New Life New Beginning
It felt like it was a long time coming but we have made the leap! Our dream to make a new life and a new beginning as expats has begun.
We are on the first leg or our ten-year journey; currently residing in Xcalak, Mexico. Off the grid, telephone-less with a coral reef in the backyard and a lagoon out front. We crossed the border at Laredo on the morning of June 30, 2011. The entry into Mexico took longer than we had hoped because we brought my wife’s‘ three cockatiels with us. But going with the flow and patience paid off – only 4 ½ hours’ worth of patience – but we got the proper forms completed and we were in, kind of!
Technically I think the birds were legal before us. Maybe it could have been a little more efficient but it is apparently not every day that Americans are bringing their “exotic” pet birds with them INTO Mexico.
Related:
- “The Stuff of Life” | Why I sold all my belongings to travel the world
- Essentials Required for Retiring Overseas
- (One Reason) Why I Fell in Love With Xcalak, Mexico
The delay was made tolerable because the authorities were nice and did everything they possibly could to be helpful. It was an unusual situation and everyone seemed to want to make sure it was done right. Because our Spanish language skills are way below where they should be, there was a bit of a communication problem but we managed. That part of the challenge will diminish as we learn to speak the local language.
Overall, the drive was pretty easy but it is a long way to Xcalak. It takes about 30 hours in the car to go from the northern border with Texas to the southern border with Belize. Road quality was a mixed bag – everything from German Autobahn to Smith County, Texas back road – but nothing too challenging.
We saw high desert, cloud forest, tropical lowland and everything in between. Soon I will be writing more about the all too quick trip but I did want to convey one thing. At no point did we sense danger or feel scared. Perhaps we are naïve, time will tell, but so far the dangers that we have been warned about have failed to materialize. We will, of course, continue to use common sense but we had to do that when we were living in the United States as well, didn’t we?
LifePart2 Has Begun!
The biggest thing so far that I missed and should have been more aware of; topes! Unwittingly I discovered that yes; a fully loaded Toyota FJ Cruiser with a rooftop carrier and bicycles on the back will go a tad airborne if you make the mistake and miss the warning signs for these giant speed bumps! I don’t really recommend it but the people in the little town enjoyed the sight.
A lot more to come but we wanted to be sure and let you know that we appreciate you signing up to follow us on our journey. This is the first of what we plan to be many updates and observations along the way. I will try not to do too much philosophizing or soapbox standing, But, I hope you will indulge me just a bit when I do. It has been three years since we I vowed that we were not going to tolerate the regrets of things we should have done and made a plan! Was it hard to make the leap?
Maybe a little but again the thought of living with regrets was even scarier. We are pretty new to this so please let us know how we may do things better or any questions you might have. It feels great to finally be on the journey of “LifePart2”!
Hope y’all have a great time! It was great working with you.
Thanks Wally. Same here.