I just found this amazing story about a retiree who spent 9 days in a hospital in Mexico for emergency medical care. His family paid under $6500 USD. In the U.S., the same care would’ve cost $125,000 USD!
Even with medicare coverage, his family would’ve paid $25,000 USD as a co-payment.
Read the story at The Snowbird’s Cactus, the new blog we recently started about starting life in Mexico – “A hospital in Mexico saved my father’s life … and cost less than $6,500″.
-by Thomas Lloyd
As I’ve said before, Mexico is actually a combination of various distinct regions each with its own culture, customs and traditions. One of the benefits of Playa del Carmen is that throughout the year there are culture fairs where artists and vendors from various regions will sell food, handicrafts, artwork and clothing among other items, as well as have presentations of music and dance.
This week, one such culture fair is taking place in the city square presenting the culture of Oaxaca, pronounced “Wa-HA-ca.” Oaxaca is a region which has gained little attention internationally but is fairly well recognized within Mexico as a distinct culture. It is the southern most state on the Pacific Coast, bordering Guatemala.
Over the next few days, I’m going to share pictures of the various items which artisans and vendors were selling. Today, I’ll start with the big #1 – food!
First of all, one of the items that makes a fair like this very difficult for me is the bread – which is almost too good to resist! It is freshly baked, on site, and the smell of fresh, sweet bread fills the air:
Here, you can see the bakers at work:
Next, take a look at all the different ice cream flavors – it includes some normal ones like walnut and strawberry, but also some more exotic flavors like tequila and cheese. One is “A Oaxacan Kiss” (Beso Oaxaceno). I wonder what that flavor would be!
The candies – SO MANY delicious candies:
As you can see, the sweets are my favorites! But, moving to the savory flavors, here are some curious items. This next pictures shows “chapulines” which are roasted grasshoppers. Surprisingly, they’re quite tasty! People eat them like you would roasted peanuts (which were being sold in the bin next to it):
Now, these next two pictures are seasonings and sauces made with the same roasted grasshoppers as a key ingredient:
And now, one of my favorites – mole! I don’t think we’ve written about this before; it’s a thick, rich, somewhat spicy sauce that is usually served over chicken. As in traditional markets, a fair like this offers many varieties of different colors and sweetnesses:
You’ll notice that this last picture is of “pepian” which is a similar enough, that for the sake of this post, we’ll just categorize as “mole.” In the future I hop to dedicate an entire post to mole.
You’ll also notice that many of the mole stands sell round disks of chocolate. Chocolate is actually one of the key ingredients in mole. Oaxaca is known for its chocolate. These disks are melted into hot milk to make hot chocolate.
Finally, there were a few booths of mezcal, the liquor for which Oaxaca is famous. You’ll notice the packets tied to the tops of the bottles, which have salt mixed with ground up worms – as in the kind you find in tequila:
One Monday, we’ll see some pictures of traditional toys, followed by other handicrafts.
-by Bea Lozano
Yesterday, over at our other blog, Doug Morgan wrote piece about the beautiful beachfront homes in Playacar Phase I (see Playacar Phase I is Pure Beachfront Relaxation and Comfort!) Today, I just want to add to this, that whether you live in that beautiful, upscale community or not, the beach – called Xaman Ha – is one of the nicest places to spend time in Playa del Carmen!
This is for several reasons.
Let’s take a look at some pictures:
And, if you love nature, there are also large green areas in Playacar, near the beach and back from the beach, that preserve the region’s original jungle. Notice the tapir in the middle of the picture:
Even if you don’t live in Playacar, this is simply a wonderful beach to enjoy!
-by Bea Lozano
Have you ever tried a traditional Mexican soup called pozole?
There are various styles, but the one I like most and have most often is in a tomato base – called “red pozole,” for obvious reasons. It has large kernels of a special white corn and thin strips of chicken or pork. On top, you put oregano, chopped onion, chile powder and lettuce.
Here’s a picture:
The soup is filling; for most people, one bowl, perhaps with a couple of small tacos on the side, will be a complete meal.
Here am I, enjoying a bowl of pozole for my birthday today:
If you ever get the chance, I recommend that you try it. Everyone says that homemade is better – I’m lucky enough to have one of the best pozole chefs in my home – but many restaurants and especially the little “fondas” (local ma and pa restaurants) are also very good.
-by Thomas Lloyd
Most people have heard of enchiladas. However, fewer people know about the variation of this dish on the Yucatan Peninsula called papadzules.
Even people who have arrived to the better known tourist centers like Cancun or Playa may not know about these since these places tend to be dominated by a variety of Mexican food from throughout the country as well as international. In the rest of the Yucatan Peninsula they are common every day food, so anyone who’s been to Merida, Valladolid or Campeche is more likely to have seen or tried them.
Like enchiladas, they are made with rolled up tortillas. Instead of chicken inside, they have hard boiled eggs. On top, they have a green sauce made out of pumpkin seeds. There may be a bit of tomato sauce as well, and some additional hard-boiled eggs.
The flavor is mild and pleasant, and it’s unlikely that they will “take getting getting used to.” For me, they’re not among my favorites, but they’re definitely a nice change when we go out on a road trip to the more distinctly Mayan regions of Yucatan.
If you get the chance to try them, you should feel privileged; apparently the name originally meant something like “food of the lords.”
– Bea Lozano
TOPMexicoRealEstate.com; Mexico’s Leading Network of Specialists for Finding and Purchasing Mexican Properties Safely
One of the appealing points about Playa del Carmen is that there are many people from North America, Europe and many other parts of the world coming and going all the time. Yet, there comes a time in the late winter/early spring when you’re just waiting for the crowds to disappear for a while so you can enjoy a quiet beach.
Yet, the good news is that in a few places, you can enjoy this even during the busiest tourist season in the winter. One such beach that offers quieter, relaxed enjoyment of the sunshine away from the crowds is Xcalacoco Beach, just 10 minutes out of town, to the north.
Take a look at these pictures:
By the way, you might be interested to know about El Cielo Residencial, a beautiful gated community which we’ve written about before. It is a very short bike ride away from this wonderful beach!
-by Bea Lozano
We want to wish you a very happy Easter with family and friends where ever you may be!
Here’s how we celebrate Easter on the beach:
Again, enjoy your Easter holidays!
Most people know something about Mexico’s Passion Plays; these plays act out the last hours of Jesus’ life in which he is put on trial, carries his cross and is crucified.
The extent to which these events are acted out and the realism of them varies from region to region and community to community. At the very least, they include someone acting the role of Jesus carrying often large and heavy crosses for fairly long distances. In the most extreme cases, they actually have someone physically strike Jesus with a with a whip, and even tie him onto the cross which is raised as though it were a real crucifixion with the person Jesus on it, although such extremes are rare! (I haven’t heard of any cases where they actually use nails or anything like that …)
Take a look at the pictures below:
So, do I think this stuff is a good idea? Well, it’s certainly very different, and a very foreign expression of very different values. What I will say is that they certainly take their religion seriously! It is worth noting, however, that it’s very rare that Mexicans are push about their religion; they prefer to show their passion (no pun intended) rather than tell you about it or try to convince you of it.
-by Thomas Lloyd
The week leading up to Easter is important in many countries and cultures. However, Easter up in the U.S. is usually just a nice family dinner on Sunday, and an Easter egg hunt – lots of fun, but still only one day.
Of course, many people will go to church on Good Friday, and in Canada they add a day on Monday, but otherwise these days carry on, business like usual.
As is often the case, the Mexican Easter holidays are more “substantial.”
In Mexico, Easter is an entire week of holidays (Holy Week). Many people have the entire week off work. Of course, some people – especially those who work in tourism or restaurants – have to work not only regular hours, but overtime to accommodate everyone else’s holiday cheer!
What people do during these days varies greatly depending on their personal values, beliefs and finances. There are enough Mexicans who enjoy the time for travel and simple pleasures, or just to relax.
However, with Mexico’s strong Catholic roots, most people will include some religious activity, and many will dedicate the week to their faith. As happens in Canada and the U.S., at Easter (like at Christmas) many people who aren’t very dedicated to religion will go to church and participate in related activities – but probably in greater numbers and more passionately so (no pun intended!)
Holy Week includes the Palm Sunday processions, the Passion plays of Good Friday, in which people re-enact the story of Jesus’ death (which we’ll look at tomorrow), and going to mass really often. On Saturday, there’s a strange little tradition in Mexico City at least of throwing water on passers-by. I’m still not sure why they do this.
-by Thomas Lloyd
There have been some cases in which people fell in love with some specific Mexican food item, which then lead them to fall in love with Mexico and stay here.
I suspect that this has happened more than once with “jamoncillos.” This delicious milk-based candy is probably best described as a kind of fudge. It is soft, buttery and very sweet with a touch of a nutty flavor. In fact, it is often sold with pecans in it.
Originally, it seems to be from the north of Mexico.
The name is unusual; “jamoncillo” would probably be translated literally to something like “a small ham.” Yet, obviously, ham or pork have absolutely nothing to do with this candy. Perhaps it refers to one of the common or original shapes of the candy? Who knows – on my part it’s 100% guess work.
Jamoncillos are sold in a variety of shapes and sizes. The most common is a kind of ridged tube shape. Squares (like squares of fudge) are also common, as well as small round shapes.
In any form or shape, it’s simply mouth-watering!
It can be found from big brand names in commercial packaging, but most commonly it’s a produced on a small-scale in something more like local production. It’s rare that it’s packaged, and is often sold at candy-booths and tables in local markets.
-by Bea Lozano
TOPMexicoRealEstate.com; Mexico’s Leading Network of Specialists for Finding and Purchasing Mexican Properties Safely