– By Bea Lozano
Tag Archives: Living in Mexico
Wordless Wednesday – “Dream a little Dream of Mexico…”
What a magnificent story this photo can tell! Courtesy of Rebecca Tunstall, our 2nd runner up in the “Dream a little Dream of Mexico” Photo Contest!
-By Bea Lozano
Wildlife Wednesday – Top Mexico Real Estate’s “Dream a Little Dream of Mexico” Photo Contest Grand prize Winner!
Meet the famous monkey who gave everyone a run for their money in our “Dream a Little Dream of Mexico” Photo Contest! He entered in the last few weeks of the contest and got an incredible amount of attention. Congratulations to Kat Mendoza for winning the grand prize and for being so enthusiastic about the contest! All of us at Top Mexico Real Estate would like to say thank you to all who participated and voted!
-By Bea Lozano
What Does Peace One Day Mean for Those Living in Mexico?
Tomorrow, Sat., Sept. 21, is Peace One Day. What is Peace One Day? Take a look:
As Jeremy Gilley points out in the video, Peace One Day is an organization and movement to promote world peace for one day – September 21st – each year. The accomplishments are wonderful, even bring the Taliban to make promises of peace for this day!
Seeing things like this is moving and inspiring. Yet, it always leaves us with the question – what does this mean for us as people living in Mexico, or just human beings living our day to day lives?
The good news is that, as Jeremy points out, peace and Peace One Day isn’t just about the United Nations, big international treaties and wars on the other end of the world; it’s about us, regular people caring and getting involved.
Peace for Mexico
Every country has its own acts of violence to address and clean up. Let me address some of Mexico’s.
While we’ve pointed out, Mexico’s drug wars are often exaggerated in the media. Yet, especially in certain pockets in the north of the country, there are villages have been ravaged by feuding gangs. In these same areas there are people who’ve got themselves involved in these conflicts and live their lives in tense fear. These people need peace. While there isn’t much we can do about this, simply thinking of them on Saturday is worthwhile.
Then there are cases of domestic violence. This happens everywhere, but in much of Mexico, the country’s laws against it (which do exist!) are not well enforced if enforced at all. These people need peace and perhaps any one of us has the chance to reach out.
Peace can also mean not living in hunger and having decent shelter. Besides showing support for the efforts that Jeremy talks about, this one of the most direct and concrete ways anyone living in Mexico can offer a token of peace to those around them. Getting involved in helping the poor not only helps reduce crime but also brings comfort and peace to the lives of many who need it the most.
Let’s make peace a way of life, and as part of that, let’s take this special day to spread the message of peace to everyone we can!
-by Bea Lozano
Cenotes Are a Natural Wonder – So Let’s Protect Them!
If you’ve ever been to a cenote here in the Yucatan Peninsula, you won’t hesitate to call these beautiful, natural pools of water a natural wonder. I have no idea if they have that distinction “officially,” but they sure should.
In case you don’t know about them, cenotes are naturally-occuring pools of water which form in sink-holes opening up to the water table; they connect to the area’s vast network of underground caves and rivers. They are wonderful for snorkeling, swimming and even diving.
One point about cenotes that many people don’t know about is that they are also a sensitive eco-system; besides the plant and animal life within them, water from cenotes can also make its way to the Caribbean Sea and impact the equally sensitive coral reef ecosystem.
Many parks have rules posted, like no using sunscreen or insect repellant because these can harm the life inside the cenote.
Thankfully, the effort to protect these beautiful phenomena is going to the next level with Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) now producing a document and education program to teach property owners what steps to take to protect themselves and the cenote’s ecosystem.
Here’s an excerpt from an article on INAH’s website:
“In order to strengthen the protection and conservation of the region’s cultural, archaeological, historical and paleontological heritage specialists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) created a statutory provision for the proper use of the cenotes, caves and underground of the Yucatan Peninsula.
“Archaeologist Antonio Huitron, director of INAH Site Operations, said the document will serve to educate the owners and users of caves and cenotes. It will present the actions to be followed to safeguard and care for them, as well as legal restrictions from various levels of government.”
(Source, in Spanish)
The article also notes that there will be obligatory registration of cenotes so that they can be recorded in the Public Registry of Monuments and Archaeological Sites for protection.
While the article does not specify exactly which rules will be in the document and education program, let’s hope that the program helps to improve the protection of this natural wonder!
For more information on eco-friendly areas and activities click here!
-by Thomas Lloyd
“Getting Ready for Mexican Independence Day – #WordlessWednesday”
If this photo doesn’t scream Mexico I don’t know what does! We are getting all geared up for Mexico’s Independence Day festivities! Viva Mexico!
-by Bea Lozano
You Won’t Find This in the US! The Etiquette of Petty Thieves in Mexico
I’m always telling people that crime and safety, generally speaking, are not worse problems in Mexico than in the United States and most other countries – especially in the tourist areas. Yet, it’s only fair (and helpful to any newcomers) to acknowledge that petty theft is in fact one of the few crimes that is worse in Mexico, and that people need to take some common-sense precautions to avoid it.
Basically, what it boils down to is don’t put your wallet in your back pocket, and don’t carry items of considerable value in plain sight.
However, this is not the point of today’s post. The point is that in Mexico, in many cases, even petty thieves have a kind of an “etiquette” of how to treat the people they are robbing.
Consider this story that a friend of mine told me.
This (Mexican) friend of mine was in the old colonial downtown of Mexico City. (Mexico City is actually relatively low in crime, even compared to large U.S. cities, and always listed on the “green light” list of safe places to travel in Mexico – but, again, that’s a side point.)
He and a group of his friends started off a friendly chat with some strangers. At some point in the conversation, these strangers informed them that they were going to rob them! (You know, a nice friendly part of every daily conversation …) They were also informed that they had others waiting around the corners to get them if they tried to run away. If they just cooperated and gave up their valuables, they would walk away safely. Generally, in Mexico, cooperation is the best approach to take if you do find yourself the victim of petty theft, so these guys opened up their wallets, handed over their cash, their cell phones, etc.
hey got to this friend of mine. He didn’t have a cent on him. The thieves took a look in his wallet to confirm that he was as cash-less as he claimed to be. Satisfied that this guy really had nothing to rob, and didn’t even have a few pesos for lunch, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a subway ticket.
“There you go, brother,” he said handing him the ticket, “now you can get home for lunch.”
The thieves made off with the valuables, and these guys were free to go home – without any cash, of course!
But imagine that; a thief feels sorry for you and gives you a subway ticket to get home!
I’ve heard other similar stories where a petty thief is convinced that their “victim” has less than they do, so they actually give that person something! It sounds ironic, but now and then, it does happen.
Now, I have to point out that someone who looks like a foreigner (most expats) will usually have trouble convincing a thief that he is needier than the thief. Also, these stories are most certainly the exception rather than the rule. But the point is, that as far as I have heard, this would simply never happen in the U.S., not even if the thief thought the victim was worse off.
Mexican petty thieves are not someone you want to bump into, but they do have their etiquette.
-by Thomas Lloyd
Why I Love Mexico – #WordlessWednesday
(source: inspiration station)
-by Bea Lozano
Travel Advisory Against Connecticut: American Woman Killed in Drug Conflict
“BREAKING NEWS: Travel Advisory against Connecticut: American Woman Killed in Drug Conflict”
“After a 40-year-old American woman was shot dead in a conflict involving the cocaine trade, U.S. Officials have issued an official advisory against travel to Connecticut, and have strongly suggested that Americans avoid New England …”
Sounds absurd doesn’t it?
Well, this would be only a little more absurd than many headlines that are thrown out there about Mexico. The only part that’s more absurd is that if someone were killed in a drug conflict in Connecticut it would be taken for granted that it is an American. Also, it would be impossible for the millions of Americans in the area to avoid such travel!
But there are two ideas we need to notice; one is that we don’t avoid going to Connecticut or the surrounding area because people are killed in drug conflicts. The other is that people do, in fact, get killed in drug conflicts and similar senseless crime on a regular basis there, as in many other parts of the U.S.
You can read the news story here.
Yet, if an American were shot in a drug conflict in Tijuana, it would be all over the news, and some Americans would be canceling their trips to Cancun.
People should always be careful when they plan their travels, whether it’s in Mexico or in the U.S. But the best tool is to be informed by actual data and not by sensational news stories.
-by Thomas Lloyd
Are You Safe in Mexico? What about the U.S.? Australia Says “No!”
Just a little food for thought on this beautiful day! It is no secret that Mexico has been the target of bad publicity over the recent years. But why does Mexico get hit so bad without the mention that there is awful news happening all over the world?
It seems American’s are still incredibly fearful to travel to such an amazing place like the Riviera Maya, yet they remain content while crime is rising in their own back yards. The fact is that no matter where you are things happen! And that’s the truth!
But an interesting reaction that happened in the news struck me this week, after an Australian baseball player had been shot and killed, by two Oklahoma teenagers, while out for a normal training run. Here’s the worst part – they said it was “just for fun!!” It seems we hear this kind of bad news more and more lately in the United States, yet the U.S. is never listed as a dangerous place to travel.
For what seems like the first time, a former Australian Deputy Prime Minister made a statement by encouraging a boycott against travel to the United States. Although this was not an official travel warning it was definitely a message pointing out that loose gun laws in the United States are offering more opportunity for these kinds of horrific scenes and it is indeed dangerous.
Remember Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut this past December? The United States definitely has its fair share of life loss by innocent victims who were simply just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I am not in any way bashing the United States, as I am American and love my country, but merely pointing out that their efforts to scare travel away from Mexico are not very justifiable when they have their own set of concerns.
And with that being said, I think that for the first time Australia made a bold move to point this out!
As an American living here in the Riviera for quite some time now I can honestly say that this is wonderful safe place to live and travel. The type of crime that people are warned and afraid of in Mexico is restricted to other areas in which neither tourists nor expats are entering; and on top of that the specific kind of bad guys you are thinking of are not looking to kill or kidnap innocent bystanders, or to do it “just for fun” like the two kids in Oklahoma. This is a misconception that has been twisted by the media.
There are so many horrific things that happen in this world; killings, kidnappings, bombings, domestic violence, abuse of all forms but unfortunately there is no safe haven from those things. They happen everywhere and yes, even in the United States as you can see on the news every day! I would encourage you to use your best judgment and listen to your gut all the time and everywhere.
Don’t refrain from an amazing country or city just because you heard a bad story on the news; you could actually be doing yourself a terrible disservice not discovering something so wonderful.
An American friend of mine recently expressed her feelings after coming back from Mexico City. Her reaction was that she is sad that so many people in the United States will never know such an amazing beautiful city rich in culture, beauty, delicious food and fun, because the U.S. media has continuously worked to demolish its reputation.
I have to say I agree as I spent many years living, working and enjoying Mexico City as I do today in the Riviera Maya.
-by Thomas Lloyd
