever seen it, the beach was full of seaweed and treasures. I only had a few minutes, clients were coming over to look at houses at 9:00, but here is a quick sampling of what I found.


First the ocean, gray and muddy, looking more like the Atlantic than the Gulf

A variety of sea shells, unfortunately I don't know their names, except for this one, a conch


And this one a starfish, or in Spanish: estrella de mar

Don't know what these are, but thought they were cool looking
We used to call thes cone shells when I was a kid, may not be correct
Some kind of whelk possibly

All my treasures accumulated in about 10 minutes
The weather here may not always be perfect, it may be too hot or it may be rainy like the past week, but there is always something here to be thankful for! Good friends, good food and small treasures. Until next time, Chillin' in Chelem

Update! Today (Sunday) has been lovely, the storm clouds are gone, the sun is shining and the time is right for heading south! Now is the time to move south. Contact us at www.mayanliving.com to buy your piece of paradise now! For all of you up north where the weather isn't so nice, check out this:

Day off with the girls - Komchen

Even though we have been a two car family for a few months now, I still feel that we only have one car. Real estate had been keeping us so busy that I just had to have my own car, there are times that we need it for clients, as they tend to come en mass, and times that I just wanted to run to the store by myself. I never dreamed that I wouldn't have my own car when we moved here. I bought my first car at 14 and have had one ever since. Things change when you move to Mexico! Many couples share a car, others don't have a car at all. Anyway Doug's truck has been in and out of the shop recently and he has been using my car. I was starting to get cabin fever and ready to have a little "me" time, when Marlene mentioned that she and Barbara Bell were going off to a little village to buy some plants. Boy was I in! We left Chelem around 9 am and headed off to Komchen. Komchen is a small village/puebla about 40 minutes from here down winding, narrow. back roads. It is a town so small that I didn't see a gas station or restaurant, just a few small tiendas and houses.

This is leaving Chelem and crossing the lagoon, it's always a great day in paradise when you see flamingos!

As we entered into Komchen there were flowers blooming everywhere.


The nursery was across the street from a small tienda, you had to walk through a field and hang a right. If you didn't know it was there you would never find it.

It was like walking through a jungle maze....


Marlene and the owner

My favorite! Barbara picked out a truckload literally, of plants, 3 royal palms that were probably 12 foot tall each, less than $15 each. We filled the back of the truck with a variety of different tropical plants for under $80.


Hot, thirsty and hungry we walked across the street to the tienda which we had heard served lunch.



Check out the homemade brooms and squeegies!

There were only 3 small tables so we ended up sharing with some very nice Mexican gentlemen. Barbara is so happy with all her plants, she just can't stop smiling.




Barbara and I each had a plateful of fried chicken, boneless breast, hammered and breaded, served with rice, salad, tortillas and a soft drink.

Marlene had meatballs in a some kind of soup with spaghetti noodles and fresh herbs. Total for all three of us, less than $12.


Time to load up the truck and head back to Chelem

Most of the way home there wasn't a lot to see, just jungle and narrow roads, but, we all thought these arches were kinda cool. I always wonder, who lived here, where are they now, what did they do?






We came to another little town as we were on our way home, I think it was Caucel, but don't quote me on that. This little boy was so cute, just sitting there all by his self, smiling, happy with the world.





A very common form of transportation here in the Yucatan. Maybe if I buy one of these, Doug won't be using it all the time!


Ahhhhhh as we cross back over to paradise and my own little world...... another pink flamingo.

What a great day! Everything here is about the journey, not the destination. Here we have time to stop and enjoy life. We live in such a beautiful place, full of wonderful people, how blessed I am! I talk to clients all the time, their world is hectic, it's getting cold, it's raining and snowing. Here it's snowing sunshine! Till next time, I'm just chillin' in Chelem.

The Start of a New Life

As most of you know it seems that there is always a reason for a party here in the Yucatan. Last night we went to the First Annual Chili Cook Off with the proceeds going for Christmas in Chelem. It was held at La Playa Restaurant, the only restaurant here in the Chelem/Chuburna area on the beach. It is also the home of the new Mayan Living Beach Office. We all had a great time and raised close to $600 for the local children for Christmas. We tasted some fabulous chili and Carlos had another fantastic buffet. Unfortunately I forgot my camera so you will just have to imagine how wonderful it was.



All of us that live here and most that visit know Issy, the cute and charming evening waiter at El Bull Pen. A couple of weeks ago a few lucky gringos were invited to his baby boy Alejandro's baptismal party. Alejandro was 3 months old, the actual baptism was held in Progreso with the party being held here in Chelem. Here are some pix, a little late but they still give you guys up north a feel for the wonderful life that we live here.


The cake
Issy's wife Sandy with little Alejandro




Issy, Sandy, Alejandro and Issy's Mom


Just look at that face!


The gringo table
Gringo group shot

Nancy looks like a natural with a babe in arms

Patrick on the other hand looks scared to death!

Marlene with the family, she looks wonderful holding Alejandro doesn't she?
Funny how the men all have the same expression on their faces......

After photos it was time for music and dancing

Marlene doing the light fandango
Sophia being dragged on the dance floor

She's a little more relaxed now

While the adults dance and party the kids just look on


I believ that this is Issy's brother and grandmother, but don't quote me on this!



Now everybody is getting in on the action

Look at this family, aren't they cute, the kids love having their pictures taken


And my favorite picture of all, sent to me by Marlene, is this grandmother enjoying herself or what?

What a great time that we all had. Laughing, dancing, hanging out with friends and of course having a few cervezas! Just one more reason to live in this wonderful community. Warm breezes and cold beers coming at ya from Chelem!

PLAYING A LITTLE CATCH UP IN CHELEM

It's been a busy few weeks for Mayan Living. We have been in finalizing all of the paperwork to become the official owners of the company, now it is official. Doug and I and Sean and Susan own our own company in the Yucatan! We are all working endlessly to make the best real estate company in the state. Susan is hard at work on marketing materials, Sean and Doug are gathering up as many new listings as possible and we are all wearing many different hats these days. We are also in the process of hiring some new professional agents. Anyone interested?


Here we are at the final closing. From left to right is Juan Cardena our notario, Jim Mann the former owner who is still working as an agent, myself, Susan, Doug and Sean.

Here are signatures in the "Big Book." That means it is now official


In the midst of this Doug and I are having a wall built around our house, here is the 1st day.

The guys digging the foundation so the wall remains strong.
Eduardo and his crew working on the side wall
And the front wall

In the meantime, life goes on at the beach. Denyse and Paul from Canada rented one of our friends homes in Chuburna. They woke up one morning to see a mother turtle just finishing laying her eggs.



With her job done she slides herself back into the beautiful Gulf of Mexico. And yes Colleen and Earl, this is in front of your house!

Next posting is about......you guessed it, another party in Chelem! Until then, warm breezes and cold beers coming at ya, Chillin in Chelem!

Orphanage in the Yucatan

As many of you know we have lived in the Chelem area for the past couple of years. The expat community here is wonderful and supportive. We have a lot of fun together but we work on a lot of causes together. Normally our energies are involve with our own little community, but the former owner of Mayan Living, Jim Mann takes on one big cause of year, I have copied the webpage that he has had made for you all to see. You can not donate to it from this blog. If you want to you would need to click on this link: http://mexicobob.com/charity.html

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Charity in México: So near, yet so far! >>

Sometimes an opportunity presents itself. Charity in Yucatan is often a such a simple, inexpensive activity. Many people here, particularly children, have so little that even a tiny gift has monumental consequences.

This year, while many of you are scrimping to accomodate the vagaries of the stock market, the unemployment problems, or the other devastating events being thrown at us, please take a bit of time to reexamine your lives. Even with the shortages this year that you are coping with, your life style is probably well within the top 10, or probably 5, percent of the world's population.

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Children with no Christmas:

Sometime we forget how blessed we really are. During the holiday season, we get so wrapped up in shopping, parties, and gift buying, we can forget that there are some who will never see a Christmas tree. Santa will never pass their house. Christmas will just be another day of desolation. There will be no elaborate Christmas dinner in their house. Maybe they will get some beans with their daily rice to make the day more festive.

This year I have discovered an orpanage here in Merida that cares for about 30 children. The little ones have no hope - no one to turn to, and Christmas is only be a fairy tale - a story of Santa passing them by before they are forgotten again. I want to help these children see that there are people who do care - people who do want to make a difference. Take time this year to give yourself a holiday gift.

You can make donations through Paypal or you can send a check to Jim's daughter in the United States.

Jeni Williams
13805 Farmstead Way
Chester, Virginia 23836

We can not take on the whole world, but we can make a few children feel wanted and loved. Please open your hearts and pockets to make this year a year these children will never forget. There are no fees involved. This website is donated. All of the money is spent on the children. Keep Christmas alive in the heart of these forgotten children of the Yucatan.

A word from their sponsor:

Hello everyone,

My name is Jim Mann, I moved here to the Yucatan almost 9 years ago. This part of Mexico is so full of history and old world colonial charm. I came here to retire and enjoy the wonderful warmer climate that the Yucatan has to offer. After establishing several new companies in the area I felt the need to give back to the Yucatan apart of what it had given me.

Six years ago I start working with very poor families here to see that the children would have new shoes and a new toy for Christmas. Each year the project seemed to get bigger and bigger. Last year I found 30 very poor families in a small fishing village in Chuburna. There were about 50 small children and their mothers that came to experience for the first time in their life a Christmas party. Each little face beamed, some in old diaper, some with no shoes…but the sparkle in their eyes was magical. Many mothers cried as they watched their little one get their first toy for Christmas. A truck, car, doll or a picture book for dreaming.

More info on our area coming later this week, stay tuned for some cool pix of turtles here on the beaches, sunsets and more expats! Chillin' in Chelem............