What’s To Do?
By Editor | February 27, 2008
People are always asking me, “So…..what do you do to pass the time?” I guess they think because we are basically retired that we sit at home twiddling our thumbs. Nope, that’s not us, although we do enjoy some evenings at home reading, writing email to friends, listening to music or watching a movie (yes, we have a Blockbuster Video here, and we catch a good movie every once in a while on one of our cable channels). Sometimes we go out to a movie at one of two very nice cinemas that actually do show movies in English. We have taken oil painting lessons. There’s shopping in the many stores and malls. It’s very interesting to walk into the less touristy areas and find wonderful little Mexican shops. We enjoy going out to eat, and there are many varied restaurants here, most with outdoor seating, ranging from gourmet and expensive in the tourist areas to very Mexicano with excellent food at a much cheaper price (guess which one is our favorite). We have made many friends here among the local expats and have dinners or parties at our house, or we are invited to theirs. On Thursday and Saturday afternoons, you might find us at Bad Boys Beach Bar where we kick back with an ice-cold cerveza and listen to live rock and roll while enjoying time with our friends who also hang out there. It’s a 10 minute walk to the beach from our condo, so some days we go lay in the sun and enjoy the spectacular ocean view. Everyone is welcome on the beaches around Playa. Mexican law protects every beach as public property so you can sun yourself wherever you choose – even in front of resorts where you aren’t a guest. The sand here is even cool……made up mostly of coral. From time to time, we explore different beaches along this coast or the Mayan ruins and hope in time to venture out even farther. Akumal and Tulum are a short distance away as are the islands of Cozumel and Isla Mujeres.
There are things to do here that other people enjoy that we don’t particularly. Playacar has a nice golf course and country club from what I’ve been told. Many people like to go to the Muscle Beach Gym to work out or go to a spinning or aerobics class. There are Tae Kwon Do studios and Yoga classes. You can swim, snorkle or dive in the gorgeous reef or one of the cenotes (underground caves) that abound here. Of course there is deep sea fishing and I’ve been told, fly fishing.
I think only a hermit would be bored here. There’s lots to do.
Topics: Living Here | No Comments »
Lost My Cellphone - Now What?
By Editor | December 21, 2007
Losing a cell phone is never a good thing, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as I imagined when I first realized I couldn’t find it last Sunday morning. As luck would have it, I had just added a 500 peso prepaid card the night before. Fortunately, it was an inexpensive phone. I had a total credit of about 1750 on my prepaid balance when I lost the phone, so between the air time and the cost of the phone, it was like losing $125.00.
In Mexico, it is unlikely that the man on the street who finds your phone will return it. It would have been very easy for someone to look through my stored numbers and find my home number or simply call any of the local numbers on the phone to find a way to contact me. I didn’t really expect that to happen, but I was hopeful. I waited two days before doing anything about the missing phone.
On Tuesday morning I decided there had been adequate time for someone to get my phone back to me, and it was time to replace it. A friend advised me to go to the Telcel Customer Service Center at the Centro Maya mall in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Of course, there was the obligatory line to stand in, but the wait wasn’t terrible… about 20 minutes. Our customer service representative was very helpful and spoke much better English than my Spanish. He deactivated the lost phone, transferred my number to a new phone, and also transferred my remaining prepaid balance to the new phone. The prepaid balance was about 300 pesos less than when I lost the phone, but I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to transfer the balance at all. My cheap replacement phone, a Motorola C139, and the fee to transfer the phone number totaled a little less than $500 MX. So losing my cell phone was more like losing $50 instead of $100. Probably a more significant loss was my stored phone numbers.
Lessons learned - hang on to my cell phone and backup my phone list.
Topics: Phone & Utilities | 1 Comment »
U.S. Consulate in Playa del Carmen?
By Editor | October 25, 2007
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.
Topics: Living Here | No Comments »
No Lemons in Mexico
By Editor | October 24, 2007
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.
Topics: Living Here | No Comments »
What does it cost?
By Editor | October 24, 2007
We’ve started compiling a list of what things cost here in Playa del Carmen Mexico. This list was not taken from a proper price survey, but from receipts and notes we’ve kept. We’ll update this from time to time. Prices fluctuate here just like they do in the United States, Canada or Europe. We shop mostly at Walmart, Mega and Sam’s Club. If you shop at a local tienda, your prices may be different.
We’ve found the cost of groceries and househould consumables very similar to United States. Some items cost more, some cost less, but overall it’s about the same probably due to the influence of Walmart, Sam’s Club and Costco.
Note: Prices are in pesos and weight is in kilograms. For a rough conversion to US dollars, divide by ten. For a rough conversion from kilograms to pounds, divide kilograms by two.
Food
1 Doz. Eggs 13.90
Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice 1 Liter 15.55
Herdez Salsa 11.55
Package of 6 Bagels 29.95
1 Small Can Tuna 7.5
bananas per killigram 10.50 (varies with sales)
turkey bacon 227 g 46.20
pepper jack Cheese 227 g 24.70
white flour small pkg 23.80
Green Tea bags (25 1-gram bags) 17.20
Limes per killigram 5.90
Can of Seasoned Pinto Beans 7.30
Cardinis Italian Dressing 354 g 38.50
Crema (like sour cream but not as sour) 31.48
Fat-free Frozen Fudge Bars (box of 6) 47.20
Milk (1 Liter Box) 12.00
Orange juice (1 Liter Box) 12.00
Small loaf of Wonder wheat bread 16.04
Avacadoes per killigram 34.85
Head of iceberg lettuce 10.30
Margarine (heart healthy variety in tub) 23.35
Onions per killigram 11.85
Papaya per killigram 14.45
Potatoes per killigram 9.80
Serano chilis per killigram 22.80
Pepsi 2 liter 14.90
Poblano Chili peppers per killigram 19.45
Rice large bag 9.90
Whole wheat tortillas (10 pieces) 7.90 (packaged bake good)
Carlo Rossi White Wine (4 liters) 158.00
Green peppers per killigram 17.95
Roma tomatoes per killigram 23.90
Paper towels (1 roll) 35.90 (Duramax High Quality)
Box of chocolate chip cookies 29.90
zuchinni squash per killigram 13.70
Cottage cheese 25.20
Turkey breast lunch meat 1/2 killigram 56.18
Quaker Oatmeal 16.50
Quaker Oatmeal Squares cereal
Grape jelly small jar 24.80
chocolate cup cakes (360 grams) 27.98
Sprite Zero - 1 can 6.00
Tortilla chips 500 grams 16.97
Brocolli (3 med heads) 15.80
Chetos Cheese Puffs 380 grams 20.00
Salmon fillets 72.93
Household Miscellaneous
10 plastic clothes hangars 17.20
Charmin Toilet Tissue 11.45 (4 regular roll pack)
Caprice Hair Spray 285 g. 21.00
Toothbrush 19.40
Old Spice Deoderant 60 g. 28.48
Centrum Silver 1/day Vitamins 79.00
Colgate Whitening Toothpaste (100 ml) 44.40
Hair Gel (32 oz) 22.85
Aspirin for heart health 100 mil 33.00
Super glue 12.90
Insecticide Spray 37.30
Pyrex casserole dish w/lid 73.50
Tums (small) 23.00
Home Office Items
HP 1012 Toner Cartridge from Office Depot $85.00 (Store brand)
Essentials for our Son 
McDonald’s Malt - Med. 25.00
Topics: Groceries, Living Here | No Comments »
So Many Small Shops
By Editor | October 24, 2007
When you get out of the tourist district, you will find many small shops in Playa del Carmen. Sooner or later you’ll need something that you won’t find in Walmart or Mega and will go searching for a local outlet. For us it was difficult to figure out just what these tiendas sell or what service they provide. We did some research, and here’s a list of the more common tiendas you will see in Playa and Latin America. Some are more obvious than others.
cafetería — coffeeshop, snack bar (from café, coffee)
carnicería — butcher shop (from carne, meat)
cervecería — brewery, bar
confitería — candy store (from confite, candy)
dentistería — oral surgeon’s office
drogería — drugstore, variety store (also pharmacia)
ebanistería — cabinet shop, place where cabinets are made (from ebano, ebony)
ferretería — hardware store (from a old word for iron)
floristería — flower shop
frutería — fruit shop
heladería — ice-cream parlor
herboristería — herbalist’s shop
herrería — blacksmith’s shop
joyería — jewelry shop
jugetería — toy shop
lavandería — laundry (from lavar, to wash)
lechería — dairy
lencería — linen shop, lingerie shop
librería — bookstore
mueblería — furniture store
panadería — bakery (from pan, bread)
papelería — stationery store
pastelería — pastry shop
peluquería — hairdresser’s shop, beauty shop, barbershop (from peluca, wig)
pescadería — seafood store
perfumería — fragrance shop, perfume store
pharmacia - pharmacy
pizzería — pizzaria, pizza parlor
sastrería — tailor’s shop
sombrerería — hat shop, hat factory
tapicería — upholstery shop, furniture store (from tapiz, tapestry)
tintotería — dry-cleaner’s (from tinto, red wine)
verdulería — produce store, greengrocer’s, vegetable market (from verdura, vegetable)
zapatería — shoe store
Topics: Living Here | No Comments »
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