Ohhhhh Mexico!

We’ll be in beautiful Mahahual in less than a week! We’ve been so busy between work and trying to get everything ready for the winter in Florida it really snuck (sneaked? sneaked is correct but I like snuck) up on us! In fact, a week from now, I’ll be enjoying my coffee overlooking the beautiful Caribbean sea watching the waves lap gently against the reef. Before visiting Ambergris Caye, Belize in 2011 I’d never been anywhere with a barrier reef like the Mesoamerican. Parts of Roatan share this same view. I wouldn’t get tired of it in a million years, it’s peaceful & mesmerizing and I always daydream about the depths just beyond and the creatures awaiting our next dive.

We generally head out of town with a hit list (here’s what we hoped to achieve in Utila), especially now that our trips as mostly research with a side of diving, this one will be no different. So what are we hoping to achieve during our time in Mahahual? Kind of a lot actually.

We both have very high hopes for Mahahual being the place we start out when we go where it’s warm! If you missed it, check out my pro-con list from a few weeks back detailing all of the reasons it could be the perfect place for us. It’s impossible to know before you’ve actually been somewhere if it’ll be as good as you hope but research from afar is always the best first step.

Without further delay, our Mahahual hit list:

• Pharmacy –  I want to check out the pharmacies in town to see if they carry a specific maintenance drug that I need. It’d be great if they do, one less thing to worry about! I also need to find a source for my older dog’s thyroid medicine, that could prove to be a bit trickier but I know it’s available in Tulum or Playa Del Carmen if we had to drive to get it.

• Rentals – In a small place like Mahahual, long term rentals aren’t posted online. There’s no craigslist or anything like that. Rentals are advertised by word-of-mouth when you get there so we’ll be doing a lot of asking around to see what’s available, the prices and how accepting renters are of dogs since our two will most definitely be making the move! I’d also like to check out the casitas if we can easily walk there or rent bikes. I’ve seen them online and a lot of them have small backyards, perfect for our dogs.

• SUP – We love to SUP and go as much as possible in the summer here. In fact, we just bought a rack setup that will allow us to bring them to the keys this winter so we’ll definitely rent a SUP while we’re there and go for a paddle. When we paddle here, visibility into the water is usually about a foot so it’ll be nice to paddle in clear water where we can see the reef and fish as we paddle by.

• Dive – We haven’t picked a shop yet which is a different approach for us. We usually book diving early on but tips from an expat told us to wait till we arrive to get a much better price. Advice taken!

• Yoga – Only if there’s time or we’re rained out. Costa Maya Yoga looks like a beautiful facility that I’d definitely take advantage of living there but I don’t usually make time for it on vacation because I’d rather be diving.

• Walk the malecon – We love to go for walks so I’m sure this will be a daily ritual for us.

• Talk to expats – People living there are always the best source of information. I want to hear it all – the good & the bad.

• Bring Stewart a hat – His blog has been such a huge help to us in researching Mahahual, it’s the least we can do!

The list looks short but a lot goes into a few of those line items. I want to come home knowing as much as possible about relocating and living there. But it’s also a vacation for us, so we’ll be doing plenty of chilling out, gazing at the water, going for walks & reading books. I’ve been saving Christopher Moore’s Secondhand Souls for this trip and can’t wait to dive into it! He’s a great author to read on vacation. We both randomly read Island of the Sequined Love Nun while we were in Little Cayman without realizing part of the book was set there. It’s a great beach read if you’re looking for one. You also can’t go wrong with anything by Jonathon Tropper.

Since we’ll be away for Thanksgiving, we’re celebrating it early today and having some family over.

On the menu:

• Spinach & artichoke dip with crusty bread
• Roasted butternut squash lasagna
• Brussels sprout & kale salad with toasted almonds and homemade dressing
• Pumpkin pie – made by the most amazing little bakery down the street. I’m a pretty good cook but I really can’t bake to save my life so it’s best left up to the professionals. Pumpkin pie is my favorite! It’s taking some serious will power not to have a little sample before our guests arrive.

That’s it from me till we get back from our trip! I have a huge project going live the day after we get back so there might be a bit of a delay on all things Mahahual.

Until next time….enjoy your Sunday everyone!

Warm thoughts to all!

PS. It’s 45 here right now… WTF … it’s 80 in Key Largo, I can’t wait to be there! Once we get back we’ll just have 3.5 more weeks of cold to suffer through!