Move to Playa del Carmen Mexico

No…but now we have a U.S. Consular Agency and a new consular agent. The new office is located on 1 Sur, which is one block south of Juarez in Playa Del Carmen. You will find the office in “The Palapa” located between 15 and 20 Avenue. We walked down 20th from Juarez, made a left on 1 Sur and this is what we saw.

We stopped in to meet the Consular Agent, Samatha Mason. Samantha has lived for many years in Cozumel, but is new to the U.S. Foreign Service. Playa del Carmen is a tough first assignment…don’t you think.  If you like, she will be happy to add you to her local registry of U.S. citizens living in the Playa del Carmen Mexico area. Her office phone number is (984) 873-0303. Her fax is (984) 873-0481. This is a voluntary list that might be beneficial if you have a personal emergency or if there is a natural disaster like a hurricane. She also plans some educational programs for expats in the area. You can find the U.S. Consulate webpage at http://merida.usconsulate.gov.

One of the services that the Consular Agent can offer you is that of a notary public for U.S. government  or personal documents. We required a notary for some postal forms required by our mail forwarding agent in the U.S. Having a recognized U.S. Notary in the local area was very helpful. There is a fee for this service. In our case about $30.00 US.

There is also a Consular Agent in Cozumel. To find the office from the Cozumel Ferry terminal, walk straight across the street when you leave the pier. Walk straight down the plaza about a half block until you see Fat Tuesdays bar on the left. Walk left under the arch (or through the bar) to the back of the shopping plaza. Go up the stairs and the Consular’s office is on the second floor in the corner.

I haven’t seen a true North American lemon since we moved here. You know, the large, fleshy, not-too-sour lemons that are called for in so many American recipes. Yes, there are limónes here, but they are smaller and green because that term in Mexican Spanish refers primarily to limes. I did a little research and found that the lemons that grow in California and Florida are very rare south of the border. In fact, Rick Bayless, author of several prominent Mexican cookbooks, says he has only seen American yellow lemons sold commercially in northwest Mexico, where they are called limónes reales.

Lemons and lemon juice are seldom used in Mexican cooking. The lime reigns supreme here in that area. I did find out that Southern Mexico is now a major grower of lemons, not for the fruit, but primarily for lemon peel oil. Also some U.S. food companies are now growing lemons in Mexico for shipment back to the U.S. However, if you are a big fan of lemon cream pie, you might want to bring a few lemons or a bottle of lemon juice with you. It doesn’t bother me. I just make my  margaritas with Mexican limónes and a slice of lime is quite nice in a glass of ice tea.