The Carnival in X’matkuil/ Yucatán, Mexico
Posted: March 1, 2018 Filed under: world travels | Tags: Mexican culture, Mexico, X'matkuil Carnival Leave a commentClick photo to play video
“Getting to Know Karen”
Posted: March 3, 2017 Filed under: editorials, world travels | Tags: expats, Mexico, retirement, travel, Yucatán Leave a commentEpisode One, Real Expats of the Yucatán
New Infotainment series about the life and adventures of American and Canadian expat women and their friends who have retired in the Yucatan, Mexico. They hilariously navigate their new life in the small fishing villages of Chelem and Chuburna on the Gulf Coast of the Yucatan peninsula. From immigration to internet, water and electricity (or lack thereof), spiders, snakes and scorpions, construction and housing, ocean and beach, a food, drink, entertainment and music recommendations, Mexican holidays and fiestas, real cost of living and aging parents and millennial children, new grandchildren, the Expats cover the real truth what daily life is in the Yucatan.
The premiere Episode of The Real Expats of the Yucatan! Learning all about Karen…..Our hippie chill Earth Mother with an EDGE.
Night of the Dead/ Mérida, Yucatán
Posted: October 29, 2016 Filed under: world travels | Tags: dia de los muertos, Merida, Mexican culture, Mexico 1 Commentclick on photos to enlarge
Mornings in my backyard/ Chelem, MX
Posted: October 24, 2016 Filed under: world travels | Tags: Chelem, Mexico, Yucatán 3 Commentsclick on photos to enlarge
Sony A65 camera
Best coffee store in the world/ Mérida, MX
Posted: September 6, 2016 Filed under: coffee, world travels | Tags: Chiapas, coffee, Mexico 1 CommentPosheria/ Paseo de Montejo, Centro Histórico de Mérida, Yucatán
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Julio de la Cruz, owner, Posheria
Anybody who follows this blog knows that I have had the pleasure of tasting the finest coffees in the world…in Brazil, in Columbia, Turkish coffee in Istanbul, Cuban coffee in Miami, Arabic brew in Dubai…but recently, the best coffee I’ve had is from the Chiapas Highlands of Mexico. It’s nutty and sweet, and the only coffee that I’ve ever drank that is actually better without cream and sugar. Fortunately, the store that sells it…Posheria…is a short drive from my home in Yucatán, Mexico. But Posheria is much more than just a coffee store…
Owner Julio de la Cruz opened his first store in 2010 in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, and then opened another location on the chic Paseo de Montejo in Mérida in 2015. The store also carries hand-woven tapestries and bags made from maguey (an agave plant), hand-made wood carvings and ceramics (jaguars seem to be a specialty), as well as a huge selection of pox (pronounced: posh), a traditional Maya liquor made from corn. All of his store’s stock is fair trade that benefits the economy of Chiapas’ coffee growers and artisans.
Bottles of pox, tapestries, maguey bags, ceramics, and hand-carved crafts.
I had never heard of pox before. According to Julio, the Maya considered it a mystic concoction, and used it for celebrations and spiritual occasions, or as he explains it “Pox: Destilado de Maiz. The traditional drink of the indigenous communities of Los Altos de Chiapas. This distillate is considered the bridge between the material and spiritual world and every sip serves a purpose: joy for the holidays, elixir to heal the body and balm for the soul.” Julio operates a pox distillery in Mérida…the only source of licensed, tax-stamped pox in existence…it generally coming from rustic distilling in the Chiapas Highlands. Depending upon which flavor you chose, it makes either a great aperitif or digestif…drunk chilled in a small glass like sherry or port.
A variety of hand-crafted critters
Pox, wood carvings, and tapestries
Posheria is a really interesting store to spend some time browsing…have a coffee…and sample a taste of pox. It’s at Paseo de Montejo #486, Centro Histórico in Mérida…near the end of the street where it loops around. I’ve never been there without buying something. In fact, today I bought that little jaguar in the thumbnail photo at the beginning of this editorial. The Tsotsil indigenous people of the Chiapas Highlands say “bankilal” (brother) in lieu of “cheers.” So….bankilal!
PS: if you drop in, tell Julio you saw the blog post.
Neuter and spay clinic/ Ek Balam, Mexico
Posted: May 24, 2016 Filed under: NGO, world travels | Tags: Ek Balam, Mexico, Neuter and spay, Yucatán Leave a commentAnyone who is familiar with rural Mexico knows what a problem stray and feral dogs are. They lead short miserable lives and are often killed or crippled by automobile traffic. In addition to the inhumane circumstances of the dogs, there are community health hazards as well. Roving packs of aggressive feral dogs are dangerous. So is the strewn garbage from their rummaging, and the fouled streets where children run barefoot. This past weekend I shot a short documentary to promote the efforts of a group of volunteers who conducted a free neuter and spay clinic for the town of Ek Balam…a small, remote village in the state of Yucatán, Mexico. The clinic was held at the town’s municipal building. In addition to catching some strays, the clinic provided services to family dogs who might sire litters of feral dogs.
I’ll be working on editing the documentary for a while yet, so, this morning I cut this piece to provide a more timely look at the program. This video follows one particular dog, Drego, as he goes through the entire process: arrival, anesthesia, surgery, ear tattoo, recovery, and a tail-wagging return home. Drego is a very big and very sweet family dog. Someone said that he is part mastiff and part pit bull. The father sports a Maya warrior haircut from his role as a re-enactor at the nearby Ek Balam ruins.
Kudos to the many volunteers who spent the day working hard, pro bono, in the heat of the Yucatán interior, and thanks to Lee Christie whose Genesis Eco-Oasis was a beautiful and hospitable place from which the event was staged.
I hope you will watch the video and share to help promote this and other neuter and spay programs.
Note: there are a few scenes of canine surgery that some people might find disturbing.
Lizard hiding/ Chelem, MX
Posted: April 14, 2016 Filed under: world travels | Tags: Chelem, lizard, Mexico, Yucatán Leave a commentA lizard disguising itself as foliage on my approach.
Sony A65 camera in my backyard
Conservación de los Anfibios y Reptiles de Yucatán/ Yucatán, MX
Posted: March 27, 2016 Filed under: NGO | Tags: education, Mexico, NGO, sustainability, Yucatán Leave a comment
The Yucatán Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Network provides knowledge to the public about the biology of Yucatecan amphibians and reptiles. This video is from an an event in the community of Telchac Puerto which presented live demonstrations and scientific information about Yucatán biodiversity.
Chichén Itzá, Mexico
Posted: February 26, 2016 Filed under: world travels | Tags: Chichén Itzá, Maya, Mexico, Yucatán Leave a commentclick photos to enlarge
Coatimundi/ Reserva Ecológica El Corchito, Yucatán, MX
Posted: October 24, 2015 Filed under: world travels | Tags: Coatimundi, Mexico, Reserva Ecológica El Corchito, Yucatán Leave a commentTelchac Puerto/ Yucatán, México
Posted: October 17, 2015 Filed under: world travels | Tags: Mexico, Telchac Puerto, Yucatán Leave a commentWent to Telchac Puerto today. It is very pink.
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¡Soy HUNAB!/ Environmental education in Mérida, Mexico
Posted: August 18, 2015 Filed under: education, NGO, world travels | Tags: activism, environmentalism, HUNAB, Merida, Mexico, NGO, sustainability, Yucatán 1 CommentHUNAB is training the next generation of environmentalists.
I’ve been working with HUNAB in Mérida, Mexico since 2006. It’s an organization that trains young peer educators, who in turn teach sustainable environmental practices to other children in their communities. Hope you will find the time to watch this video that I shot just a few weeks ago. In Spanish with English sub-titles.
Read my CSRwire editorial about HUNAB: http://www.csrwire.com/blog/posts/1617-grassroots-sustainability-education-for-children-in-mexico
Shot on Sony A65 and GoPro cameras
Morning in Chelem, Mexico
Posted: August 2, 2015 Filed under: world travels | Tags: Chelem, Mexico, Yucatán 1 CommentNorth coast of the state of Yucatan on the Gulf of Mexico
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chicken in mole sauce/ Mexico City
Posted: April 22, 2012 Filed under: food, world travels | Tags: chicken, Mexico, Mexico City, mole, Paseo de la Reforma Leave a commentGeez, was this good mole sauce! Paseo de la Reforma. Shot on iPhone.
Fried fish/ Sinanché, Mexico
Posted: April 13, 2012 Filed under: food, world travels | Tags: beach, food, fried fish, Mexico, Sinanché, Yucatán Leave a commentIt might not look tasty, but it is.