Guanajuato, Mexico.

In the heart of Mexico there is a charming colonial-era city  that is known as "La ciudad de las ranas" (The city of frogs). Guanajuato is surrounded by mountains that its early inhabitants said they resembled a frog.
The historical center has a very distinct European flavor with narrow cobblestone streets and callejones (alleyways). The plazas are dotted with sidewalk cafes, museums, theaters, markets and historic monuments. The buildings are a fine example of neoclassical and baroque style colonial architecture. Beneath the city there is an underground network of tunnels that help to control the flow of traffic, making it a very unique place in the world.
This city is known as the birthplace of Mexican independence so it's an important stop along Mexico's independence route, which also visits the nearby towns of Dolores Hidalgo and San Miguel de Allende.
Guanajuato is a city of legends and legendary places. El callejon del beso (Alley of the kiss) is an alleyway so narrow that couples can kiss from opposite balconies. The Cervantino Festival is an international performing art festival that was named in honor of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, author of Don Quixote. Famed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera was born in Guanajuato where his former house was converted to a museum.
Life in Guanajuato is amazing! This is a city where you would always find something to do, from enjoying a cup of coffee in the mornings at a quite park, walking around and learning from its history, visiting the silver mines, dinning out and going to a bar or stay in the main plaza and listen to some live music is a good way to finish the day.
The weather in Guanajuato is mild during the day and cooler at night, the cost of living is very affordable making it an ideal place for retirement.
Safe travels my friends!

Colorful city of Guanajuato.

Historical center.

University of Guanajuato.

Cultural Center.

Charming downtown.

Enjoying a morning walk.

Main downtown plaza.

A nice view of the city.

El Pipila, a  historical monument.

El mirador (The lookout)

Amazing underground tunnels.

Relaxing time after exploring the city... Salud!

Cafe con Pan (Coffee with bread)

Mexico is full of traditions and celebrations that give locals the perfect excuse to make time to spend with friends and family. It's also an opportunity to express their feelings and pride through art, music, dances and costumes. Each of these special events have been passing through generations, most of them as a reminder of important history and cultural moments.
There is one tradition that I personally enjoy a lot and that we celebrate at less twice a week or every time we can... Café con pan (Coffee with bread) is the perfect moment to spend with friends and family and catch up with all the latest news, gossips, talk about problems or simply to vent about our daily routine and relationships. It might sound funny but it's amazing how therapeutic this reunions can be, the most important is that it gives us the opportunity to spend time with the ones we care and also help us to improve our relationships.
So next time someone in Mexico tells you "Te invito un cafecito" (I invite you a cup of coffee) is either just  to spend some quality time, he/she wants to build a friendship and get to know you better or there is something more serious to talk about. Whatever it is, I'm sure it would be joyful because Mexican coffee and pastries are delicious so, enjoy the moment!
Be safe my friends!

This is a  traditional Mexican bread oven.

Traditional Mexican pastries and bread.

Coffee time!

The advice of a curandera (white witch)

I was 15 years old when my mom took me for the very first time with a curandera; she said I needed a spiritual cleaning and protection from all the bad energies. It was hard for me to believe that there were people who could really have such a gift but, I was also curious and wanted to have the experience.
We went to a small town by the  Pacific Ocean in the state of Colima, which is my home town in Mexico. I was surprised to find this lady living in a very modest house and, she didn't charge any fees for her services; she only asked for a donation to buy candles and oils she used to work with.
This lady had the typical sweet grandma looks so I felt very comfortable being alone with her in this small room that was impregnated with the soothing scent of burning oils and flowers, I felt safe... this was her sanctuary.
She lit some candles and then she asked for permission to put her hands on my head, she closed her eyes and started praying in a dialect I couldn't understand; I was able to see her disappointment in her facial expressions and after few minutes she said to me "There is something that you've been worrying about and that is causing you stress. Would you let me see what it is so I can try to help you?" I only moved my head in an affirmative way; then she placed her hands on my head again, closed her eyes and started praying one more time. 
I would never forget what she told me after she found out what I was going through... she said to me "Only God knows why we come to this world in different ways so don't worry about being different, live your life and be happy; at the end the ones who love you would be there for you all the time. Just be careful out there and take care of yourself." It wasn't easy for me to take the advice right away, it took three more years and a lot of struggles before accepting I was gay and that I had to live my life without having to feel ashamed.
As the years have passed, I've learned to respect people's opinions, religions and beliefs because we all are different and unique so we have to make compromises to be able to live in harmony. I don't expect everybody to like my life style but I ask to be respected because I'm only a human being with the same feelings and dreams as any other person who wants to be loved. I will always disagree with the ones who hurt others to satisfy their needs... Gay or straight, no body has the right to harm other people.
Life is not unfair, we just have to accept that we all come to this world in different shapes and colors but with the same ability to love.  
Be safe my friends!

Our dream come true!

My husband and I :O)

Merida " La Ciudad Blanca"

There is a beautiful city in Yucatan, Mexico that we finally had the opportunity to explore, Merida "The White City." We felt in love with this enchanted place since the first moment, the peace we felt by walking on its streets and the beauty of its architecture is just amazing. 
Merida has an  influence of French, British, Dutch and it has one of the biggest Mayan population within Mexico, making it a very unique city rich in history, culture and full of traditions. 
Discovering its parks which are all over the city, small out door cafes and restaurants and all the beautiful historical buildings was something that we enjoyed the most. Merida is not right by the ocean but, Progreso is the beach village which is only a 30 min drive.
This magical place is perfect for a nice getaway or even for retirement because it has all the amenities of a cosmopolitan city, an European feel with the charm and heart of the Mexican culture. Its locals are very friendly and they welcome you and make you feel like home right away.
The expat community living in Merida has been growing in the past years, the quality of life with a low cost of living plus the richness of an amazing historical and colonial city makes it the perfect place to call home. 
Safe travels my friends!

Bus transportation in Mexico.

Traveling in Mexico by bus is one of the best ways of getting around the country. You might be thinking "chicken bus" as reading this but, the reality is that Mexico has an excellent bus transportation.
We wanted to have this adventure and I have to say we were unsure about doing it because we thought it would be uncomfortable but, because we're very adventurous and wanted to live the experience we decided to take the challenge.
We were spending some time in Cancun area and decided to explore the Riviera Maya. Renting a car in Mexico can be expensive, specially as a foreigner so it was the perfect time for us to take the bus. Our first destination was Cuidad del Carmen which is an island in the state of Campeche, from Cancun to this place is about a 10 hours ride, after spending some days in the island we went to Merida, a beautiful colonial city,  which it was a 6 hours ride and then back to Cancun... long way to go in a "chicken bus" right? But for our big surprise, the bus we took was like taking a first class flight! These buses, specially the once who travel long distances are very comfortable. They only have half of the seats of a regular bus so the space between them is big enough to convert the seat into a bed, each of these seats have their own screen where you can watch movies, music concerts, play games and even internet. The bus has a coffee/tea bar, two restrooms and they provide pillows, blankets and snacks which are included on the purchase of your ticket. The best is that prices are very reasonable and the quality is superb.
Hopefully this information helps you to be more adventurous and explore Mexico buy having the bus experience, getting to know small towns and saving money.
Safe travels my friends! 

Anxiety takes my breath away.

There are moments in our life when we feel lost and for some reason the anxiety and depression try to take our breath away. Don't panic, you're not alone! Many of us go through the same situation, specially when we get vulnerable and we feel the need of screaming for help.
Controlling our emotions can be very hard for some of us but, the best is expressing our feelings because it gives us a great relief.
Love, work, friendship, family and the every day challenges of life are the reason why we feel like being in  a constant battle but, the battle is really with ourselves. Learning to control our mind and avoiding the negative thoughts is the secret to have a good emotional balance and feel more satisfy with our existence, this is not easy to achieve but everything is possible when we're determine to have a healthier way of living.
Every time you feel blue or the anxiety is trying to take over, stop anything you're doing and give yourself a time to relax and to think about what is causing you to feel this way. Some times there are issues than we don't want to address and unconsciously affect us and, other times we get stubborn and we don't want to let go of what we know is hurting us. 
Life has many paths for us to choose from, it's really up to us to take the one that would take us where we desire to be and we would always have the opportunity of changing our direction in pursue of our happiness.
Life is to short so, don't let anybody to direct your life. Be free and make sure to have someone on your side that would encourage you to do what you like and who would be there for you all the time. Some times we have to let go of family, friends and a lover for us to be able to achieve our goals. 
Enjoy life my friends and be grateful to be alive!  

Buying property in Mexico.

Planning a retirement and dreaming about the perfect place to spend a more relax life can be very challenging, specially when we have a budget to work with. So the adventure starts by the search of the ideal location that would have all what we're looking for and then by taking the decision of renting or buying a property... Decisions, decisions!
When JJ and I  decided to retire in Mexico, we sold our house and all of what we had in Las Vegas. We wanted to have the freedom of a mortgage payment, taxes  and to be able to move from one place to an other without being worry about having to maintain a house, so our idea was only to rent.
We have been exploring different cities and we have found beautiful places to call home but, some of these places can have a higher cost of living because of the expats communities. We actually looked into buying a property to remodel but we were surprised by the high price of a simple house that needed a lot of work to be done, again they had the "American prices" and me as Mexican, I knew that I would be able to find a better deal so we kept looking.
Visiting my family in Cuauhtémoc which is a municipality of the state of Colima, we found the perfect house at a great price! Cuauhtémoc is a medium size town with great infrastructure and it's surrounded by rivers, canyons, mountains, the amazing volcanoes and the Pacific ocean is about 40 min by car. The capitol, Colima, is only about 10 min drive and offers a very cosmopolitan life style and all the amenities you can look for. What we like about living in Cuauhtémoc is the tranquility of a small town, the great weather and the low cost of living. There are some expats living here but not to many which makes it a great place to find property for investment.
The house we bought is about 1300 sf., two bedrooms, office room, two bathrooms, car garage, family room, dinning area, kitchen, big roof top terrace with room for a second level and a nice back yard. We paid $45,000 USD for it, and we invested about $15,000 USD to remodel it.
This house has been a great project, remodeling the architecture of it and giving the interior design touches has kept me busy all this time and we're very happy with the results.
The cost of our utilities are incredibly low... Power $20 dollars every two months, water $45 dollars a year, cable and internet $34 dollars a month, house taxes $83 dollars a year...
We made a good choice buying this house because not only we have a place to call home and to relax between our traveling, it was also a great investment.

These are some picture of our house in Cuauhtémoc... Home sweet home!

Exploring Mexico.

We love traveling and exploring Mexico, and the best way is by doing road trips. Let me start by saying that the toll roads are great and it's also safe to drive around the country. We try not to drive at night, specially when we're not familiar with the areas and when we don't feel comfortable. My advice, always get information about the places you want to visit and the most important is that you feel safe so you can enjoy the adventure.
There is a road trip that we did and I highly recommend by the Pacific Coast. We started in my home town, Colima, and took the toll road (cuota) heading to Manzanillo which is the city port of Colima. There are small beach towns that you can stop between these two cities... Pascuales, El Paraiso and my favorite is The beach town of Cuyutlan, this is a place with few hotels, good restaurants, a great beach to relax and perfect ocean waves for surfing.
Our next stop was Manzanillo, where we discovered some of the best views from its two bays. The marina is a great place to go have a drink with a nice romantic dinner and finish the night with a gelato ice cream.
We continued our adventure by heading to Puerto Vallarta but, we discovered some beach towns on the way... Barra de Navidad and Melaque were my favorites. These are very charming towns with a very calm ocean and a great beach to go for a nice walk.
We finally made it to Puerto Vallarta, and we fell in love with it right away. This city offers the cosmopolitan life style and the tranquility of a beach town with a great mix of expats and locals from all over Mexico. After Enjoying and exploring this charming place, we kept driving along the coast and went to explore The Riviera Nayarit, where we found beautiful beach towns with amazing beaches and very friendly people. Bucerias, Lo de Marcos, Sayulita and San Pancho are amazing places to explore in this area.
Don't stop from doing what you like and enjoy life by traveling and exploring new places. You would feel recharge to keep going with the daily routine.
Safe travels!

 

Mexico is full of traditions!



Beautiful volcano background in my hometown, Colima.

 

The journey of life.

Our daily routine can make us feel energy less, irritable and at some point even hopeless. We all need to find a way of releasing that negativity and recharge our bodies and minds with positive energy so then we would be able to deal with our every day challenges. There are many ways of relaxing and get rid of our bad thoughts but, it's up to us to discover the secret to have a peace of mind. Think about doing something that would make you forget about all your problems, keeping your mind busy is the best way of staying healthy. Our mind is very powerful, so we have to be very careful when we start feeling the monotony in our life in general. We have to spice things up by making changes and trying new stuff, it's always good to innovate ourselves and not let our self esteem go down.
Life is to short to spend it feeling sorry about ourselves so, wasting our time hoping someone would rescue us is a big mistake. We would always have emotional support from our love ones but it's really our job and journey to make our existence better or worst.
I learned at a young age that life wasn't going to be easy for me so, I stop complaining about it and began to look for alternative ways of finding my happiness. On my journey I found out that my life wasn't as tough as I thought, specially when I started realizing that there were lots of people in worst situations than mine. Life is not unfair, we just have to change our mentality to be able to see the positive side of a negative experience. Now I know that every time I go through a dark moment is because something better is about to happen, having this attitude has been helping me to get up each time I have fallen and has kept me on the right path.
My parents always said to me "Don't ask God or the universe for material stuff or to win the lottery. Ask for health and a job because with those two you would be able to have anything you want, if you work hard for it." I've been doing these since I can remember and it has been working for me as I am sure it would work for you too... Everything is possible, we just have to make it happen by believing in ourselves and thinking that there would always be a new day.
Good luck with your life adventure! 

Appreciating nature and life help us to relax.