Though Merida is my home, I have been traveling a lot lately to other countries, visiting and caring for family and exploring the world.

When I’m gone for any length of time, I find I start missing my adopted home. (Yes, I was not born here… I was born in England, but I’ve been traveling through and living in Mexico for over 25 years now).

It’s interesting to me what I miss when I miss Merida. Because what I miss is not what a person might see or experience who has only been in the Yucatan for a short time.

To start, I miss waking up here. After years of living in the centro historico of Merida, I purchased and live in a home about an hour outside of Merida in a pueblo called Tepakan. When I wake up, I don’t hear much at all. I hear a few dogs barking, and far-off children playing or calling to each other. I might hear a car or truck going by once every five or ten minutes in the morning, though there are stretches of up to an hour during the day when I won’t hear anything with a motor. When I wake up, I hear birds… all sorts of birds. And not just any birds… these are the raucous calls of tropical birds that sound like screams and cries and laughter. At home in the Yucatan, I wake up to a cacophony of birds that is unique to this part of the world… and I miss it when I’m not here.

I miss the long, quiet drives with no traffic. In so many parts of the world, commuting to work involves driving in traffic. I have my own business and I do a lot of driving here in Merida and around the Yucatan Peninsula. But I am almost never stopped at a stoplight for more than a minute, and I have practically forgotten the experience of driving on a highway in traffic. That kind of thing just doesn’t exist in my world now.

I miss the food, too. Not just the panuchos and sopa de lima that I can get on almost any street corner in Merida, or the great lunches at my favorite cocina economicas. But I also miss the food my neighbors in Tepekan share with me. During the Day of the Dead season, my neighbors will bring over a homemade pib or two… a Yucatan-style chicken pot pie that is traditional during that time of year. Every Sunday, I can just walk out my door and down the street for a homemade dish of cochinita, probably the Yucatan’s most famous and most delicious dish… and very hard to reproduce in other parts of the world.

I miss the colors. Have you ever noticed how drab most first world cities can be? In Mexico, and certainly in and around Merida, if houses are painted, they are often painted in bright colors. It costs just as much to buy a can of brown paint as it does a can of purple paint… so why not paint my house purple? All the better if my purple contrasts with my neighbor’s blue house, don’t you think? I love that about this area (and the rest of Mexico).

If you come to live here, you already have probably fallen in love with many things about Merida and the Yucatan. You probably have lots of reasons why you moved here or want to move here. But sometimes the things you grow to love about a place are not the things you first fell in love with… but those are the things you miss when you are away.

What do you miss when you aren’t in Merida?

No short blog post could begin to talk about everything that is going on in the art world in Merida. Merida has never been the seat of art in Mexico (that would have to be Mexico City…), but in the last ten years, the art world in Merida has continued to expand, encompassing more and more artists from around the world, different kinds of art and an ever-expanding audience of art patrons.

Art in Merida initially centered around the MACAY, Merida’s contemporary art museum just off the Plaza Grande, and the Archaeological Museum on Paseo de Montejo. There were various artists in Merida, such as Fernando Castro Pacheco and Alberto Castillo (now both deceased), who studied abroad and in Mexico City and then returned to paint in Merida. Pacheco became famous around Mexico for his unique and colorful style, examples of which can be seen in the murals in the Governor’s Palace on the Plaza Grande in Merida. Alberto Castillo, a less recognized painter, was a favorite among visitors and locals alike for his more naive but no less colorful style.

Over the last ten or so years, many artists have converged on Merida, attracted by the same set of amenities that the rest of us are drawn to: inexpensive living, laid back life style, large houses to be renovated, access to modern amenities and great food, to name a few! People like Melva Medina and Abel Vazquez came to Merida from Morelia and Oaxaca respectively. Other artists have come from places like New York City, such as fabric designer Luli Sanchez or Harold McAnaney… not to exhibit or sell their art, but to have a quiet and inspirational place to create their art. Some of the most exciting art comes from street artists that may or may not be selling their works on any given night on the streets outside the Peon Contreras Theater, and from some of the fine graffiti artists who have taken their art to new and beautiful works on walls throughout the city.

Also over the last ten years, art museums and art galleries have proliferated in Merida, ranging from the City Art Museum in the old and renovated Post Office to the Soho Galleries and others in Santa Ana and Santiago, which sell art from local artists as well as from artists in Cuba and other nearby Latin American countries.

Art is everywhere in Merida now… from the ESAY art school in the old Railroad Station to the art market on Paseo de Montejo every Sunday morning. If you love art, come to Merida!

Merida is lucky to have a growing and active art community, and the central location for that community is called the MACAY, the Museo Arte Contemporaneo al Yucatán. Housed within a very large building that used to act as the arsenal for the city, the MACAY’s entrance is from a covered passage between the museum and the main Merida cathedral on the Plaza Grande.

On the ground floor of the museum is the entrance, which is reached by walking through the covered passageway, itself an exhibit area for outdoor sculptures. The ground floor also has a small gift shop, children’s art workshop areas and a lovely garden with a central fountain… a great place to sit and get away from the crowds, if you need that. Some of the most interesting art is exhibited in the atrium area, where a high ceiling and skylights flood the room with light. Everything else about the MACAY is upstairs… and no, there is no elevator.

The MACAY museum has a few rooms that have installations from the permanent collection, and these rooms never change. But out of about 20 rooms, these are only three or four rooms. The rest of the museum is dedicated to showing the population of Merida new and interesting art from around the world. In the last few years, the management of this museum has stepped up their game and has begun sourcing art exhibits from around the world. Most recently, during the summer of 2013, an entire exhibit was dedicated to art from Argentina.

The MACAY changes their temporary exhibit quarterly, with an opening night open to the public at the start of each exhibit. The museum also conducts various children’s programs at different times during the year, and has a weekly local radio show (in Spanish). Installation and performance art pieces are also a part of this museum’s offerings.

Living in Merida provides many amenities, and the continually changing art exhibits at the MACAY museum are an amenity those who live here treasure greatly.

I can’t count how many times now I have helped someone buy their first home in the Yucatan… hundreds? thousands? I’ve been selling homes to extranjeros (foreigners) here for almost fifteen years.

Most of the time, when people first get here, they are in the process of falling in love with Merida and the Yucatan. They love the old homes, the opportunities for renovation and for creating something beautiful they can call their own. They love the vibrancy and culture of the city, or they love the chance they have to afford something at the beach. They love how close Merida is to their home in the States or how wonderful the weather is here when it is cold back home in Canada. If they come from a big city in North America or Europe, they love how relaxed this city is… Merida, after all, is the city of tranquilo. If they are from the US or Canada, they love the European influence in the architecture, the stately mansions on Paseo de Montejo, the soaring cathedral on the Plaza Grande. If they are from Europe, they love the affordability of beautiful old homes and haciendas. And everyone loves the mystery of the Maya culture, the adventure of Yucatecan cuisine and the chance to learn or practice their Spanish.

What most people do not think about when they buy their first home is what it is really like to live here. I think they underestimate both the beauty and the beast.

Most people are not thinking about how they will deal with the inevitable paint, plumbing or electrical issues that are just part and parcel of living in a home in the tropics. A house in a warm climate with hard water has issues with corrosion, paint peeling, humidity, etc. One day you’ll find that ants have eaten through your electrical wire. Another time it will be humidity in the walls causing the paint to peel. Maybe your flotador in your tinaco will stop working. Before this, you didn’t even HAVE a flotador, did you? So how could you have anticipated that it might not work?

Luckily, you are not alone in dealing with these house maintenance issues. And wherever you are in the Yucatan, somewhere near by is a man or woman who makes it their job to fix people’s plumbing, or rewire their electrical or repaint their walls. Your home maintenance issues are easily solved with 100 pesos here or 100 pesos there, and they help keep all those local business people in business.
What most people ALSO don’t understand fully when they purchase their first home here is how lovely it really is going to be to have a home here. If you come from the Great White North, there is nothing that quite prepares you for the pure pleasure of walking around your house, barefoot and wrapped in a sarong early in the morning or late at night. It is hard to really understand, until you’ve been there, the complete luxury of swimming naked in your own pool in the middle of the day, serenaded by birds and the wind in the palm trees. Until you have lived through an afternoon thunder storm in your own home, warm and dry, watching sheets of water wash down your walls and into your courtyard or your garden, you just cannot quite appreciate how lovely it will be.

I know probably hundreds of people who came to Merida, fell in love with it, and bought a house here on their first trip. I know hundreds more who took their time, making multiple trips and waiting until they were very sure. Either way you do it, you’ll never be fully prepared… because that is how Life is, right? But whatever way you choose to buy your first home in Merida, I think you’ll be glad you did.

Another Great Sporting Event in the Yucatan or Why You Might Want to Go To Bacalar

You might remember our article about the race across the Yucatan Channel, from Cancun to Cozumel. You probably will not be surprised to hear that there is another popular water race held in the Yucatan. The VIII Open-Water Marathon Bacalar was held on the 22nd and 23rd of June at the beautiful lagoon of seven colors in the magical town of Bacalar.

This event broke all previous attendance records. Over one thousand two hundred swimmers in various categories came to swim in these beautiful waters, exceeding by far previous entries in other years.

Among the most prominent participants this year were four Olympic swimmers from the Republic of Chile, and of course Tierra Yucatan’s Ricardo Hassey. I could not miss this event! I entered in the 5 Kilometer category, finishing the swimming event with a time of 1 hour 42 minutes.

If you don’t know anything about Bacalar, you should! Bacalar, the town, is located 38 kilometers northwest of Chetumal, on the banks of a lagoon. Bacalar is in the state of Quintana Roo. It was named a pueblo mágico in 2006. The name Bacalar is derived from the Mayan word Halal Bak, which means “place surrounded by reeds”. Just knowing that, however, does not prepare you for the beauty of this place.

The Laguna Bacalar or Lagoon of Seven Colors, is a huge expanse of shallow water with very soft white sand. The various tones of the sand beneath and the sky above create an everchanging panoply of blue shades in the water, a fascinating show even without all those swimmers.

On one side of this lagoon, clearly identifiable by the substantially darker tones, you can find the natural wonder that is called the Blue Hole, a magical place very attractive for divers. The Blue Hole is a deeper part of the lagoon, which of course creates a deeper blue color on the surface. The entire lagoon is a lovely place for swimming and other non-invasive water sports. The waters are beautiful, Caribbean-clear and calmer than the ocean just a few miles away.

There are hotels and B&B’s in Bacalar, as well as houses and property for sale in that area. Bacalar is an up-and-coming area, and not just for swimming races!

In Yucatan they say that we have four seasons… two dry seasons and two rainy seasons. But if you look at the average rainfall, almost all the rain comes in the summertime. The beginning of summer (and of hurricane season) brings the big rains… usually, those sweet afternoon tropical thundershowers that provide relief from the build up of heat throughout the earlier part of the day. To my mind, there is nothing more beautiful than the sight of those towering thunderheads on a hot Yucatan afternoon and the downpours that follow are a blessing for people and plants alike.

This year it seems we have had more rain than usual at the beginning of the season… and rain that continues throughout the day. This is a bit unusual but not altogether unwelcome, as in recent years we have had a few summers with less rain than usual. Given the choice, I’ll take more rain over less rain every time. Rain brings out the best in a tropical garden, giving the ground a good soak to prepare it for the next dry season.

According to the weather websites, the most rain falls in Yucatan in September. But June, July and August are full of rain as well. Yucatan is in what they call a tropical desert, because when it gets dry, it gets very dry. And in April and May, and towards the end of the summer, it will get very hot and very dry, providing quite a challenge to many plants in your garden if they are not watered regularly.

Hurricane season isn’t over until November 1, and that’s about when Yucatan experiences a colder rain which is usually associated with nortes, cold north winds that blow the rain down from Texas and across the Yucatan Peninsula. Those rain experiences are not the kind you associate with a tropical environment. They are colder and windier. For rain in October, November or December, you usually need a sweater. Nortes are a part of life here, and are usually numbered by the local press, as in “Here Comes Norte #18!” in the headlines of the daily paper.

But the summer rains are different! Those are warm and full of excitement… and usually over as quickly as they began. Most people come to the Yucatan in the winter months to enjoy the sunshine they cannot get at home in the North. But for my money, summer in the Yucatan is wonderful because of the rains. The gardens are green and growing out of control. The afternoons are hot… all the better for enjoying your swimming pool, the beach or a siesta in your hammock. And the relief brought on by the afternoon summer rains is a tropical experience not to be missed! After all that drama during the day, summer nights in this part of the world are a time to be outside, socialize and enjoy the stars. Come to Yucatan in the summer for the rains and the heat… you won’t be sorry!

This week, the president of China, Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, came to Mexico and visited the Yucatan. In particular, Xi Jinping wanted to visit Chichen Itza, one of the new seven wonders of the world and the crowning jewel of Yucatan tourism. Those of us who have visited Chichen Itza multiple times are used to the sight of El Castillo rising above the grassy lawn, and we sometimes forget how amazing a sight it is the first time. Xi Jinping was reportedly duly impressed and, according to an article in the Diario de Yucatan, declared himself an admirer of the Maya culture.

The Chinese president and his wife were accompanied, of course, but a large Mexican delegation which included the president of Mexico and his wife, and the governor of Yucatan. The photo (courtesy of the Diario de Yucatan) seems to show that his wife was enjoying herself but perhaps Xi Jinping himself was suffering a bit from the heat. He talked about his expectation that China will invest in Mexico’s infrastructure, renewable energy, telecommunications, electronics and the automotive industry. He also added that it was a little premature to talk about a free trade agreement between the two countries.

If these things are true, we expect to see more Chinese people moving to Mexico and especially to the Yucatan Peninsula as it was the only area of Mexico that the President visited outside of Mexico City. That’s quite a compliment for our area and perhaps a harbinger of investments and tourism to come! Obviously, at this point this is all just speculation… but we’re considering studying Mandarin just in case!

The Por La Libre event is one of the top open-water swimming events in the world. About 1000 racers, both pros and amateurs, compete in either a 3 kilometer or a 10 kilometer race in the beautiful blue Caribbean waters between Cancun and Isla Mujeres. One of the highlights of the race is swimming over Cancun’s Underwater Museum. This year was the 8th year that this race was held and people came from all over the planet to participate.

Ricardo Hassey, as anyone who has worked with him knows, is an incredible real estate agent who works for Tierra Yucatan here in Merida. He is also an incredible athlete. After working with Jennifer Lytle, owner of Tierra Yucatan, for days at the International Living Ultimate Event in Playa del Carmen, Ricardo took off for Cancun where this Saturday 25th May, he competed in the Tenth Internationl Por La Libre open water swimming event. He sawm from Cancun to Isla Mujeres in just over three and a half hours. What a guy!

If you click on this link, you can see the route of the Por La Libre swimming event.

While it is a little too soon to celebrate, it looks as if the Mexican Constitution will soon be modified to do away with the fideicomiso or bank trust! This will make it much less expensive for foreign buyers purchasing in Merida, at the beach and everywhere within 50 kilometers of the coast of Yucatan… or anywhere in Mexico. As an foreigner, you will now be able to buy and own outright (which you can already do outside of the protected zone) anywhere in Mexico.

Until proposed amendments are ratified, we still have to set up the bank trust. But once the law changes, as a foreigner, you will be able to simply close down your existing fideicomiso and will no longer have any annual fee.

Here is a translation of an article published recently in the Diario de Yucatan:

* * * * *
On April 23, the full House of Representatives approved an initiative to reform Section I of Article 27 of the Constitution, which allows foreigners to purchase land housing exclusively for non-commercial purposes in a zone of one hundred kilometers along borders and fifty along the beaches.

PAN deputy from Yucatan, Raul Paz Alonzo, author of the initiative, together with the coordinator of the PRI representatives in the House, Manlio Fabio Beltrones, says that the document was referred to the Senate, which could approve it in brief, and now needs the approval of at least 17 state legislatures.

With these changes, says Paz Alonzo, foreigners (who he says are mainly retirees) will have legal certainty, allowing them to apply for mortgage loans in their home countries in order to acquire a second home in Mexico.

The American retiree market alone is worth $2,500 million pesos, says Paz Alonzo. He believes that Yucatan state will attract some of that market, leveraging the features of the Yucatan, such as climate, security, medical services and facilities such as golf courses, all of which are of great interest to retirees.

Also, explained the deputy, many of the Canadians who come to the Yucatan coast in winter will now be able to buy houses directly with bank loans in their own country. The same will be true for those who plan to open homes for the elderly on the Yucatan Peninsula or those who already have housing developments near the coast or within one hundred miles of the borders.

Under the new law, adds Paz Alonzo, selling Mexican properties in the United States will be easier and will put Yucatan on a par with Florida, increasing the Yucatan’s share with that large market of retirees.

Trusts At a Glance

Until these changes are made, foreigners are not allowed to own land in the “zone”; they can however buy the land through a fideicomiso. In this trust, the banks are listed as “owners” of the property purchased by foreigners.

High Costs

This situation has led to non-Mexicans, in their capacity as trustees, dealing with high costs of setting up trusts and paying registration fees, as well as fees for paperwork, appraisals, taxes, permits and more.

Objectives

Therefore, one of the objectives of the initiative is to eliminate the middleman, in this case real estate companies and banks.

Pop Quiz: Which national capital has the higher murder rate, Mexico City or Washington, D.C.?

If you answered Mexico City, you’d be in good company – after all, Mexico is a war zone, isn’t it? But you would be wrong, on both counts.

Based on FBI crime statistics for 2010 and Mexican government data released early this year, Mexico City’s drug-related-homicide rate per 100,000 population was one-tenth of Washington’s overall homicide rate – 2.2 deaths per 100,000 population compared with 22. (Drug violence accounts for most murders in Mexico, which historically does not have the gun culture that reigns in the United States.) And while parts of Mexico can be legitimately likened to a war zone, drug violence afflicts 80 of the country’s 2,400 municipalities (equivalent to counties). Their locations have been well publicized: along the U.S. border in northern Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas states, and south to Sinaloa, Michoacan and parts of San Luis Potosi, Nayarit, Jalisco, Guerrero and Morelos states.

The flip side is that more than 95 percent of Mexico’s municipalities are at least as safe as the average traveler’s hometown. Yucatan state, for example, had 0.1 of a murder for every 100,000 people in 2010 – no U.S. tourist destination comes close to that. Most cities in central Mexico, outside of the scattered drug hot spots, have lower murder rates than Orlando, Florida. It would seem fairly clear – fly, don’t drive, across the border into the safe regions. Yet whenever people say they are going to Mexico, the invariable response is “Aren’t you afraid?”

Media sensationalism accounts for much of the wariness. “Gangland violence in western Mexico” “Journalists under attack in Mexico” and “Mexico mass grave toll climbs” sound as if the entire country were a killing field. The story might name the state, but rarely the town and almost never the neighborhood. And some reporters apparently are confused by the word “municipality” – some of the killings reported as being in Mazatlan, for example, actually happened in a town miles away from the city – akin to attributing murders in East Palo Alto to San Francisco. But the biggest factor may be that travelers looking for a carefree vacation simply find it easier to write the entire country off than to learn what areas to avoid.

The Mexico Tourism Board is working to change that. Efforts so far have concentrated on getting accurate information to travel agents, who funnel the lion’s share of tourism to Mexico’s popular destinations. Independent travelers’ primary source of information is the State Department travel alerts, which are finally getting better at pinpointing the trouble spots. “We are trying to work with U.S. authorities in making these travel alerts specific and not general,” said Rodolfo Lopez Negrete, the tourism board’s chief operating officer. “Unfortunately, they have projected a somewhat distorted image.”

If you’re totally spooked, there are places in Mexico that pose no more risk than Disneyland. If you’re open-minded but don’t want to take unnecessary risks, we have places in Mexico that are safer than Miami, New Orleans or Washington, D.C.

(This article is adapted from an article in the S.F. Gate)