Yolisto: Articles

I retired to Paamul, Mexico about six years ago. “Where is that? Never heard of it,” you say. Well good, because I really don’t want every Joe, Schmoh and Harry to move down here to my secluded paradise. But I am going to let you in on my little secret if you promise not to tell too many other people.

Paamul is a trailer park. “Yikes,” I hear you say. “I am not going to turn into trailer trash in my old age. I managed my entire life to live in a regular house like normal folks, I am not going to live like the people on the other side of the rail road tracks.

Paamul is probably in every book that lists places where to park your travel trailer when on a trip in Mexico. That is why there are a bunch of Canadians and U.S. Americans who pull their RV trailer down here to enjoy this little secluded cove in the winter time. But, that is a whole different story. This is not what I am talking about. I am talking living in Mexico permanently or at least six months out of the year, if you can afford to keep two places of residence.

During the summer is when I like it best. When I have the entire beach almost to myself. I like it that way, because it leaves more air for me to breathe. No topless Italians, no screaming kids, just the blue, blue waters of the Caribbean and a completely secluded beach with beautiful white sand are to my avail.

I own a place about 30 yards away from the edge of the water. Yes, it is about a stone throw. My place has five palm trees with coconuts on them in front of it. Yes, sometimes I pick one, mix the milk with some rum, distilled illegally in the jungle by some locals and have a drink. But, mostly, I just sit around and enjoy the ever-changing colors of the ocean. You would be amazed how many colors a body of water can actually have depending on the light of day, the weather, the intensity of the sun, the calmness of the ocean, the wind, the waves, the season, the stages of the moon, tide and ebb, etc. It can change from emerald green to light blue to almost gray within minutes. No, no, I do not take drugs, I am on a natural high.

I am often asked by stressed out folks at home who are unable to cut that umbilical cord of the rat race because their bills are eating up all of their monthly income, what I do all day. When I answer nonchalantly “Nothing,” they tend not to believe me. “You must be doing something!” they ask me in disbelief. No, I say, I really do not do much of anything, unless you count living as an activity worth mentioning.

Before I moved to Mexico, I had a job in Information Technology and lived in Denver, Colorado. I spent countless hours in pointless meetings that regurgitated and reevaluated mission and vision statements that had been defined years ago and revised after every merger and take over. When I asked myself why I was attending them it always came down to the same answer: Because my boss liked to hear herself talk and needed an audience and I did not want to rock the boat.

Eventually, I reached the point where all the psychological counseling sessions did not improve my screaming at red lights. This is what I used to do when I was held up driving down the street. I would yell at one of those countless traffic regulating devices in my neighborhood, whose sole purpose it was to make me late or loose some more precious minutes of my day that needed to be spent in one more meeting.

I kept thinking, this could possibly not be how a life is supposed to be lived. Then a friend of mine invited me to come to Mexico to visit her. She had just bought a place on the beach and so I went. She told me to fly to Cancun and she would pick me up. Cancun, I thought, yikes, I had spend a resort vacation there, hating every minute of it. There were too many tourists, too many tourist rip-off joints, too many drunken teenagers on spring break or some other excuse to evade the age limits for drinking. But, she assured me that this place would be nothing like that. She was right.

Paamul is about an hour south from Cancun, past Playa del Carmen towards Tulum. It is before Akumal and before Puerto Aventuras, so if you drive by there, you went too far. It is right after Xcaret, the amusement park equivalent of Disneyland, but in the Yucatan.

Owning land in Mexico is difficult from what I hear and you cannot buy on the beach for at least 100 km. So what good is it to live so far inland if the reason you want to move here is the ocean. This trailer park has places for sale or you can build your own. The places for sale run between $50K and $100K and if you want to have your own build you could probably do so starting at around $25K depending how elaborate and luxurious you wanted it.

What this entails is a plot that is about 50 feet by 30 feet. This plot has to have a trailer on it because the owner pays taxes for this park based on this trailer park rate and so there cannot be permanent structures out of concrete on it without at least the axles of a trailer. Now there have been people known to circumvent this rule, by just sticking an old trailer wall on one side of their cement house to make it look like a trailer. But, from what I hear they are charged a higher rent. I am not certain that this is true and I do not want to risk the higher rent just to find out.

My “rent” on the front row is $7000 per year, it is less if you are one or two rows from the beach. As I look at it, this is not “rent” because I feel as if I own the place and am able to sell it (hopefully with a little profit in a few years). This is basically just like paying HOA fees more or less. This HOA fee entails my electricity, my water, my sewer, my trash removal, and the most important thing: my security. I know for most people this might not be such an important issue because you feel secure when you come down here to an all inclusive. But, I am a single woman and it is not the same to be at some resort or to be on your own.

The park has a guard house stationed at its entrance that is manned 24/7 by a security guard. There are usually two people on staff, one that walks around the park every hour on the hour and one who mans the guard station.
Visitors are asked to sign in and if you do not want somebody to visit you, you can tell them at the station not to let that person in. I also always tell them when I leave the park for an extended period of time, just to let them know that my palapa will not be occupied for that time period and maybe have an extra look at it. This is important in Mexico because you do not want to have your place broken into and all your stuff stolen, which happens frequently from what I read in the paper.

Okay, granted, you do not own the land. But, I really did not care to find out how difficult it is to buy land here for a foreigner and let me tell you, the less time you have to spent in an official government office here in Mexico, the more fortunate you are. You have to have a palapa roof, that is a thatched roof out of palm leaves. Because this is a turtle sanctuary and they want to preserve the more natural look of this beach is the reason for this rule, so I am told.

One day, I had a day tourist (we do have those come by occasionally) ask me where the turtles are. Some half-educated nitwit actually thought, if he took a bus out here, they would just be waiting for him. This is not a zoo and this is not swimming with the dolphins. Yes, there are a ton of turtles in this area. If you are very fortunate you can see them while snorkeling in the water during the daytime. And yes, if you are very, very fortunate you can get to witness the miracle of one mother turtle laying her eggs into the sand of the beach, but this natural wonder occurs at night time only. I have lived here for two years and have seen it twice. So you figure it out. No, if you are here on a 3days/4 night’s all-inclusive vacation, the likelyhood that you will see one in its natural habitat is zero. But, there is always Xcaret or any of the other water parks that has them in some pond, so I hear.

Xcaret also offers an excellent show in the evening that replays the actual ball games held at Chichen Itza and the fire and lights and costumes would be worth the $80! entrance fee that they charge, but I have yet to find out. The Yucatan peninsula has a very rich Mayan culture that is older than most things in Europe. The high time of their culture took place about 600 to 700 AD but there were Maya Indians living here well before then. Chichen Itza is only about an hour away. There you can find the great pyramid and several other Maya ruins. This pyramid with its four sides has exactly 91 steps on each side and then one common step on the very top to amount to a total of 365, which are the days in our calendar. They invented the concept of the number zero and that tells me that their mathematical skills and their entire culture were highly developed when in Europe in the castle of Versailles they still were lacking pluming, but lets not be biased here.

Also, if you wanted your place cleaned, the indigenous ladies charge $10-$15 for this service. The gardener is an octogenarian, Don Beto, who lives on the premises. He used to work for the owner’s father way back when they were still harvesting Chicle, which is some type of rubber that is won by carving the trunk of the chicle tree and collecting the sap in a bucket, He is willing to weed your beach or cut back your Bougainvillea’s for any small hand out. He is out there raking the leaves in the street every morning at six and sometimes when I feel guilty for having slept in, I look at him and hope fills me that I will be so physically and mentally fit as him when I get to be that old.

Back to the original idea of retiring on $30 bucks a day. Food here is a lot cheaper if you do not buy the prepared, precooked, frozen TV dinner type items. Stay away from anything that is just like what you are used to at home. Buy fresh fruit (the overabundance of different types of fruit that I had never seen before is remarkable) when it is in season. Buy fresh vegetables when the local indigenous people offer it at the mercado. Eat what the locals eat. Tortillas made from flour or corn and pasta, rice and beans and the occasional fish or chicken make a tasty meal. Beef is a little tougher than what you are used to in the U.S., but marinating does help and do try the arachera style off the grill at some place in town. Another favorite dish of mine is deep fat fried shrimp in a tempura batter. You eat it by squeezing a lime over it with fresh Mexican salsa on corn tortillas. Make friends with a local fisherman or captain. There are a bunch of yachts stationed in Puerto Aventuras and young locals man these ships, Try to buy their daily catch off them or trade them something for it.

If you figure your “rent” is about $500 per months, you can figure an equal amount for your food and expenses. So, that brings your expenses to about $1000 a months, divided that by 30 and you are at around $30 a day. Gasoline is cheaper here then in the U.S. right now, where I believe the gallon is around $2.85. And another selling point about Paamul was the fact that you can get high speed Internet here. I pay about $50 per months for satellite Internet and even though it is a lot, to me it is totally worth it. I call my family and friends over VOIP and I listen to the radio over the net because at the beach you cannot get very good reception of any local station. Since the mail service here is basically non-existent, this is my connection to the outer world. You can get a P.O. Box in a neighboring town and have your U.S. mail forwarded to it, but the last time I sent a post card from Cancun airport to an address in the U.S. it took six weeks. Just thinking about the amount of checks still being passed through the U.S. mail on a daily basis and the unreliable service here make me cringe, but what can you do. You cannot have all the conveniences of a life style and then complain about the fast lane and burn out syndrome and opt for a more relaxed way of living and then complain about missing the conveniences of the former.

I spend my days snorkeling at least once a day. I actually use it to exercise. I swim out to the reef and back, looking at the fish and the underwater world. If you are very lucky you can encounter a stingray floating through the water like a butterfly. I have seen some that were the size of a good dining room table. I have seen a spotted ray that actually had pink polka dots, a color I always thought more suitable for little girls, but he swam away gracefully and proudly. I have seen turtles in the water, mostly smaller ones.

But, on two occasions I have witnessed them laying eggs at night in the beach. Did you know, they always come back to the same beach where there are born. They might be hundreds of miles away from that beach, but it draws them like the spawning salmons up the stream. They actually shed tears while laying eggs. I had to see it to believe it because I always thought it to be an old wife’s tale. They lay between 50 and 150 golf ball sized eggs. They will spend an hour finding the right spot and digging themselves in, and another hour covering the eggs with sand before they turn around to go back to the ocean. The eggs take about six to eight weeks to hatch. The DIF (some Mexican institution to protect wildlife) comes by to mark the spot and put a wodden stick into the sand with the date on it. I also have seen the baby turtles actually leave their nest. They do it based on the moon and wait for night time and head for the water where most of them will fall prey to predators. The one I saw laying eggs was the size of a roof of Volkswagen beetle with a huge head. I think somebody said it was a hammerhead turtle. If you have ever seen a bullsnake you know what shape of the head I am talking about.

The palapas usually have a trailer that has been gutted to allow for more space, but will have at least one or two bedrooms with air conditioning.
The dining room, living room, kitchen and bath are outside, outside of the trailer that is, but still under your palapa roof. It is much nicer to eat and cook al fresco than inside your trailer. The trailer is basically only used to shelter you from the elements should the weather indeed get ugly, stormy or rainy or too hot to take without AC. You will also use it to house your fragile equipment like TV, computer, stereo, etc. I find it a perfect solution because I do like to sleep in peace away from the critters that sometimes do make their way from the nearby jungle. But, living should really be done outside enjoying the million Dollar view that can be had for just on or about $30 a day.

When I lift the head of my pillow in the morning and look out at the ocean, I see the island of Cozumel. At night I see the cruise ships with their lights and I think about the ballrooms filled with glitzy robes and decked out folks and I wonder if they are having baked Alaskan for desert. And I am thankful that I do not have to partake in organized entertainment. I eat what I want and when I am hungry. I cook what I feel like. I am not bound by dressing rules and eating times and have to leave my room because the maid wants to make the bed and the tour bus is leaving and I have a session scheduled to go para sailing. I am free to do what I want, when I want it and I have the freedom not to do anything, not to spend any money, just be.

If you think about the prize of your utilities, your water, your gas, your electricity and add your mortgage you need to make a very high monthly salary to be able to live anywhere in the U.S. Now add your food bill and your miscelleneous spending and that is not even talking about your credit card dues and your car loan. Only if you are debt free, are you able to get out of this rat race. Where else in the world can you buy a house for around $25K. outright? No mortgage. Just HOA dues of $500 a month and another $500 to eat and live on?

Only in Paamul!
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When I was living in Up-State New York, I loved to listen to 'Proud to Be Irish' (Irish music that was played on the radio and still is today, Sundays from 12:00 noon to 3:00pm NY time, on 88.3 The Saint). I love Irish music, and when I hear it, it makes me think of back home, driving the green hills of the Green Mountains in the Catskills.

I also love traditional Irish food, so when my wife and I discovered Hennessy´s Irish Pub and Restaurant located on Paseo de Montejo in Merida (a few doors down, and on the same side of the street as the Rosas & Xocolate Hotel), we knew we wanted to try it out. This month, my wife Cristy and I had a visit.

As we walked in we were greeted by two very friendly gentlemen and showed us to our seats. As you know from my past reviews, the seats in a restaurant are very important to me, and the seats here are very comfortable. We were lucky to be served by Noe, the Head Waiter; he is very good, and friendly.

The décor is warm and welcomes you into the restaurant, with lots of wood and woodwork. Living here in Mexico, I get so tired of seeing concrete, stone, and more concrete, so when I see a house or restaurant with fantastic woodwork, I love it. The bar alone will get your attention, with its fine woodwork and warmth.

Hennessy´s specials are written on a chalk board on the wall, and that alone makes me happy. I hate when you ask your server what the specials are, and they say it so fast, or they don´t remember them all.

Noe took our drink order and we ordered an appetizer, called Paté Con Arugula. This was a serving of chicken liver paté with a touch of cognac, served with arugula and toasted bread. $60.00 MXN.

The paté was delicious, and you can tell it was just made fresh.

We both love batter-dipped fish and chips, so we ordered Hennessy´s fish and chips. We were served crunchy beer-battered fish with a touch of chili, potato wedges and homemade tartar sauce. As we enjoyed or appetizer, I had asked Noe our waiter if he could put on some Irish music, and he did it at that moment. This Italian LOVES IRISH MUSIC.

The day we went to Hennessy´s there were many Americans and Canadians enjoying lunch there too. On the walls of the restaurant are many fine photos and painting of scenes from Ireland, and many advertisements for Guinness Beer. Since we were in an Irish Pub, if I did not see any of that I would be worried.

We waited only a few minutes, and our Hennessy´s fish and chips arrived. It was delicious, hot, with a crispy coating on the fish. The potato wedges were also very good. The tartar sauce I had was one of the best I have ever had; they hit that nail on the head.

My wife tried a ice cold beer on tap, and she loved it. The funny thing is, it was a Mexican Beer!!

It would have been nice to have had some cold cole slaw with this, but they did not have any. I also felt that it would have been better if they left the touch of chili out. This Chef feels they should omit the chili, since it is Irish food. Still, it was very good, and we will go back.

The prices are on the high side. For the fish and chips, it cost us $145.00 MXN. We would have been happier with a price around $95.00 MXN.

We did not try their desserts, but want to the next time we go back.

Hennessy´s Chef is Chef Jesus Martinez who is a well known Chef from Mexico City. He worked in Pujol, one of the best restaurants in Mexico City. Hennessy´s Irish Pub and Restaurant also serves steaks, burgers, chicken, pasta, seafood, mussels, and dishes for vegetarians.




I give Hennessy´s Irish Pub and Restaurant 3 ½ Chef Hats out of 5

Location: Paseo Montejo. C 56-A No. 486A x 41 y 43, 97000 Mérida, Mexico
Hours: Mon - Wed: 12:00 pm - 12:00 am, Thu - Sat: 12:00 pm - 3:00 am, Sun: 12:00 pm - 12:00 am
Description: A traditional Irish Pub in Mérida!
Parking: Street Parking and/or Valet
Payment Options: Visa, American Express, Master Card
Services: Takes Reservations, Walk-Ins Welcome, Good For Groups, Take Out, Outdoor Seating
Specialties: Lunch, Dinner and Drinks
Owner: Sean Hennessy
Phone: (999) 923-8993
Website: http://www.hennessysirishpub.com
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Yucatan Living publishes Events on Monday night, in part because there are seldom any events on Monday, other than the normal Ongoing Events. But this coming week is different. There's going to be a great show in Merida on Monday night and we highly recommend it.

The listing for this event is as follows:

Popular Music: Meeting of the Fifth Generation
Every once in a while, there is a generation of entertainers that dominates the industry for the remainder of their lives. Someone usually gives them a catchy name (i.e. Brat Pack) and they wear it proudly. Any time you hear the term “Meeting of the Fifth Generation,” you can be sure the event will be in the “must see” category. Most of the following performers started out together as in their teens and now they are revered as the grand royalty of music in Yucatan. Their old Fifth Generation videos from the 1980s are actually on YouTube. The hair and clothes are a sight to behold, but they were talented then and they’ve still got it going on. The featured performer is Sergio Esquivel. Now, watch as the names of super stars begin to roll by: Maricarmen Perez, Angelica Balado, Ligia Camara, Beatriz Cervera, Marilu Basulto, Victor Martinez, Elsy Acatitla, Felipe de la Cruz, Fernando Leal, Rudy Vallado, Roberto Andrade, Javier Lezama, Eduardo Rodriguez, Felissa Estrada, Roberto Arcila, Pinzy, Lenny Sanchez, Graciela Medina and Griselda Prieto, Melina Ruz, Wily Burgos, Jose Antonio Ceballos and Ramon Triay. What an amazing list of musical artists and composers! …and their director is quite the well known artist himself. Musical Director for the evening is Pedro Carlos Herrera. The Fifth Generation was his idea. He is currently the Conductor of the Orquesta Típica Yukalpetén. Most of these performers have been performing this Meeting of the Fifth Generation together since the 1980s. You won’t find a better lineup anywhere!
Location: Teatro Armando Manzanero
Time: 9:00 PM Monday Nov. 28
Admission: Free (yes – Free!)

But I couldn't resist looking them all up on YouTube and on other sites. I even managed to snag some of their old videos from the 70s and 80s. The best part is that they are all sticking around to give concerts, some by themselves, some in duets and groups, later in the week. Check out the following links to see if you want to see them all together or if there might be one or two you would really like to see in their own concert.

Sergio Esquivel
Maricarmen Perez
Angelica Balado
Ligia Camara
Beatriz Cervera
Marilu Basulto
Victor Martinez
Elsy Acatitla
Felipe de la Cruz
Fernando Leal (composer, guitarist, singer)
Rudy Vallado and Melina Ruz (congas) w/ Marcos Vazquez (bajo electrico) 1988 Rudy Vallado Bio
Roberto Andrade
Javier Lezama (composer)
Eduardo Rodriguez (guitarist)
Felissa Estrada

Roberto Arcila [aka xic, papito Nené, or Flash Arcila] (bass player and former director of the group. The clip below also shows Pedro Carlos Herrera on piano. The Fifth Generation was his idea. He is currently the Conductor of the Orquesta Típica Yukalpetén and will be the Director of the 2011 Meeting of the Fifth Generation. This is a bit younger Fifth Generation

Pinzy
Lenny Sanchez
Graciela Medina
Griselda Prieto
Wily Burgos (composer)
Jose Antonio Ceballos
Ramon Triay
If there’s no recent video for someone, chances are they are HERE or HERE.

Be sure to read the Events column in Yucatan Living next week. There are even more links there - one of them is a jazz video of Ligia Camara and Maricarmen Perez in 1979. If you have visitors, November 28 through December 4 is the week to take them out on the town every single night!
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DIRECCION DE SEGURIDAD PUBLICA Y TRANSITO DEL PUERTO DE PROGRESO

Calle 37 x 148 y 150 s/n Progreso, Yucatán, México
Phone Number of English-speaking Representative: 935.00.26

Editor's Note: This is an edited version of the English-language brochure that the Progreso Police Department hands out for tourists regarding safety. There is a printable pdf form of this translation here. The following has some good advice, as well as addresses and phone numbers where you can report problems. Even after extensive editing of the English, there is still one phrase I don't understand.

****

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU HAVE A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT

• If you are involved in a traffic accident, do not move the vehicles involved, as long as this does not cause a risk to anyone in the vicinity.
• Help the injured, but keep in mind that if the injuries are serious or any person involved is dead, it is best not to move them.
• Immediately notify the authorities and emergency services, remembering that time is of the essence.
• If you have auto insurance company, notify your insurance company immediately.
• Put up emergency flares, cones or any other road warning devices to warn other drivers.
• Cooperate with the authorities and give them the information they request.
• If a settlement cannot be reached between the people involved in the accident, or if someone has been injured, drivers will remain in the protective custody of the police, in the building of the municipal police headquarters.
• If you remain in protective custody, an employee of the municipal police will notify your embassy for any support you require.

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR PROPERTY IS STOLEN (HOUSE OR CAR)

• If you arrive at your house, and you suspect a stranger is inside, do not try to face him. For your own safety, go to a neighbor’s house or walk away and tell the authorities. If you are in your house and a stranger comes in and he does not want to cooperate with you, remember that your safety is more important.
• After a robbery, it is very important not to touch anything. Wait for the arrival of the police before moving anything in the house. After the authorities have reviewed your house room by room, then you can enter.
• Make a list of what has been taken and report it to authorities.
• If you check your belongings and something is missing, such as a credit card or checkbook, inform your bank immediately.
• If you have insurance, notify the insurer immediately.
• Submit your crime report to the public ministry.
• If you manage to detain the suspect, do not cause him a physical harm. Hold him and immediately alert the authorities.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE BEING ROBBED IN PERSON

• The most important thing for your safety is to stay calm.
• For your safety never resist an attacker. Give the attacker the items he requests.
• Without exposing your physical self, try to ask the attacker to calm himself and try to stay in control of the situation.
• Never show your anger or argue with an attacker, as this can lead to physical aggression.
• Do not forget that if the attacker is armed, there is sufficient physical force to defend yourself. (?)
• Remember that an offender under the influence of alcohol or drugs has altered reflexes. Do everything slowly and with smooth movements.
• After the attacker leaves, notify the authorities immediately.
• It is very important to remember the attacker’s physical characteristics such as height, color and type of hair, clothing, etc. This will help the police to locate and identify the suspect.

EMERGENCY NUMBERS/ NUMEROS DE EMERGENCIA

LOCAL POLICE/ POLICIA MUNICIPAL
Local phone 935.00.26
Dialing from mobile 9699.35.00.26
24 Hours
Calle 37 s/n x 16 y 18
Colonia Héctor Victoria

STATE POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENT/ SSP Y BOMBEROS
Local phone 935.01.30
Dialing from mobile 9699.35.01.30
24 Hours
Calle 78, Entrada al Puerto

PUBLIC HOSPITAL/ CENTRO DE SALUD
Local phone 935.00.53
Dialing from mobile 9699.35.00.53
24 Hours
Calle 25 x 76

PRIVATE HOSPITAL/ CENTRO MEDICO AMERICANO
Local phone 935.09.51
Dialing from mobile 9699.35.09.51
24 Hours
Calle 33 x 82

RED CROSS/ CRUZ ROJA
Local phone 935.16.24
Dialing from mobile 9699.35.16.24
Calle 23 x 140 Centro

PUBLIC MINISTRY/ MINISTERIO PUBLICO
Local phone 935.12.18
Dialing from mobile 9699.35.12.18

POLICIA JUDICIAL
Local phone 935.10.76
Dialing from mobile 9699.35.10.76
24 Hours
Colonia Héctor Victoria

ANONYMUS/ DENUNCIA ANONIMA
089

ANY PART OF THE STATE/ EMERGENCIAS DESDE CUALQUIER LUGAR DEL ESTADO
Dialing from cel phone: 066
POLICIA JUDICIAL DE MERIDA
Dialing from cel phone: 117

SECRETARIA DE SEGURIDAD PUBLICA DE MERIDA
Dialing from cel phone: 113

For your own safe and your family.
Extranjero program: “NEIGHBORHOOD POLICE”
policiavecinaldeprogreso@gmail.com
Extranjero phone number: 935.00.26


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SeasonGreetings!

It's that time of year and we would like to thank everyone that donated to the Chelem Christmas Dreams Toy Drive last year. There were a lot of happy faces when Santa showed up with the bags of toys, and it was all thanks to people like you.

The Chelem elves have been busy all year again getting ready for this Christmas! In April we held a rummage sale and a pancake breakfast, both of which were very successful. In May, we started holding our Bingo and Chili Dog nights on the first Monday of every month and, in September, we held another well attended rummage sale.

We are working hard to make this Christmas the best one ever for the children of Chelem. If you have attended any of our fundraisers or donated money or items for the rummage sales, we want to take this opportunity to thank you for your support. We couldn't do it without you.

If you were unable to join us at any of our fabulous fun fundraisers, but you would still like to donate, you can do so by clicking on the Paypal link below or you can visit theChelem Christmas Dreams 2011 Donation Page on our website and donate there. You don't have to have a Paypal account to donate. You can also check out our thermometer that keeps track of how close we are to reaching our fundraising goal on the same page. Christmas is just around the corner and we would love to include you in the joy of the Chelem Christmas Dreams Toy Drive. Happy Holidays!

P.S. If anybody is traveling down here and has some extra room in their luggage we can always use small toys like coloring books, crayons, paper dolls...Toddler and Baby Toys (very hard to find down here). And we need candy canes, lots and lots of candy canes (the small individually wrapped ones). Thanks!

Sincerely,

The Chelem Christmas Dreams Elves

Paypal Donation

Just a note to say: Please forgive my name as the author of this article. It began as a post by Chelem Toy Drive. I promoted the post to an article and my name suddenly appeared on it as the author. I promoted it to an article because these Christmas events are wonderful projects that have brought joy to so many children whose Christmas might not have been so merry without them and I want to give everyone an opportunity to donate to this time tested cause.
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Going back to Cancun is just as easy as getting to Merida was.

You can purchase your ticket up to one month in advance. Tickets may be purchased at CAME, Plaza Bonita (beside Fiesta Americana hotel, Alta Brisa (across the street and down the block from Star Medica) and in the mall in Progreso, on Calle 27 between Calle 76 and C. 78. There are likely other locations, but these are the primary spots.

There are direct to airport buses that leave Merida around midnight, 6:30 am and 10:30 am. The direct to airport bus departs Merida from Fiesta Americana and then Alta Brisa. This bus does NOT do pick ups from CAME. It is about a 3-1/2 to 4 hour trip, depending on if the vehicle is the shuttle van or a bus. If the shuttle van there will be a stop at the Italian Coffee Company about half way to the airport, after one of the toll booths. The bus has a rest room so there will not be a stop. The 6:30am bus usually drops off at Terminal 2 at about 10:15am and then at Terminal 3 after that. This is the easiest option as once you are on the bus you can relax and get dropped right at the door of the airport.

If taking the bus to Cancun centro and then the shuttle to the airport, there are buses departing Merida at least hourly. Buses leave from CAME or from Fiesta Americana and Alta Brisa. It is about 4 hours to Cancun centro.

When you arrive at Cancun bus station, get your bags from under the bus and exit to the right. Go through the turnstiles and enter the station. Turn to the left and about half way down you will go through a wide opening with a booth built onto the left side of it. This is where you buy your airport shuttle ticket. You can buy the airport shuttle ticket in Merida at the same time that you buy your ticket to Cancun if you wish. I prefer to buy it in Cancun in case the timing on the bus from Merida is off. Also, sometimes you can buy a ticket and board immediately and I don't like to cut it that close when buying the ticket in advance. After you buy your airport shuttle ticket have a seat in the waiting room or if you are lucky and a bus is boarding, you can head right out to the bus.

It is about a half hour to the airport. The bus stops at Terminal 2 first and then goes to Terminal 3. Get off at the appropriate terminal, get your bags from the hold and enter the airport.
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