Tag Archives: Living in Playa del Carmen

How Does Playa Animal Rescue Work?

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Over the past week, we’ve seen a couple of videos about Playa Animal Rescue and its founder, Jan Northenscold.  But when we hear about an animal shelter, or pretty much any other charity, we’re often left with a bunch of questions:

  • How does it work?
  • Where do the animals come from?
  • How can people take one into their home?
  • How do you teach a street dog to be a family dog?
  • Can I volunteer?
  • What would I get to do?

Jan has taken some time to answer these and similar questions for us:

 

 

Again, it’s wonderful to see the work that Jan, Playa Animal Rescue and so many volunteers do!  150 dogs rescued each year and put into nice homes!

 

-by Bea Lozano
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Video: The Founder of Playa Animal Rescue Shares Her Story!

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The beaches of Playa del Carmen are among the most beautiful in the world, and no doubt that life on these beaches is a central part of being an expat.  Yet, being an expat is much more than just relaxation on the beaches.

As we’ve seen with the stories about the Keep Kids in School program (KKIS) over the past week, many expats contribute to the community through volunteer and charity work.

We’ve also posted about the Playa Animal Rescue program.  Here’s another video about this program – this time an interview from the expat woman who founded it last year:

 

 

This is such a wonderful story! She came to Playa, saw the need and did what she needed to open this shelter.  I’ve been there, and these dogs are simply adorable creatures!

By the way, if anyone is looking for a dog, this is an excellent way to find a wonderful companion; as she notes in the video, the dogs are healthy and clean.  It is also very possible to take the dogs back to the U.S. or Canada.

 

-by Bea Lozano

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Keeping Kids in School; Playa del Carmen’s New School Year Starts

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School started YESTERDAY in most areas of Playa del Carmen!  And with the help of the KKIS Project many deserving kids will be well equipped and ready to take on the new year!
Friday was a special day for us at Top Mexico as we were invited to help the KKIS Project put a lot of smiles on the faces of kids at Pelopidas School in the Guadaulpana neighborhood of Playa del Carmen in the morning.  As we have mentioned before, the KKIS Project works hard all year making various efforts to support keeping the kids of Playa del Carmen in school.
Their main effort his summer has been to collect school supplies and search sponsorships from people to help provide filled backpacks to the children in need before the start of school at the end of August.  Yesterday we visited one of the last schools on the list.  We loaded the back packs into the trucks and gathered into a room with 58 back packs and plenty of kids and parents.
One at a time the child’s name is called and the child or parent came to accept the back pack.  It was very touching because the kids showed so much appreciation in their face.  It was also very nice that each name that was called had a couple moments of fame as their photo was taken and everybody clapped.  It just made the experience so lovely for the kids!

Afterwards the KKIS project was thanked graciously by one of the parents who were speaking on behalf of all the families.  The kids even came around and hugged and thanked each one of the volunteers.
The efforts of KKIS are now coming to a close as the final deliveries are being made.  But they will not stop!  Come October they will continue their efforts with new projects all intended to help the kids in school and enjoy learning.

If you are looking for some way to give back to the community and get involved here in Playa the KKIS Project is a sure way to do it; and they are always happy to have more help!

-by Bea Lozano

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Childbirth at the Local Public Hospital – “Best Treatment I’ve Had”

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On Friday I posted about the variety of health care options available to choose from on a day to day basis in Mexico. Today, I’m going to share the story of an expat who’s worked in the office here for the past few years and their experience with the public hospitals, specifically his wife and childbirth.  While most expats we know won’t be going in to have a baby delivered any time soon, it reflects how good the service is even in Mexico’s “working-class” health care system.

Here it is in his own words:

“My wife and I have had 4 children; the last 2 were twins, so it was 3 childbirths for my wife – the first was in a semi-charitable hospital specialized in childbirth and maternal health in Mexico City, the second was the public-insurance hospital (IMSS) in Playa del Carmen, and the third was a hospital in Canada.

“As for cost, for the one in Canada my wife – who is Mexican – was not yet covered by public health insurance, so we had to pay it out of pocket.  While they gave us easy, interest-free payment options, it was a HUGE bill, by far the most expensive.

“The cheapest?  The IMSS hospital in Playa del Carmen.  Our entire family was covered by my wife’s insurance; we had started a little family business, and I had “hired” her.  The monthly fee was pretty low.  In any case, I know you can also get full coverage on a person-by-person basis for about $350 a year.  However you get this insurance, it’s simply cheap.

 

Best Service

“Now, you’ll never guess which was the best treatment.  The specialist hospital in Mexico City was very professional, and without a doubt knew what they were doing, but my wife said it was impersonal.  Canada – well, it was Canada.  Nice doctors, nice nurses.  Did everything right, and were very friendly, but nothing above and beyond.

“The public-insurance hospital in Playa – she remembers going in; the nurse put on music, and made a real effort to make her comfortable.  It was the longest birth of all them, but she never felt like they were rushed or anything, she was comfortable and well-attended the whole time.

“After the last birth in Canada, she said the level of service and comfort was a close call, but Playa del Carmen’s IMSS hospital still won out – and this is considering that it was all but free!

 

The Choices

“Now we had our options in Playa.  There were excellent private hospitals that would’ve charged anywhere up to about $1600 for childbirth – a far cry from the $8000 we paid in Canada!  There were also private gynecologists who charged about the same or somewhat less.

“We were thinking about those options.  But in the end we thought: we have this insurance already; there’s a brand-new, pretty-looking IMSS hospital in town.  Previously they would’ve had to send us to Cancun, which we weren’t terribly interested in, but with the new hospital we could be a 5 minute drive from our house.  We knew people who work at the hospital, and had been there for some of the pre-natal check-ups.  Everything seemed professional and well run.

“We decided to go for it, and – considering it was the cheapest and BEST treatment my wife had – we’re glad we did.

 

The Down Sides

“Not everything is rosy and perfect.  We had only one major complaint; I wasn’t allowed into the delivery room.  This is standard practice in all public/low-cost hospitals in Mexico. The private options I mentioned would’ve allowed it.  Since all the options looked really good, the question came to this – was it worth $1600 for me to be in the delivery room? Since we were still paying off the little townhouse we bought, we decided ‘no.’

“My wife would’ve liked.  I would’ve liked it.  But the excellent treatment they gave her helped to balance that somewhat.


“The other downside was the quick shipment out the door.  They definitely took the time to make sure she and the baby were in good shape and that she had rested enough to go home.  But the baby was born at 6 am; by 2 pm, she was at home. “Same day delivery” I guess …

“BUT Canada was no different!  While I did get to be in the delivery room, she was also out the door before at the soonest possible moment.

“So, in the IMSS hospital, I stayed up all night in the waiting room, read an entire book of The Lord of the Rings, drank about 10 cups of coffee (there’s an all-night OXXO, like 7-11, across the road) and probably paced a hole into their brand-new floor.

“I remember when Tom came by to pick me up around noon so we could get my older son and mother-in-law to welcome our new baby as a family; we didn’t have a car, and I wouldn’t have been in the shape drive any way.  I must have looked like a wreck, but I was the happiest man in the world.  I had just talked to the doctor, who also looked like a wreck after being up all night delivering babies; but, as attested to by wife, he has spared no effort to make everything go well.

 

The Bottom Line

“The bottom line is that IMSS, one of Mexico’s “cheap” options, gives Canada’s first-world healthcare a run for its money, which cost about 100 times more (if we count all the usage we got out of it); even if Canada had been free, IMSS still won out on the comfort they provided for my wife.”

So, there you have it.  I’m going to dig up some more health care stories from expats here in Mexico in the future.  I can tell this already; while it’s not all perfect, you begin to see a pattern – lower cost, better service.

 

-by Thomas Lloyd

 

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2000 Americans in the Riviera Maya?!?

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Mexico News has a nice little article about how many foreigners (i.e. non-Mexicans) visit and live in the Riviera Maya:

“Quintana Roo, especially destinations like Tulum, Playa del Carmen, Cozumel and Cancun, are very popular places for people from overseas to reside in.  Having an Italian, German, Argentinian neighbor (or from anywhere else around the world) is no surprise at all, if you live in these destinations.

“As a matter of fact, Quintana Roo is the state that receives the highest number of foreigners of Mexico …”

The article does a great job of showing how you’ll find neighbors and visitors from all over the world, all around you. (Read the entire article here.)

However, there’s a little point that isn’t very accurate: “Having said this, those who enter Mexico across the state, generally don’t stay here.” True, I agree with that.

But then the writer begins to cite “official figures from the National Migration Institute” on the numbers of expats:

2015 Americans

1178 Cubans

737 Italians

617 Canadians

…

Are you kidding? 2015 Americans?  I think there are more Americans in the condos next door than that!

Let me see, there’s Jim, Sally, Dana, Doug, … just kidding!

But in all seriousness, I’ve heard numbers upwards of 10,000. Just from the feeling of how many Americans I see around, I think that would be closer.  Now, of course, the “feeling” of how many there are is boosted by the large number of tourists.  But even during low season, there are expats everywhere.

On the other hand, these “official” numbers count only those who register.  Most expats I know don’t register.  In fact, I don’t think I know any who do.

I’ve written about similar topics before.  When it comes to counting the expats, it’s mostly guesswork.  But one think we can say with a good deal of confidence is that these “official” numbers are fairly useless.

 

-by Thomas Lloyd

 

Mexico Real Estate Investment Kit

Xplor Fuego! An Adventure not to be forgotten!

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The creators of Xcaret outdid themselves when they created Xplor Adventure Park but they have gone beyond what they already created and offered a new twist on one of the leading experiences in the Riviera Maya!  This new hype is called Xplor Fuego!  Xplor took and extra step and decided to open its doors at night lighting up the entire park with fire and excitement! A friend of mine recently went and shared this with me:


“You enter the park just before dusk into a cave like environment! Come equipped with your bathing suit or clothes if you don’t mind getting wet.  Also, it is important to bring water shoes! You don’t need to change into dry clothes until the very end.  Expect to get when during all activities!  You can choose to start with any of 5 adventures.  You can swim through the underground river, take a paddle boat ride through the river, soar through the zip line circuit, drive through the amphibious jungle or eat in spectacular buffet. 

We decided to start with the swim through the underground river.  And we were glad to do so because after swimming through a magical underground cenote, lit up of all different colors, you end swimming thorough an amazing waterfall.  All of a sudden you realize you are in a cenote pool with the waterfalls all around you and when you look up the view and the feeling is absolutely incredible!

 

Now since we were already in the vicinity we wandered over to take a little stroll through the river in the paddle boat.  The ride was fun and the paddles were very easy and user friendly.  Again you experience more amazement in a different route of the underground river. 

 

Say Cheese!  Or shall I say, Tequila!!!  And be ready!  Because there are cameras throughout the entire area of the park and underground river!

 

By the time we were done with the underground river, the skies darkened!  We took a break to eat and enjoy a fabulous buffet including a real BBQ offering beef and pork ribs, hot dogs, hamburgers and baked potatoes.  Also an incredible salad bar with fresh and healthy veggie options with a variety of dressings and toppings.  Also, you can enjoy some other international items such as chicken kebobs, pizza, mozzarella sticks, and much, much more! And if that isn’t enough how about ice cream, coffee, hot chocolate and natural fruit water!  And it’s all unlimited!

 


After filling our bellies it was time to explore the amphibious jungle with an adventurous 4×4 jeep ride!  What an experience!  The path is set up through the jungle with hills, water, rocks, heavy terrain and bridges.  The jeeps are very equipped and safe for this kind of activity so go ahead and press the gas a little and head out in the moon light!  Keep those lights on!  If you turn them off you will sit still in absolute darkness! We tested it for the thrill!  Stopped of course! Don’t worry, you are not alone! There are check points along the way to be sure your car is working properly and can continue with the ride!  You will not get lost in the dark!  This activity was my husband’s absolute favorite!  Before moving on we refueled in the snack area to rest for a few minutes and enjoy Mexican sweet bread and hot cocoa. We couldn’t resist!!!

 


Now onto the zip line circuit! We started this adventure by walking up a very safe spiral path to the top of a tower where we took flight on zip line number one!  The zip lines are truly an incredible experience and even for me who is honestly afraid of heights this was my top pick for the entire park!  I have been zip lining during the day and enjoyed it but it is truly a different and unique experience to soar through the sky at night underneath the moon and stars!  It is a completely different feel and I highly recommend this experience!  The circuit consists of nine zip lines; the last one with a fun splash water landing! 

 

Although this was the last of the fun filled activities, it did not end our night!  Didn’t I mention that the buffet is unlimited!? Yep!  All this fun called for another refuel!  So we sat and enjoyed another meal and talked about what an incredible time we had!  This brought us up to right around 11 pm which was perfect timing to fit in all the activities, eat and relax! Before leaving we stopped to view all the awesome photos that had been snapped of us during the adventure!  You are not obligated to purchase these photos however we did!  They offer different packages for you to choose from. I must say that buying the photos are always worth it for me to be able to keep for memories!  And this one in particular was certainly a memorable experience!

 This experience was not a one-time stop for me;  I enjoyed it so much that I plan to return!  I hope that everyone out there will give this a shot; you will not be disappointed.”

So, I recommend Xplor – at night!  I’ll have to go check it out myself some time soon.

 

-by Bea Lozano
Mexico Real Estate Investment Kit

KKIS Project working hard to Keep Kids in School!

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We have been pretty focused, these days, on what is going on in the community of Playa del Carmen; and have already touched upon a few ways to contribute while living or spending a considerable amount of time here.  But today I want to talk about a specific organization that is making great strides to help out the kids here in Playa del Carmen.

 

Keeping Kids in School

A group of expats have set up and organization called the Keeping Kids in School Project (KKIS) and is geared towards helping the kids of Playa del Carmen to be prepared and stay in school.  Among their many efforts throughout the year, the team of KKIS is now focused on packing backpacks full of school supplies for children who come from low income families.  This effort started out with just a few neighborhoods and has spread throughout Playa del Carmen.

 


How does the KKIS Backpacks for Kids project operate?

The families are asked to fill out a form with basic information about the family, their income and about the children.  In this case, the organization is working to help low income families who may not be able to afford all the necessary supplies which is why income is considered. The families are asked to list the supplies that are required for the upcoming school year for their children.

Based on age and grade level, the needed items may be different. Some examples of supplies that are being gathered are lined spiral notebooks, pens, pencils, erasers, calculators, dictionaries, geometry sets, colored paper, colored pencils, scissors, pencil cases, and of course backpacks! The group works in an extremely organized fashion and this is thanks to a number of volunteers that show up in a local garage ever week, where the items are stored.  They usually spend a couple of hours at a time and can accomplish a great deal within that time!

 


Giving a Hand

We are proud to have joined KKIS by volunteering our time to help pull all this together.  With about six people we each have a station.  There is one bag or each child or in some cases family.  The bag with the correct name is pulled and ready to be stuffed. Janet pulls the applications one by one and reads off exactly what needs to go inside to the team.  The person designated to that station pulls the supplies and puts them into the bag. This is truly a perfect example of a team effort!

Once the bag is stuffed it is put to the side in its appropriate spot and next to any others who are in the same family. The second step in the process is to then transfer the items in each bag to a designated backpack for each child.  And finally the backpacks are delivered weekly to a different neighborhood.

This will continue to be an ongoing weekly effort from now until school starts with backpacks being delivered to different families every weekend!  We are thrilled to see such a meaningful effort being handled by our fellow friends and expats here in Playa del Carmen.

 


The Experience

The families of the children are deeply appreciative with the efforts of KKIS. I would like to share with you a short email that was sent to me by Janet Lowe who is helping to direct this operation. This will surely put a smile on your face!

“Yesterday was our first delivery. It went to the El Peten neighborhood, north and west of Playa del Carmen, a working class area. We met the families that had filed applications with us last January. Three cars of volunteers arrived at the park where some families were waiting for us. Marilou processed the paperwork, the rest of us found the correct backpack for each child, talked with the families and took photos. It was 3:00 pm and very hot. Soon a bicycle cart appeared at the curb and water ices were served to us all. When I went to thank the man he explained that this is the family business and thanked us for helping his three children. He asked if we would be in the park again today and when I said yes, he promised to be there also. I love Mexico!”

– Janet Lowe

 

How Can You Help?

If you would like to contribute to this organization either by volunteering your time or helping to donate school supplies please contact find the KKIS project on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-KKIS-Project/230592130368921 and send them a message.  There you will also find many other projects and efforts that they are working on to help the kids in the community!

 

-by Bea Lozano
Mexico Real Estate Testimonials

What Are Your Best Memories of Mexico? Share Pictures and Win a Prize!

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Top Mexico Real Estate having a calendar photo contest this summer.  Besides getting your picture in a printed calendar, there are some exciting prizes, including:

  • an underwater digital camera
  • a full day pass for The Fives luxury resort
  • a free copy of the hard-cover calendar for all category winners

There are 13 categories:

  1. Mexico Relax
  2. Livin’ Playa
  3. 25 Top Beaches
  4. Underwater
  5. Beach Sunrise/Sunset
  6. I Love Mexico
  7. Mayan Wildlife
  8. Ancient Mayan
  9. Mayan Jungle

10. Beach Sports

11. Mexican Food

12. Walk on the Beach

13. Lucky 13 (Any photo of the Riviera Maya taken from a mobile device)

For more information, and to submit a photo, visit our Facebook page for the competition.

-by Bea Lozano

 

Mexico Real Estate Investment Kit

Video: Americans and Canadians Volunteer at Playa del Carmen Animal Rescue

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Americans and Canadians living in Playa del Carmen enjoy life on the beach.  They enjoy relaxing in the sun, sipping martinis at nice bars, etc.

 

But many expats also spend some time giving back to their community, helping out, making it a better place for expats and Mexicans alike.

 

One such activity is animal shelters.  The Playa Animal Rescue program rescues mostly dogs off the street, takes care of them and finds them homes.  Americans and Canadians come, walk the dogs, play with them, bathing cute puppies and generally have great time; you’ll see in this video that this is not only responsible living, but a great way to enjoy life:

 

(if you can’t see the video, click here)

Life in Playa del Carmen is about relaxation on the beach, and enjoying an affordable life in a beautiful, warm place.  Yet, there’s a lot that expats can do to add to that.

 

-by Bea Lozano

 

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Run for Happiness! Run for Health! Run for Charity! Or just Run!

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Sunday in Playa del Carmen was filled with motivation and fun at the 1st annual 5k and 10k Solidaridad race!  The race started at Centro Maya and continued on highway 307 over the bridges!  The great thing about this event was that the energy reached all different crowds.  Some younger, some older, some runners some walkers!  In any case we saw a great diversity running this race and many expats involved.

 

A World-Wide Trend

Over the last couple years these kinds of races as well as marathons have become extremely popular and it’s providing motivation to get people to train and be in better shape! This trend has gone all over the world and of course in Mexico as well!

 


Ready, Set, Go!

On Sunday the race started at 7 am!  Runners were given chips to put into their shoes to track their times!    The runners took off from Centro Maya, up the highway bridges and around back to Centro Maya for the finish line!  At the end of the race there was a lot of energy and a big party to congratulate the runners but also to wish Playa del Carmen a happy 20th Birthday!  (… as a municipality; the town is much older.)

 

Mmm … Food Again

Pizza was provided by De local restaurant as well as many food options available including fruit, sandwiches, sweet breads and pastries, plenty of water, juice and rehydrating beverages!  Besides the generous breakfast there was energetic music, an announcement of the winners and we can’t forget FREE massages for all the runners!  It was truly a well thought and organized event and was definitely a great and rewarding experience for all that participated!

 

Top Mexico Participates … Along with Everyone Else

One of our very own team members ran the 10k race and finished in one hour and six minutes! She says she loves these kinds of events because it gives her motivation to practice, train and stay in shape; and at the end of the day makes her feel proud!
We saw men and women of all ages running including children, people running with their dogs, mothers pushing their babies in the strollers, even a very talented man balancing a soccer ball on his nose all throughout the 10k course!  Incredible!  We think it’s great that there was so much turn out and excitement here in Playa for this event!  It makes us feel more proud every day to see the love everyone has for our small beach town and to see so much turn out for community events!

 

If this kind of activity is something you enjoy doing go ahead and add some of the Riviera Maya races to your list.  Following this last race there will be a night run in Cancun with glow sticks and Neon lights in August.  If you like more of a challenge you might want to join the Cancun Marathon in December which has a route running throughout the hotel zone!  If running isn’t your thing come out and cheer the runners on!  They always appreciate the support!

 

-by Bea Lozano
Livin' Playa video interview