For my first riding lesson I was put onto a horse bareback, the trainer leading it on a lunge line so I didn’t even have the reins to hold onto. “This is it,” I thought as the animal slid around underneath me, “this is the day I fall off.” Continue reading
When choosing where to live as an expat I used to think that Playa del Carmen and it’s island neighbor Cozumel were like two parts of the same city connected by a ferry. They are both Continue reading
Last night we did something I have wanted to do for years: we witnessed a green sea turtle laying her eggs on the beach. Continue reading
The answer to the question you’ve all been waiting for: How much does it cost for us to live in Mexico?
Before you get the idea that we had plenty of money to start with let’s talk about how we lived before. Continue reading
Bathrooms with toilet paper and seats! Drinking water straight out of the tap! Bathtubs! Is this heaven? Nope, just Iowa, but if you are a traveling family you understand our excitement. Continue reading
First I accidentally sent my 6-year-old to college. Or at least it felt that way. Continue reading
One year ago today we drove away from our house for the last time. We chose to have no permanent home, no structure to fill with furniture and appliances and all our personal items. Almost all of it was gone by that point anyway, sold or given away. A year ago we officially became a traveling family…even if the first place we traveled to was Grandma’s house. Continue reading
I first went to Palenque in 2014 to meet up with two strangers who would become my friends, Tim and Cristina of Marginal Boundaries. It was my first solo travel, my first venture into Chiapas, and my first Mayan ruin outside of the popular ones on the East coast. Right away Palenque became one of my favorite places, and I couldn’t wait to take my family there. Continue reading
Part 8 of our visa run (start here if you didn’t read the earlier posts.) We spent the last of our Guatemalan currency having breakfast at the Hotel Casa Amelia and were picked up in another smallish tour van for the ride back to Mexico. Even though it was only 8:20 we were the last ones in again, so we sat where we could and settled in for a long ride. Continue reading
After a 6 hour bus ride we were finally in Guatemala. The tour guide for the ruins of Tikal had said they would pick us up “At 8, maybe 825,” which I took to mean they would be late. We were sitting at the breakfast table downstairs in our hotel at 750 and had just placed our orders when the van showed up. So much for food, we had to go, couldn’t keep the group waiting. Continue reading
