Halloween 2013 in Playa del Carmen

For those of you who know our life down in Playa del Carmen, you are well aware of how much Halloween has been the most fun day of the year.  This year we organized a party at our place with roughly 30 guests all dressed in costume and served pizza and punch.  After about an hour of chit chat, photos and costume admiration, we strolled down 5th Avenue to show off and to give candy to the adorable dressed up kids.  Sometimes I wish Halloween was more than once a year and at other times I think it's best to stick my hangovers to only once year - the day after.

What really amazes me are the people who make their own costumes.  I bought my costume for $1 USD at a yard sale and then just added things here and there I bought on Amazon.  Allan's costume was made by one of the costume directors for Cirque du Soleil.  However, friends like Trudy, Phillp and Johanna, among others, actually sew and stitch and do really creative things.  For instance Johanna borrowed my Cleopatra headdress and then creatively sewed an incredible costume to go along with it that would rival anything in show business.

I've already got my costume for next year planned out - got it at the same yard sale, and am just going to add touches on Amazon.  You'll have to wait till next year to find out!!

Me as a bumble bee and another cutie dressed as the same

Our group before heading out

Trudy and Phillip who made their own costumes!!

Johanna as Cleopatra and me.  Johanna borrowed the head dress from me and then made the entire costume by hand.  Unbelievable. 

Lucien who made his own costume with Allan and me.  Lucien is the one who designed Allan's costume.

Vicki and Scot

Allan's makeup courtesy of Explayarte (http://www.explayarte.com.mx/)

Allan and 2 Mexican devils on 5th Avenue

Me on the stripper pole earning my free shot of tequila

Downtown can be a crazy place on Halloween

Jim and Evangeline

Jim and Janet

The Patron Saint of Cowboys

Apparently even cowboys have their own patron saint and his name is San Martin Caballero.  Once a year on the days surrounding November 11^th in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico the local cowboys, ranchers and their groupies unite in San Martin de Terreros to pay homage to the cowboy saint.  Although I have never participated in the festival, I have driven past it in bumper to bumper traffic on my way from San Miguel de Allende to Guanajuato.  And in my book that makes me as close to an expert as I care to be.

Our first taste of the festival began back in San Miguel when flocks of cowboys on horseback paraded around the square in the city center.  It was like they were celebrities.  Allan even posed with one for a photo opportunity.  Curious as to what was transpiring, Allan inquired and interpreted it to be that the cowboys were on a pilgrimage of sorts.  It wasn’t until later, when we were traveling from San Miguel to Guanajuato that we got the full story.

The drive from San Miguel to the state capitol Guanajuato is supposed to be a very scenic 1.5 hour drive through rolling hills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  We had hired a taxi and were expecting to sit back for a relaxing and quick trip.  Ironically the driver was commenting that the circuitous route on well paved roads might be surpassed in the future by the construction of a super highway between the 2 cities.   

To me it seemed strange that a state capital would not have a major highway to a popular city like San Miguel.  Apparently the highway project which is still in the works is being stalled by ranchers protesting that the highway would cut through what they consider to be preservation land.  At the time it seemed like an innocent comment, certainly not a harbinger to the terrible traffic we would encounter down the road.  Little did we expect that a major highway was a necessity especially on the days before and after November 11^th when thousands flock to San Martin de Terreros to pay patronage to San Martin Caballero.

During the voyage we first we started seeing a lot of cowboys on horseback and packs of men on bicycles.  Then we hit the car and bus traffic.  What was supposed to be a rather short voyage tripled into a 4+ hour adventure mostly in country with no cell phone service, hence no wireless signal (i.e. little to entertain ourselves).  There was certainly a lot of see – truck loads of dark skin colored Mexicans in rather worn looking clothing, many packed into the back of pick up trucks, drinking bottles of Coca Cola, and feeding the same to their babies.  And large buses packed with pilgrims.

As we approached San Martin de Terreros off to the right the hillside was covered in trucks.  We were amazed at the number of people who come here. The taxi driver was commenting he came as a child, but that the festival had gotten so big, and he did not expect there to be so much traffic.

Apparently the tens of thousands of pilgrims visit the church in San Martin de Terreros, and pray for miracles. They leave offerings, light candles, sing and dance.  Typically it’s a one day journey to the town, where they camp outside where there are no bathroom facilities and no food, and then return home the next day.

Legend says San Martin Caballero was an ordinary cowboy on horseback who cut his cape in half and now offers half to whomever prays to him.  Others say half the cape was given to God to cover himself.  He essentially is the Mexican version of Robin Hood, who steals from the rich and gives to the poor, and now has been raised to the level of a saint, at least in the state of Guanajuato.

At present the only miracle I am praying for is to get out of this traffic before the sun goes down. We only have about a day and a half to see Guanajuato and that window of opportunity is getting shorter and shorter.  We have not moved in about ten minutes.  I will certainly chalk this up to a cultural experience. It was an interesting lesson in history and local legend, one that I would have preferred to read about in the comfort of my hotel room in Guanajuato.

Allan poses with Sugar, one of the horses in San Miguel

Eddie and his horse Sugar with Allan in San Miguel

The traffic near San Martin de Terreros. 

Pilgrims travel via horseback, car and bicycle

Packing the back of a truck seems the way to go.

San Miguel de Allende

Allan and I have taken advantage of a 5 day respite to visit the picturesque town on San Miguel de Allende in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico.  The break came about as we letted our Playa del Carmen condo to a friend in return for his offering his Wall Street flat to us in New York City last Spring.  Instead of staying with friends or perhaps renting something in Playa, we opted to visit San Miguel after hearing so many rave reviews.  After all in 2012 Conde Nast rated it the #1 destination in the world.

We purchased non-stop airline tickets on Volaris out of Cancun to Guanajuato for a bargain rate of less than $200 USD round trip per person.  The short 2.5 hour flight was thankfully uneventful and quite easy.  Upon arrival in Guanajuato, the geographical center of Mexico, we were struck by the landscape and climate.  We are about a mile above sea level in an arid dessert filled with cactus' and mountains.

San Miguel is about 1.5 hour drive from the Guanajuato airport on well paved, winding roads through the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  In many spots I swear I was in Tuscany, as the landscape is similar.  San Miguel from a distance looks like someone took a white brush and painted the city on the side of a mountain.  It overlooks a manmade reservoir, which I'm told was formed by flooding an existing town, and when the water level drops you can see the top of the church in the now submerged city.

In some ways San Miguel looks like Merida with cobblestoned streets, busy side walks and traffic.  Unlike Merida, most of the buildings in San Miguel are painted in desert colors - oranges, reds and yellows.  The cathedral in the Jardin (park in the city center) reminds me of the Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona, Spain, by it's ornate design and beauty. By night the church glows and radiates beauty.

We are staying at a beautiful bed and breakfast called Casa Calderoni (www.casacalderoni.com), in the city center close to the Jardin. The B&B has a beautiful open air courtyard with plants, winding steps and refreshing air.  Our room has a very comfortable bed with plush pillows and down comforter.  The free breakfast includes an assortment of fruit, coffee, juice and your selection of freshly cooked eggs and meat.  Allan and I could not be more delighted with this wonderful B&B.  To make it even more special, owners Ben and Mary, are often around for breakfast to chat with guests and make them feel welcome.  I could not recommend their B&B enough.  At night I recommend visiting the roof deck to appreciate the spectacular view of the cities sparkling lights.

One of the features of our bedroom to which I am not accustomed to in Playa are space heaters.  The climate here is quite interesting. By day it starts in the 50's F and as the day progresses, the temperature rises to 70s F and higher.  Sitting in the sun I strip down, but then if I move to the shade I am cold even with a jacket.  Again I am reminded of what it's like in a semi-desert climate.  At night we absolutely freeze and put on the space heaters.  

We are also not used to the dry climate.  We are itching a lot, and having to use a lot of body cream, which in humid Playa is not necessary.  What I thought were mosquito bites are actually just dry skin.  It's not an issue, just something we've noticed in this more arid climate.  I am sure if we were here for any length of time we would just acclimate.  

One of the highlights of our trip was visiting the art galleries and stores in the Fabrica La Aurora (http://www.fabricalaaurora.com/).  We knew San Miguel was filled with art, but I didn't expect the scale, quality and diversity. The gallery has around 60 stores all in one location, which seems to wind around in a labyrinth.  From home decor to paintings to cafes, I would recommend spending a couple of hours walking around.  Even San Miguel itself is filled with art. It seems around every corner is another gallery, another art store with beautiful creations.  No wonder San Miguel is known as a haven for artists.

We have also had several great meals.  Bhaji, just off the Jardin, has some of the most delicious Indian food we've ever had.  The space is quite small, with roughly 8 tables, but the prices are low and location very convenient.  One evening we went to the rooftop bar, Luna, at the Rosewood Hotel.  The bar overlooks the whole city and at night provides a panoramic view of all the sparkling lights from the churches and buildings.  There are ample heaters and blankets to keep one warm in this open air establishment.  It is a must see.  And right around the corner is Calenda, a lovely restaurant with live jazz music.  The food is exquisite, international cuisine, and coupled with a visit to Luna, makes for an unforgettable evening.

In our short 3 days in San Miguel I am realizing how much we have not seen.  Last night at the Rosewood Hotel we discovered this whole new neighborhood with great shops and galleries, that we unfortunately won't have time to visit.  We are beginning to realize why San Miguel has become such a popular spot to live for expats; it's beautiful, with a great artistic culture. The food is very good, people friendly and it's much more like living in Mexico, compared with Playa del Carmen which is vacationland.

Allan in front of the church

Allan in our hotel room

Me at the Fabrica de Aurora

In the Calderoni B&B

Tree of Life, an example of the great art work in San Miguel

Celebrating my 36th Birthday in Playa

I know I've talked about many times the wonderful friends we have made in Playa del Carmen.  They are not just friends, they are more like family.  And there is no better group (besides my immediate family) to help celebrate my 36th birthday. 

Allan reserved a few lanes at the local bowling alley, Planet Bowl, for a group of about 20 expats from our close circle of friends.  We could have certainly invited more and easily had the group up to 40 people, but with big numbers it is much harder to organize and enjoy everyone's company.  We have been meaning to visit the bowling alley for about a year but have never gotten around to it - no one had in our group.  In fact when we first moved to Playa 5 years ago the alley was still under construction and did not open till 4 years later.  And the lanes were like you would find in the states - great condition, and really just a lot of fun.  

We bowled for a couple of hours.  As you would expect with a group ranging in age from 36 (me) and then the next youngest in her mid 50s and then up to mid 70s, some opted not to bowl due to aches and pains.  The rest, myself included, were quite rusty and posted scores that would be quite low for the general population of bowlers.  Granted I had the highest score on both rounds, but I am also about ½ the age of everyone in attendance. 

Really the bowling was about having fun. Though Allan and I had a friendly competition going - I wanted to beat him, and vice versa.  And with 2 knee replacements, Allan was beaten, but not by much!  I wonder how well i would fare around this group when I'm at retirement age?

To make the night even more special our good friend Scottie made a delicious white cake with strawberries and buttercream frosting.  It was so decadent and usually not on my diet, but it came by special request by me and I was not going to pass up a generous helping.  And of course the cake was one of the most delicious ever.  People joke that being invited to Scottie's home for dinner is like going to a gourmet restaurant - you are rarely disappointed with the food and the experience.

After bowling a smaller group of 7 of us capped the night off with a visit to a local Japanese restaurant.  I swear I never get tired of spending time with my friends.  When I don't see them for several days I start to miss them.  Allan and I have just been blessed with great families and great friends!

Jim, Allan, Jill, Marilou, Trudy, Phillip and I at the Japanese restaurant

Vicki and Scot

Jill, Missy, Gayle and Trudy

Dean, Jim, Scottie and Phillip

Marilou, Rick, Allan and I

Jim, Marge, Neil and Jan

Chris and Betsy

Proper Permits to Run a Restaurant

One of our favorite local restaurants closed a couple of months ago.  Although we're used to seeing restaurants come and go, we hate to lose some of our local haunts.  Playa has a very competitive restaurant scene.  Every year many businesses close and others open.  Some take over empty space, build out the entire restaurant and then never even open.  Others seem to do fine in high season but then starve when all the tourists leave and wind up closing in less than a year.  A lucky few will open, survive and thrive.  And sometimes it will be a cafe that opens with 5 other cafes in a one block radius and turns out to be the new hot spot in town.

Overall though the selection and quality of restaurant food in Playa in my opinion is some of the best, freshest and authentic in the world.  Luckily our local restaurant that closed amazingly reopened last week but in a different location.  We went for dinner the other night along with a group of friends and I just had to ask the waitress what happened.  She explained the owner of the space they were renting before did not have a permit for "Uso del Suelo" (literally, use of the ground).  Without this permit the authorities had come by, fined the restaurant owner, closed the business, and after paying the fine she was open the next day.  The next time she had a knock at the door she was fined a higher amount, closed, paid and opened again. The third time she was fined even more, but this time said no way so she closed and moved locations to where I'm guessing the owner of the new commercial space has a "Uso de Suelo".

Although I had a general idea of what "Uso de Suelo" was, I wanted to get more specifics so I looked it up online and also asked my head of maintenance who is also an accountant what permits are required to have a restaurant.  Essentially "Uso de Suelo" is permission from the local government to have an establishment open to the public.  It helps prevent proliferation of any one type of business and it adds quality control over things like sanitary conditions and public safety.  The cost of such a permit is only around $4,000 pesos (approx. $300 USD).  You can read about it (in Spanish) here: http://actualicese.com/actualidad/2010/01/21/uso-de-suelo-un-documento-obligatorio-para-poder-tener-un-establecimiento-abierto-al-publico/.

In addition to the "Uso de Suelo", a restaurant owner would also need a "Licencia de Funcionamiento" (operator's license), a "Licencia Sanitaria" (sanitary license) and a license to sell liquor (if applicable). Additionally all the employees would need to be registered with hacienda (the local tax authority).  These permits and regulations seem fairly standard, and would be expected in the US.  There may be other permits and permissions I'm missing, but this is what I came up with in my limited research.

Mexico is different than the US in terms of zoning. At least in Playa your neighbor can literally (with the correct permits) drive their car out of the driveway and put in a restaurant or a store in a residential area.  It's not so easy for foreigners to do this, but locals do it all the time.  It certainly makes for some interesting neighborhoods, though at times I do appreciate US standard zoning laws. Who knows, maybe my neighbor in Playa will want to open a late night hamburger joint where people stop for a bite at 6am after hitting the clubs!

Pelican on the beach in Phase 1

Allan, about to enter a cenote in Playa

The Playa Tenis Center

I have agreed to start writing articles for a new local English newspaper called the Playa Times.  Given I am quite busy with work and sometimes struggle with even keeping up with my blog, we will see how it goes.  For my first article I have decided to write about the quite impressive Playa Tenis Center (the "PTC") near the Coke plant just north of Playa.

The PTC was started a few years ago as a dream of Claudia Rios de Arana and her husband Architect Luis Arana.  As an avid tennis playing family they wanted to create a world class facility for learning and playing tennis, starting on the ground level, working on tennis fundamentals, in order to perhaps bring the level of tennis training up to the level of other parts of Mexico.  Although there are many tennis players in Playa, and quite good coaching, before the PTC there was no one central organized facility with proper structured training, first class courts, video cameras taping classes for teacher and student review and hosting facilities for national and international tournaments. They are really looking to set a very high level of professionalism and training at a national and world class level.

Just a couple of weeks ago the PTC hosted the Nike Junior Tour where some of the best youth players from all over the country unified to play in Playa.  It not only helped to put Playa on the tennis map but also helped to show local players how they rank on a national scale.  It gives motivation to help improve one's game.  This week the PTC is holding qualifications for Mexicans in the international Futures Tennis Tournament being held near Tulum at the Palladium Hotel.

The coaching at the PTC is also fantastic. Coach Rafael Gutierrez Perez ("Coach Rafa") was the number one player in Mexico from the age of 10 to the age of 18, and even played in South Africa at the age of 14 against former World No. #1 Player Rafael Nadal.  At one point in time, Coach Rafa was ranked around 400 in the world.  Choosing to split his time between school and tennis, in the end he opted for school and became an architect by day and tennis coach in the mornings and evenings.

The PTC currently has 3 hard courts (which can be converted to 4 singles courts), and they are installing an additional court which might be grass or clay.  They are also in the process of building a swimming pool.  I'm going to start classes next week and am excited to finally have my lessons video taped and posted on a secure link online so I can actually see how I am playing.

Here is a link to the Playa Tenis Center: https://www.facebook.com/PlayaTenisCenterAC.

Playa Tenis Center A.C.

Ave. Universidades Esq. Calle Langosta L-8 Mza. 4 Fracc. Arrecifes C.P. 77712

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo

01 984 109 0507

Claudia and Coach Rafa at the PTC.

One court at the PTC.

The Playa Tenis Center