Tag: Cancun

I have too much time, said nobody

by Stacy Ziegler, posted in Colombia, Early Retirement, home exchange, Lifestyle, Mexico, Riviera Maya

Well, I may have to rename this to, “annual update” blog. Sooooooo much has happened since the last entry, even then I kidded about needing to rename this the “Quarterly update.” Woops!

Since June of last year what have we done, where have we been? According to my Google timeline, we returned from our “Trip of a lifetime” in June 2023. That summer, we returned to Washington state to see friends and family. It was an extremely packed 4 week trip and we swore we would never try to pack that much in to such a short stay in Washington again. We came home and decided to treat ourselves to an actual vacation so we set off to Medellin, Colombia. That trip was magical! We have been to Cartagena and Santa Marta but never inland. I cannot emphasize enough how blown away we were by the entire area of Antioquia. Rio Negro (Where the airport is) and Guatape were equally as stunning. We took a few tours in Medellin as well as an all day tour out to Guatape that included climbing to the top of La Perla aka El Peñon. The height starts are roughly 7,000 feet and there are 750 stairs to the top. That’s right, you start of with the air already being so thin you can barely breathe and then you hoof it 750 steps, practically straight up to the top but it is so worth it.(You can also see this on season 36 episode 3 of The Amazing Race, we did it before it was cool 😂) Since we were on a tour, we didn’t have the luxury of really taking our time getting up, It took us about 30 minutes and what really kept us going was having these young moms passing us up while carrying a baby on their hip! Ok, ok, if they can do it, so can we!

When we moved to Mexico, we vowed to explore as much of it as we could. We love the country, the people, the culture and of course, the food. After our whirlwind trip to Colombia, we spent a week in San Miguel de Allende and another week in Guanajuato. We were able to utilize Home Exchange to do it so we really did get to take it all in and live like a local. We had a brief stop in Querétaro as that is the city we flew into. We took the Primera plus bus from SMA to Guanajuato and flew out from there back home the last day of October, just in time for Día de Muertos festivities around are neighborhood. The Primera plus bus was equal to flying business class. Very clean, comfortable and well organized.

Both neighborhoods are filled with charm, culture, museums and unfortunately, much like Oaxaca, fireworks at 5 am. We visited the mummy museum in Guanajuato and just happened to be lucky enough to visit overthe 51st annual Cervantino, an enormous arts festival!

Winter was filled with visitors from my kids to Lisa’s parents, a trip to ruin Ek Balam and a cenote called Coj Ha also known as “The Cathedral” which was the most stunning cenote I have ever seen. This was part of a Mayan cultural retreat where we met an herbalist for a reading and cleansing, a cocoa ceremony and a lot of soul searching. It was organized by Laura LaBrie, Maya Harmony. If you are interested in a real experience, very little glitter and gold, where you learn more about yourself, the Maya, and having a cleansing, definitely contact her. The winter also, unfortunately, included the passing of my Aunt, who was more like a mother, on Christmas day.

In February, I was honored to officiate my brother’s wedding so that involved a very quick trip back to the US. Pro tip, if flying from San Diego area to Cancun or vice versa, use the CBX (Cross border Express) inside the Tijuana airport. There are currently no direct flights from San Diego to Cancun but there are several from Tijuana. The CBX is INSIDE the airport. We landed in Tijuana, pulled out our passports and tickets for the bridge and walked 15 minutes and walked out of a terminal in the Otay Pacific are of San Diego where we rented a car and headed straight to In-n-Out. Tickets for the bridge start around $20 and can usually be purchased with your airline ticket.

In March(MARCH? It came in the blink of an eye) we set sail on a Celebrity cruise for Lisa’s birthday to the Grand Cayman, Aruba and Curacao with her dad and step mom. We did not like the Celebrity ship or process nearly as much as we enjoyed Princess but really, who is going to complain about that trip. We were able to spend time with her family and go snorkel some amazing reefs and a ship wreck. Our favorite island was, without a doubt, Curacao. Lovely little Dutch Caribbean island with stunning waters, Kokomo and adorable stores.

We made it back in time to head home for a few days to repack, and take a breath. Not a long one, just a few days before we headed off to attend Lisa’s niece’s destination wedding in Cancun. It was a beautiful few days filled with beautiful people. After the wedding, we continued on a road trip while our home was being occupied by family over spring break. This gave us a much needed push to get out and explore locally. We spent a night in Valladolid and then onto Merida for another Home Exchange. In my opinion, Merida is completed over rated. We saw some really cool things but I think after being in SMA/Oaxaca and Guanajuato, the bar was set fairly high. We stopped to see Chichén Itzá on our way to El Cuyo. I think we have figured out the trick to seeing the ruins without hoards of people is to go about 1:30 in the afternoon. By then the morning rush is gone and you have beat the afternoon tours. Chichén Itzá was really a magical place to visit. Coba might still be my favorite ruin in the area though. (Did I mention Coba already? I don’t think I did. Amazing ruin in the Riviera Maya where you can rent bikes to explore the massive grounds.)

After 2 weeks of exploring the Yucatan peninsula, we made it home the beginning of April and were happy to go NOWHERE for several weeks. A friend of ours invited us out to Isla Mujeres and we almost declined as we were so tired from traveling but how do you say no to that? Isla has been on Lisa’s bucket list for awhile and I have used me seasickness as a reason not to get on the ferry. Our friend has her own boat so it was impossible to turn down and I am glad that we went. I don’t think we have ever seen water that color, even in Aruba. We did not go ashore so I can’t speak to that but it looked really crowded, even from off shore during off season so if you are planning a trip, be prepared for that. The snorkeling was amazing and we saw several species of fish, rays, and eels that we don’t see at home.

I am certain I have left things out. I really do need to get back to trying to keep this updated on more than annual basis. Our next big trip starts next week. We are spending 2 weeks driving through Mexico before visiting family in Arizona and California then spending the summer in Washington (Thank you Home Exchange and Trusted House Sitters for making another amazing trip possible. (more on that later) Our trip back home involves a trip to Yosemite, Zion, Bryce Canyon and ?? Still wondering about Home Exchange? It has made most of these once in a lifetime experiences a reality, check it out here!

Till next time-

Stacy

2022

by Stacy Ziegler, posted in Early Retirement, Moving abroad, Puerto Aventuras

Wow! It been a hot minute since I’ve updated anything. To pick up where I left off, we had just finished the consulate process in Seattle and we had appointments at INM in Playa del Carmen in the 9th of November. This was the perfect way to spend our wedding anniversary. The process was relatively easy and we did not have to wait long at the office to be processed and receive our residency cards but that was largely because we used Milly Arceo at Legally in Mexico to complete the paperwork on the Mexican side of the border.

When it was time to come back, the depression set in. Everyone wants to spend more time in Mexico, sure, but the dread of returning to the States and to work is more pronounced each time. What made that return trip home is we knew it would be the last one before the final move. It was hard to say goodbye to our friends and our home. The entire Riviera Maya just feels so magical, it has a
a pull on my soul that I cannot put into words. We both planned to make our retirement announcements soon after our return.

December was a hectic month, I had surgery, we had the holidays, the important people Lisa needed to talk to before announcing it formally had taken time off and we ultimately pushed the announcement off until just a few weeks ago. The presiding Judge was not at all surprised, she had known we had bought a home and obtained residency. Some of the other Judges took it a little harder. Lisa has been such a pillar of strength and leadership over the last 30 years, it is no surprise that many of her co workers had mixed feelings about the announcement.

My announcement followed hers and while I won’t be officially done working, I will shift my focus to business operations and will no longer be the program manager. A decade and thousands of cases of abused and neglected children later, in an era where children’s rights and interests are largely placed on the back burner, has really taken a toll on me. I will miss many of my colleagues and some of the great reunification and adoptions I’ve been apart of but I am more than ready to separate myself from the secondary and tertiary trauma that comes with this line of work. Our last days at work will be April 15th!

So what’s next? The universe is still creating a very easy path for us. We already have our house under contract(and they are taking most of the furniture!), one of my vehicles is already promised to a buyer, I’ve sorted and organized 30 years with of kids art work, photos and other keepsakes. Our house is set to close May 6th and we have airline tickets for May 7th to spend a month traveling California and Arizona to see family before we make the trip from LAX to Cancun in late May. It’s hard to believe it is so close when it feels like we just started this journey. When it’s right, it’s right. Until next time, mi amigos. Salud.