Mexico has been good to me

I have yet to have a bad time in Mexico.

Even when I was with my ex, a troll--but without the cool pink hair, I still had a good time in Mexico. After all, it wasn't Mexico's fault that I chose poorly.

I've been to Acapulco, Playa del Carmen, Cozumel, and now Puerto Vallarta--all tourist towns in beautiful seaside locations--and I've found that in Mexico they understand the tourist trade. They want you to be happy because they want you to stay, they want you to come back and they want you to tell your friends so that more money is spent in the region. As a result, they go out of their way to make sure you are indeed happy. Pretty basic strategy, right? But we've been a lot of places outside of Mexico where they could care less if the tourists are happy.

It's not all flan and cervezas, though. You do have to convert the money but it's a pretty straightforward conversion and truly a lot of places take dollars. Well, they did until the news hit that the dollar was as valuable as a ticket to a Courtney Love concert.* And, though rarely imperative, it's appreciated if you speak Spanish where you can so it helps to learn before you go, and as you go.

Aside from that, it's very easy. The vast majority of signs are in both Spanish and English (see how thoughtful?) or they use international symbols. We did all right with 99% of them. Then we saw this and scratched our heads for a while:


Apparently, Captain Morgan is prohibited in Mexico.



* Odd little Wiki-bit: Courtney is a mix of Irish and Jewish and describes herself as "a nice Jewish girl." I'll bet her folks are kvelling.

Passport Requirements Relaxed

GoAwayTravel.com shares the good news...

Travel Advisory (June 7, 2007) - Passport Requirements Relaxed for Travel to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda.


On June 7th, the U.S. Departments of State and Homeland Security announced that U.S. citizens traveling to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda who have applied for but not yet received passports can nevertheless temporarily enter and depart from the United States by air with a government issued photo identification and Department of State official proof of application for a passport through September 30, 2007. The federal government is making this accommodation for air travel due to longer than expected processing times for passport applications in the face of record-breaking demand.

"Oooooooooooh... Mexico..." --James Taylor

Hola!

I am back from an extraordinary trip to Cozumel!

What a wonderful island Cozumel is! First, though, I can't say enough good about the Internet deal I got. I found it through Travelzoo's weekly Top 20. I booked it with BookIt.com and it couldn't have been easier or smoother. We stayed at the Park Royal Cozumel and were treated royally. That's our view from our 8th floor room. Ahhhhhhhhhhh, what a relaxing vacation. And all for $99/night for all-inclusive! 4 restaurants, five bars including 3 swim-up ones in the three pools, beach with fishies and crabs for the viewing, discounts on all kinds of tours including our trip to Chichen Itza where we came across one of the many iguanas we spotted happily sunning.

Plus, we went into a cenote (very cool!), explored the reef in an honest-to-goodness submarine, toured the island in a tin can of a car, went into town repeatedly for shopping, occasional meals, the Sunday evening concert in the square that the locals enjoy, I went parasailing for the first time, did some snorkeling (of course!) and we even looked at beach-front condos. This is definitely retirement viable. The people are very friendly and accommodating and quite used to/welcoming of outsiders (2 million by cruise ship every year and 1.2 million by ferry from Playa del Carmen to this island of 85,000 residents) and the water is amazingly blue and clear (no run off!). You have all the joys of casual, low-key island living, including a lower cost of living, with all the convenience of being 30 minutes from the mainland and major towns like PdC, which is very chic these days, not to mention being head-over-to-try-that-new-restaurant close to Cancun, which is supposedly getting an image upgrade in the rework after Wilma.

Yeah, there's hurricanes. Just like in the southern US. But in Mexico you can get insurance to deal with it. It's true! And they rebuild quickly! No Katrina shambles there. And get this, the lovely little island of Cozumel has Thai food and sushi and Chinese food and Italian food in addition to excellent Mexican cuisine. And if you miss the US, there's a Pizza Hut! *shakes head and chuckles* Amazing.

If you're considering a laid-back getaway, I heartily recommend Cozumel!