We’re in Mexico & October Updates!

We’re in Mexico and where do I even begin with the whirl wind of things that have been going on.

So first, yes we’re in Mexico! I can barely believe it myself. We flew into Cancun and now we are going to be dotting our way around some beach towns for the beginning. We don’t have any grand ambitions for the start. It’s hot. We are going to allow for some transition time and give ourselves some head space. We have made the mistake of trying to hit the ground running before and subsequently missed some things we potentially wish we had done before. So not this time.

At the start we had a lovely little place in the quieter town of Puerto Morelos. Puerto Morelos is an easy 30 minute drive away from the airport making it a nice starting point. So far we are finding the best deals booking through Expedia. We stayed at Posada Amor and although there was a bit of music at night, we really liked it.

We don’t know how long we’ll be in Mexico. We’re fortunate to be granted a 180 day visa on arrival. We anticipate being here between 30-60 days, if I had to guess. We outlined our tentative trip plans in this update, but really it’s all subject to change. Cuba is close. The Caiman Islands are close. Things could change.

As far as Mexico goes we only plan to be visiting areas in the Yucatan Peninsula. Which if anyone is needing a little geography help, it’s just this area below with the green arrow:

Chris is already so happy because now I only have two countries up on him! 😉

But even the relatively small chunk of the Yucatan is so big. We will just be brushing the surface of places.

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Then going backwards we dedicated a significant amount of time to being with family before we left. We helped my parents put on a big yard sale. That consumed us for a few weeks. Then we spent time going to soccer games, having campfires and other family gatherings with Chris’ family. Mix in between all that getting prepared for this trip – it has been a very busy month!

So it all a bit of whirl wind for us and we are still wrapping our own heads around being in Mexico (!!!)

Oh! But a few fun things to note about traveling on this trip:

• Our longest leg of the flight was 3 hrs 55 min! This part was amazing!!! Our other flights to Asia and Egypt/Jordan have been like 14-18 hour long hauls. It was amazing to have such a short and easy flight here.
• We’re in still almost the same time zone! We just bumped back one hour from Eastern time to Central time. Also amazing to not have crazy jet lag for days!
• We can still use our own power adapters/cords. Just a nice bonus! But omg – I’ve mentioned this before we will never go back to carrying lots of random travel plugs and adapters. We now carry an amazing all in one product of a universal travel adaptor. This is so worth and if you have any travelers in your life could make for an awesome next present.
• It’s so green and lush! I loved flying into Cancun and so quickly seeing lots of lush greenery.
• Our departure from the Cancun airport was so easy and pleasant. We had heard others stories of dismay about all the hassles of trying to leave the airport. Our shuttle people we’re easily identifiable, prompt, friendly and efficient. It was awesome. Remember half the battle of not being hassled is to not make eye contact or engage! Never be rude. Just don’t engage and keep walking. 99% of the time it’s that simple.

So…you know about as much as we know currently. Don’t forget we are most active in posting pictures on facebook, instagram and twitter. Following us there is the best way to stay up to date. And you don’t necessarily have to have your own account just to see the pictures. They are public pages so you can click and still just follow along with the photos.

Oh! And one last minute item I got for myself that I am just loving is my visor! Omg. I love visors. I looked and looked at thrift shops and just could not find a visor, let alone a visor that would work for me. So I just got this Visor and I never thought I could be so happy with a visor! It’s so light weight, compact and comfortable. And most of all it just keeps that intense sun off my face. So if you are seeking a visor – look no further!

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There is also someone I have been meaning to introduce you to for a while now. His name is Dan Hurd. Early this spring we looked out the park window and saw a bicycler making their way into the park. We soon learned that Dan was biking his way across America with little to no money to raise awareness about suicide prevention. Having been in the military and having several suicide attempts, a friend of Dan’s gave him a bicycle. Something clicked and he has been riding ever since.

In recent news the untimely passing of famous celebrities like Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade remind us that no matter what position we have in life, none of us are exempt from the feelings that can seep into our lives. We invited Dan to have dinner with us and learned more about his life. He has plotted and planned his bike route to go with the seasons and anticipates it will take him three years. He researched for the best bike possible he realized it was only sold to high end bike stores with a hefty price tag of around $8k. As he was putting all his efforts into the universe to try and find this bike it just so happened he learned about a Belgian backpacker in NYC who had to buy his plane ticket home and he was short on cash. But the Belgium did have a bike. The bike Dan wanted. So Dan got the best bike for this trip and the backpacker was able to buy a flight home.

Many mornings when I awake from the comforts of a bed I think of Dan who probably burned 5000 calories the day before and is waking up in his tent, the floor of a church, from a fire station or some kind strangers home who gave him a place to stay that night. If you would like, I hope you can follow him on facebook, instagram or twitter and cheer him on his journey. If you see him, say hi! Cheer him on. Maybe offer to make him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. There are so many ways we can encourage each other to go out and find and live our best lives. Ride on Dan – One Peddle at a Time!

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Ok and that is all for now. Thank you so much everyone for following along on this journey!

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