"Life's a Beach"

You read all the hype about the Mayan calendar, the end of days, the impending apocalypse... right? Well, so did we and watched with much amusement as everyone outside of the Mayan world made their preparations. Some prepared for the end, fearing the worst, stocking their war chests and food pantries. Others traveled to sacred spots to celebrate ...

After resting up from our long but fun day in Tizimin, we jumped right back into real estate recon mode on Monday morning. Having considerably narrowed down not only our selected neighborhoods but also the physical characteristics of the properties we wanted to view, the showings were far more productive. Rob went to meet with the owner of a ...

In addition to visiting the Merida Zoo, we had a special day trip planned for the kids, a road trip to the village of Tizimin to see the Feria de Caballos (horse fair) during the Festival de los Reyes, one of the 5 largest annual festivals in Mexico. Birdie's trainer, Paco, had mentioned the fair to me a few weeks back, thinking it might be ...

Six years ago, the first time we visited the Merida Zoo, the kids were not much more than babies. We were in the city doing some exploring and celebrating Cole's 2nd birthday so a trip to the zoo seemed like the perfect way to spend the afternoon. It turned out to be the perfect time for both little one's to spike a fever and come down ...

As this trip was planned to be for work as well as pleasure, we did our best to get the work out of the way first. In all honesty, even the kids have grown accustomed to and now find the fun in poking around old ruins...even the ruins of Colonial Merida! It was interesting to see what we would find behind the grand facades and elegant entries. ...

We have been to Merida several times in the six years that we have lived in Mexico. One of Cole's annual Tae Kwon Do tournaments is hosted here and we are looking forward Birdie's first qualifying horse show that will take place at the Hipico del Sureste at the end of March. It's a great city and I am enjoying it now more than ever. We ...

Welcome to the Kinnon Family Road Trip 2010! Day 1 of our itinerary brought us from Playa del Carmen to Calakmul, a ruin site of great cultural significance in the Classic Period, located in the state of Campeche. We made great time moving south on 307, the same road that carried us to Belize in 2008 and then Guatemala in 2009. As expected, ...

Yesterday, the kids had a day off from school to celebrate (early) Benito Juarez' birthday, so I packed them and their bikes into the Xterra and we set off on a much needed adventure. Our first stop was Coba, about an hour and a half from Playa del Carmen, where, for $81 pesos ($51 pesos for my entry fee and $30 pesos for my bike ...

There are a lot of things that frustrate me, day to day, in my new home country. The inability of shopkeepers to keep an appropriate amount of change in the cash register. Mind numbing lines at the bank. The impossibility of completing a task without having to make three or four trips in an attempt to have ALL the proper documentation ...

Over the past four years, I have seen the concept of recycling evolve from a "silly notion" promoted only by a bunch of "gringos" to a full on Cultural Revolution. Rarely a day goes by that I don't receive an email from someone, Ex-pat or Mexican National, reminding me about a recycling drive or a newly ...