People often ask why I live in Mexico. I always feel put on the spot when they do because I don’t really have a satisfactory answer. I can’t say, “I live in Mexico because I do.” That doesn’t really explain it well.

After giving it some thought, I would say I like living in Mexico because of unique, random, and serendipitous occurrences. More simply stated, sh*t happens. Oftentimes, when “it” happens it turns out to be something very cool. Then again, sometimes it’s not.

I have listed some of my experiences while I have lived in Mexico. I could probably list another 500 interesting things. These just happened to be the ones that first came to mind. Most of the experiences I consider to be positive and they are not listed in any particular order.

If your reaction is “cool” after you have finished reading the list you just might be cut out to live in Mexico. If your reaction is “huh” or “why” then you might not be.

Since I have Lived in Mexico I have:

• Been charged by a bull while shopping on a main street
• Experienced an earthquake while staying at an old hotel
• Been forced to touch a man’s wooden leg (It was rumored that he kept a pistol in it)
• Driven through a lava field
• Witnessed cowboy gun-battles in front of bars
• Drunk tequila in the town of Tequila
• Discovered scorpions in my bed and clothes
• Learned fluent Spanish
• Lived through a major economic crisis (far worse than the current U.S. economic crisis) and a few minor ones
• Sung a ballad to a horse
• Attended wedding parties that have gone all night and well into the next day
• Made tamales from scratch
• Wasted untold numbers of hours standing in line at the bank
• Seen Michael Jackson in concert
• Crawled on my hands and knees through a pitch-black tunnel that connects two pyramids
• Crashed a wedding party
• Eaten fried grasshoppers and sauteed ant eggs
• Seen one of the best bullfights in the past 50 years
• Sung with the Mariachis in Plaza Garibaldi

What experiences have you had while in Mexico?

If you are interested in Living in Mexico, you might be interested in this guide, The Trick is Living Here, a practical detailed guide to living or working in Mexico. You might be surprised how different things can be.

–This is the third post of many highlighting our recent road trip to
Mascota and Talpa, Jalisco taken with a group of long-time friends. The
first of the two towns we visited was Mascota which is about sixty five
miles inland from the Puerto Vallarta Airport. Mascota makes a great side trip from Puerto Vallarta–

Most of the homes in downtown Mascota are traditional homes made of adobe. Many have been fully restored to their former beauty.

The house in the pictures is waiting for the right person to restore it. I told my wife that we might be the right people for the job. She made it quite clear that we were absolutely NOT the right people.

Even though this house hasn’t been restored I thought it was quite beautiful. If you look at the way the adobe is peeling off the wall, it forms a question mark with the door.

Looking at this house I see a historic treasure my wife sees a decrepit building. Like there are dog people and cat people there are old house people and new house people. I am old house people.

Previous road-trip posts:
The Ice Cream Shop

Rancho la Esmeralda

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Mexican Discount Airlines

I came across an article in the San Francisco Chronicle that gives a great overview of Mexico’s budget airlines and where you can go flying with them. The list of airlines is complete. Two airlines I have never even heard of and I’m always looking for less expensive ways to travel.

Here is an excerpt from the article from the SF Chronicle:

While U.S. airlines have been dropping like flies (or at least
grounding their planes and filing for bankruptcy), Mexico’s discount
airlines have been steadily adding new destinations.

These new airlines crisscross Mexico, landing and taking off from more
than 50 cities. Some of these destinations are border cities and
industrial centers of no interest to most U.S. travelers; others are
popular tourist spots already served by U.S. airlines. It’s the middle
ground that’s really worth a look — intriguing destinations that used
to be hard to reach without putting in some serious road time, as well
as some likable cities that offer reasonable alternatives to busier
airports. Read the full article.

I have flown on three of the airlines on their list and the deals can be fantastic. Over Spring Break this year, on Viva Aerobus, we flew roundtrip from Puerto Vallarta to Monterrey for $750
pesos per person including all taxes.

Check the airlines websites often to see what they are
offering. Viva Aerobus has the most aggresive promotions. If you book
far enough in advance you can get a flight that costs $1 pesos plus
applicable taxes which comes out to a little over $500 pesos.

It’s getting much easier to use Puerto Vallarta as a jumping off point to explore Mexico.

Other related posts:
Travel Deals from Puerto Vallarta
Reducing Airfare Costs by Understanding Seasonal Airfare Fluctuations

-This is the second post of many highlighting our recent road trip to Mascota and Talpa, Jalisco taken with a group of long-time friends. The first of the two towns we visited was Mascota which is about sixty five miles inland from the Puerto Vallarta Airport.-

After we checked into our hotel in Mascota, the first thing we did was go for ice cream. One of our friends who had already been to Mascota insisted we stop at her favorite ice cream shop, the Neveria Rosita, because the ice cream was so good.

We weren’t really sure we wanted ice cream. It was evening. We had just arrived from Vallarta and wanted dinner. She continued to insist that we stop for ice cream first and that we would thank her if we went.

She was right about the ice cream. It was excellent – old fashioned ice cream, made on the premises.

Read the first Road Trip post – Rancho la Esmeralda

This is the first post of many highlighting our recent road trip to Mascota and Talpa, Jalisco taken with a group of long-time friends. The first of the two towns we visited was Mascota which is about sixty five miles inland from the Puerto Vallarta Airport. Driving time from Puerto Vallarta is about 2:10 due to the winding mountain road. The drive is beautiful and the road is much better than it used to be.

Mascota is a quaint old town which has become a popular tourist destination for people looking for a taste of Old Mexico. The buildings are adobe, the streets cobblestone. The pace is slow and the people pleasant. It’s the kind of place where you can do nothing but watch the world go by for hours and enjoy every moment.

Arriving at the outskirts of Mascota, we stopped to check out a recommended place to stay, the Rancho la Esmeralda. Pulling up to the administration building, we knew we had found our place to stay. Rancho la Esmeralda is a country bungalow hotel set on 24 acres. I felt as if I were arriving on a movie set.

The administration office and the owner’s home. They have a coffee pot set up on the patio for your morning coffee. You can stay and drink it in one of the rocking chairs or take it back to the patio of your bungalow.

I never thought I would get so excited about rocking chairs. When we were checking in, I was bouncing around like a little kid telling everyone, “look everybody, rocking chairs!”

Rancho la Esmeralda has five two-bedroom bungalows and five single rooms. Rates are $480 pesos for the single rooms and $980 pesos for the bungalows. The bungalows are a great deal. They sleep six people and have a fully stocked kitchenette.

The setting is spectacular, wide open space  with an amazing view of the surrounding mountains. The weather is about ten degrees cooler than in Puerto Vallarta and much less humid.

Rancho la Esmeralda is easy to find. When you arrive on the outskirts of town you will see a Pemex gas station and a big sign for the hotel in front of the station. Make a left off the highway on go 300 hundred yards and the hotel is on the left hand side.  You can’t get lost.

Contact information for the hotel:
Telephone 01-388-386-0953
Mobile 044-388-101-2513
e-mail humbertorodi52@hotmail.com
Web www.rancholaesmeralda.com

Travelling From Puerto Vallarta

Using Puerto Vallarta as a starting point for travel in Mexico is no longer as expensive as it used to be. Many discount airlines have begun operating over the last few years.

Four popular discount airlines are:
Interjet – Hub city: Toluca (just outside Mexico City)
Volaris – Hub city: Toluca (just outside Mexico City)
Viva Aerobus Hub city: Monterrey (Northern Mexico)
Alma

All of these airlines fantastic promotional fares. Over Spring Break this year, we flew roundtrip to Monterrey for $750 pesos per person. Check their websites often to see what they are offering. Viva Aerobus has the most aggresive promotions. If you book far enough in advance you can get a flight that costs $1 pesos plus applicable taxes which comes out to a little over $500 pesos.

To give you an idea of the airlines’ standard rates, I did a price check for a flight to Toluca leaving Thursday, April 17 and returning Thursday, April 24.

The results were:
Volaris – Puerto Vallarta to Toluca, $1690.30 pesos
Interjet – Puerto Vallarta to Toluca, $1790.30 pesos

A few years back it typically cost more than $4000 pesos to go roundtrip to Mexico City from Puerto Vallarta.