I’d like to try this place on for size, and I’m looking for a place to rent. Where should I start? Do you know a good dentist? Where can I find someone who speaks English to fix my computer? Who can help with my legal problem? Do you know a bridge club, etc. etc….
The Costa Maya is for those who enjoy the outdoor lifestyle...fishermen, divers, and those who love warm weather, palm trees, silky sand, and picture-postcard views.
“You look out your window, past your gardener, who is busily pruning the lemon, cherry, and fig trees...amidst the splendor of gardenias, hibiscus, and hollyhocks. The sky is clear blue.
Flying low across the jungle and the Caribbean in a tiny 10-seat prop-engine plane that had seen better days, we sputtered out of the sky and onto the bumpy dirt road that served as a runway.
When a sadistic “stylist” brandishing a sharply pointed knitting needle is plucking strands of hair from my sensitive scalp through the teeny holes in a plastic swimming cap covering my head, I hate being a woman. But considering the options, I’ll suffer through a beauty treatment any day.
At night, the moon reflecting in the mirror-like waters outside their window lulls them to sleep. Morning brings a slowly rising sun peeking through the Bayleaf Palms that line the shore. (Leaves from Bayleaf Palms were used for the thatch roofs on the four cabanas nestled in the jungle behind them.)
“Merida is like the French Quarter, but cleaner and safer, like Santa Fe but cheaper, and it’s what Key West used to be,” says my friend Eric Partney as we linger over cocktails on his terrace one evening.
“I’ll need to work to support my new life. What kind of job can I get?” This is a typical question from the would-be expat. The answer is that it’s usually difficult to get a job in a foreign country unless you meet a host of requirements. And if you don’t speak the language of your new country, things can be even tougher. There is one way, though, to ease into a new culture and make a bit of money at the same time. You may be able to get a job teaching English.
“I’m not sure I’d be comfortable with that.” I was explaining to my sister-in-law about the contract we have with our architect, Miguel, on the renovation of our home in Merida. The fact is, we don’t have one. We’ve never signed a piece of paper or even formalized things with a handshake.
I am cuckoo for coconuts. Luckily, I have come to the right place. As we head east from Progreso past the clapboard Dulces de Coco lean-tos my mouth starts to water. But I am saving my coco-lust for one stop in particular.