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, the former owner, 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!

GOING TO THE NEXT LEVEL IN THE YUCATAN!

I know that I have been a bit negligent the past couple of weeks keeping my posts up to date...... A lot has been happening here, our friend Dan from Florida came to check on his house, Curt from Georgia came to check on his, Jan from Belize is here now to have some medical things done in Merida, Robin came for a visit and cut and colored my hair, and it goes on and on! The real estate market is really winding up for high season and I am spending hours a day on the phone and answering emails. More and more people are looking for a simpler, easier life and Mexico is the answer! Things move slower here, it's a gentle, easy pace and the cost of living is much less. We who live at the beach enjoy small town life, we like picking up shells, watching the palm trees sway and the cooling Gulf breezes, walking our dogs on the beach and meeting up for cocktails at our favorite hangouts. We also love the proximity of Merida only a half an hour away, Merida is known for it's excellent inexpensive medical care, culture, wonderful people, shopping malls and excellent places to eat. We have the best of both worlds!

But the big news (at least in my world) is that Doug and I and our friends Sean and Susan have just purchased Mayan Living Real Estate! We have been meeting almost daily putting our business proposal and marketing plan together. We are so excited and have so many ideas. We are going to be hiring some more agents to expand our territory as well as expanding our services. We want to provide the best customer service and have the best reputation of any Real Estate company in the Yucatan.

If any of you are interested in becoming an agent or have suggestions I would love to hear from you! So thats it for now, more to come later..........Chillin in Chelem

High Season Sunday in Chelem

Our Sunday started off slowly, we got up later than usual, drank a few cups of coffee and then headed off to the Bull Pen to meet up with friends for a nice Sunday breakfast. We hung out an hour or so and decided to head back into town and checkout the marketplace, buy a few mangoes and head home to relax. We have had a slow week with real estate, and boy were we ready for the break. Starting in September we are really busy with clients all the way through January. We pulled into the town square and couldn't even find a parking spot. One more week of high season and then we have our peaceful little fishing village back. School starts all over most of Mexico tomorrow except here in the state of the Yucatan where they have one more week of vacation.

Walking into the mercado from the west side, a mayan lady washing and bagging up fresh fruit

Fresh cut flowers intermingle with the fruit and chicken. The sign in the back: El Rey de Pollo, the king of chicken?


We bought a couple of these little yellow mangoes, they are so sweet, to me mangoes just taste and smell like paradise
Before you think that you could never afford watermelons here, remember the price is in pesos, comes out to about a dollar for a quarter of a nice sweet watermelon
Fresh chicken anyone.......

Just squeezed juices, orange, grapefruit, carrot, pineapple and more. Another one of my favorites is Jamaica, made from dried hibiscus flowers that are steeped like tea and sweetened.
Chelem is a fishing village, lots of fresh fish, octopus and shrimp at the market today
The dining section is empty, waiting for people to get out of church and come to eat
Outside in the town square vendors are showing off their wares
Handcrafted leather belts
Lots of water toys
Various baubles for the girls
Little sundresses, I bought one for 40 pesos, less than $4.00
Doug checking out the hundreds of sunglasses

Hundreds of hats
Yucatan candies and sweets
The church was so full that people were standing outside listening to the service
The beaches were packed downtown, look at all the people huddling up in the shade on the side of the building
Octupus boats
The beach is just full of people, while it is great for the local economy, I can't wait for everyone to go home!
They arrive by the busload
We ended up buying a couple of mangoes, a sundress, a pair of matching flip flops and a new leather wallet for Doug all for under $14 USD, not a bad haul!

Finally back home, away from the madness! Larry the lizard is patiently waiting for us to come home and bring him some goodies. He showed up a couple of weeks ago in our garden and has made it his new home, everyday he sits on our gate waiting for some bits of fresh fruit.

So just one more week of high season and it is back to peace and quiet again, the beaches will be empty the ocean clear and tranquil and the living good! Stay tuned for pictures of the quiet times, Chillin' in Chelem