Folks, I returned on May 9, 2004 from a GREAT visit to the American communities around Lake Chapala. I'll be posting several articles for folks considering retiring there.
If you're thinking of visiting yourself:
1) Get a passport. It is much faster than showing your birth certificate and driver's license, and it's easier to carry.
2) Fly Mexican. Mexicana Airlines was cleaner, quieter, and smoother than USAir, which lost my luggage. The meals were excellent, and they came by two other times with free snacks and drinks. As the only non-Mexican on the plane, I was treated with lots of courtesy and friendliness.
3) Bring a package of FLUSHABLE wetwipes. I had no trouble with diarreah, but with a different diet, things can get rough.
4) Bring a nail clipper.
5) A cheap money belt that wraps around your waist is much more convenient than the $50 ones that go through your belt loops and have a zipper on the inside. The cheap one cost me $5 at an army-navy store, and it easily held $1000, my passport, and my tourist card.
6) I was surprised to learn that my sturdy little camera fit inside my pants pocket. I got excellent pictures. I did not use "800" film, which sometimes cannot go through airport scanners.
7) Bring some courage, learn to count in Spanish, and if you insist on learning some other Spanish, try "restaurant Spanish"--names of foods, etc.
More tomorrow!
If you're thinking of visiting yourself:
1) Get a passport. It is much faster than showing your birth certificate and driver's license, and it's easier to carry.
2) Fly Mexican. Mexicana Airlines was cleaner, quieter, and smoother than USAir, which lost my luggage. The meals were excellent, and they came by two other times with free snacks and drinks. As the only non-Mexican on the plane, I was treated with lots of courtesy and friendliness.
3) Bring a package of FLUSHABLE wetwipes. I had no trouble with diarreah, but with a different diet, things can get rough.
4) Bring a nail clipper.
5) A cheap money belt that wraps around your waist is much more convenient than the $50 ones that go through your belt loops and have a zipper on the inside. The cheap one cost me $5 at an army-navy store, and it easily held $1000, my passport, and my tourist card.
6) I was surprised to learn that my sturdy little camera fit inside my pants pocket. I got excellent pictures. I did not use "800" film, which sometimes cannot go through airport scanners.
7) Bring some courage, learn to count in Spanish, and if you insist on learning some other Spanish, try "restaurant Spanish"--names of foods, etc.
More tomorrow!
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