My new Job- Yaaj-Zimbal Jungle Tours


Well, I have been writing from home for a while now and I really like it.. but we are broke - so when a job literally came knocking on my door- what else could I do but consider it.

Now I have worked 1 of the past 6 years for companies that I did not own and it has been almost 2 years since I worked on anything but freelance writing and my Tulum Living website- which at the moment makes no money at all - but there is always the goal. Anyway.

I was invited on a tour recently that my friend is the tour guide for. It is a really fun tour that takes you on a serious 4X4 trip through the jungle. And I mean a serious 4X4ing trip. I have been 4x4ing before tons of times but in mud, snow and sand dunes but this... this is totally different. In the jungle we visit a tall tower that over looks the jungle, some dry caves, small cenotes.

After the 4X4 ride we take them on a zip line and then into a cenote where we will look at a ton of stalagmites and stalactites. After the cenote we are off to a wonderful Mexican bbq! Yummy! I am really excited to start.

I am really excited to possibly be making some payments towards something that we want to get done but I do not want to be away from my family much. But I could use a little break. It is sort of my turn.


Here is a post from when I went of the tour before. It is really cool

Everyone is in the Christmas spirit


I do not know what it was about the yesterday and the day before but all of a sudden- everyone in my neighborhood starting putting out their Christmas decorations. Last year I did not see many houses with lights- maybe 3 at most. But this year there seem to be many more people getting in the Christmas spirit. Uh Oh- It i raining in my new outdoor office... I better go inside.


Okay. now that is better. There have been some really strong rain storms coming in. Yesterday my little house just could not keep the power on. It was a very quiet morning.

Anyway... My whole little neighborhood has gotten really lit up lately and i love it. There are not the extravagant light displays like up in the states but that is not that surprising because electricity here is unbelievably crazy expensive. SOLAR AND WIND POWER!!!!! Lots of houses have a lit up tree or some along their house. It is really nice.

In our house it does not look like it used to in the states. Man I cannot wait to get my Christmas stuff down here. But the whole house does look very cute. The purple walls help a lot. But our tree is what really does it. We do not have many ornaments that made it from last years "shatterproof" purchase so we made a bunch.

I asked the kids to each pick out 1 color paper to make the ring chains- they - as expected picked pink and blue- so a pink and blue chain is what we have. I also grabbed some red and green and walla....


A homemade tree- complete with blue and gold glitter and green sequins. It actually turned out much better then I thought it would. It looks really cute. Some of Lena's older friends were over and they were writing our names and Santa and stuff- it was really cute.

So here we are with our cute little homemade Christmas tree.


Then we decided to make Christmas cookies. I found a great recipie and remembered my mistakes from last time - they were WAY too thin last time and got burnt.

The lesson I learned from last time is also that if you make the cookies from scratch- you want nothing

my new office


Okay- that is better. I guess this is a good time to mention my new purple office. Working from home has been a real challange for me and so I have beet trying to set up my own spaces where I can go and work. And there are so many times it is cooler outside in the shade then inside so... I wanted an outdoor "office." I had a friend that gave me some purple paint and it is perfect. Here is a picture before and picture after the paint fest...

It is a really great little spot to work. My basil sits on the side and when the wall is warm it heats the basil and it smells so good. I am working on getting the area even more set up. I am going to put a sheet uptop to block the sun a bit more. Anyone who lives here knows that you only have a certain amount of time before the sun eats away the elastic on your sheets and I am constatly coming up with new ways to use them.

I also painted one wall behind my kitchen table. It looks really good. I will admit- nothing is safe. Now I want to piant the front of the house. It needs to be done and my landlord said that she would do it. I am just going to see if she will pay for the paint and we can do it and if she does not like it -we can paint it when we leave?!?! I think she will be cool with that. There are a few houses around here that are vibrantly painted and they stand out beautifully against the other drab white houses that are dirty from the rain storms.



I am going to go get a the same vibrant purple color. You may think I am crazy but this is one of the best parts of living in Mexico. The color and vibrance here is amazing. I am off- i cannot wait anymore. I will post pictures.

My tattoo


Well, I finally got most of my tattoo. I have been planning this tattoo for several years and I have really been excited about getting it. After getting my first tattoo in Spokane when I was 18- Remember that Brian?!?! It was so funny - now looking back anyway. I was barely 18 and I wanted a tattoo. I picked the Eye of Horus from the Egyptian mythological story about family devotion and sacrifice. It is a beautiful story of Isis and her husband Osiris. Osiris is killed by his brother Set, cut into 14 pieces and thrown into the Nile. Isis, the every devoted wife, collects all the pieces and because it is mythology- Osiris body awakened and they conceived a son, Horus. Horus avenged his fathers death and killed Set. But not before Set ripped out his eye. Horus went to the body of his father, put his eye into his body and Osiris was able to asend to the heavens to the gods. On a totally separate note it is also the mathematical symbol for fractions being made up of perfectly fractionated pieces (1/2-1/4-1/8-1/16-1/32-1/64)


But anyway... I digress. That was my first tattoo and I squealed like a stock pick at slaughter. It was not a pretty sight. The artist had to stop and tell me that there were other people waiting for their tattoo and that I really needed to calm down. jajaja oh well.


Well after having the memory of this pain more then washed away I was ready for my next tattoo. I was going to originally get peacock feathers in a sunburst shape that had hidden letters within them. Over the years it has developed and changed and has ended with this...

4 roses at the 4 corners of the universe (N-S-E-W): 4 people in my family- our last name Rosas- means roses in Spanish and on the Northern hemisphere is a K and an E for Kennedy Elena and on the southern side is A and E for Akilean Emilio. So in essence it is my kids names. I love it.

I still have the white to add to bring it alive and I might add some more color. I think that it is so beautiful. My good friend Olmo did a great job. I cannot wait for my next one. I did much better on the pain this time. I mean do not get me wrong. It hurt like crazy. But after 2 very painful c-section and even worse recoveries from them- and then there were the 4 surgeries that fooled the 18 months after that- so I was really hoping that 6 surgeries in 2 years was going to lessen my pain threshold. I do not know if it did - but I handled it fine. it was not until the 4th hour that I was done.

The other day we did a little test drive and one of my all time best friends in the world- Andi came down. I have a lot of updating to do for that trip - but I will tell you that we got matching little tattoos. For anyone from Oregon- you have probably already seen this symbol. It is the outline of Oregon with a little green heart in the middle. The sticker says on it... "something about you says Oregon." I think it is funny that so does my hip. On Halloween I met a girl from Oregon and we got to talking and it turned out that a friend of hers was the original designer for the sticker. Small world.


Long story short... I LOVE IT. I cannot wait to get my next one. My next one is a little outline of an owl. This is the symbol for my grandmother Pusey that just died recently. I will report more when I get it. And I will post pics one I have the white.

Okay- so I am back- And Lena turned 6!!!!

I am so sorry that I have disappeared for the bast 2 months. There have been a lot of things that have been going on and I am not the sort of person who can keep my blog up and not go into all of the details of everything. So you know that saying... "if you have nothing good to say shut the hell up"- Well - I am back.


I am not going to go into everything because we are still knee deep into it but My daughter did turn 6 years old. This to me is just amazing. I remember the day I found out I was pregnant. It is so very clear in my mind. I was at work at a little diner in San Francisco. I worked the morning shift 6-2. I had made a comment to my friend when I got to work that a piece of cake looked really good. That was not that weird but about an hour later she told me that the pickles that we served with the sandwiches were dill. I always assumed they were the sweet pickles because they were really small. I told her -"Yummy- I love dill pickles but do you think it is too early?" Her response was - "chocolate cake and pickles- you are soooooo pregnant." She said it more as a joke but then I started to think back over the past few months. Now that I was thinking about it... I had not gotten my monthly friend. The idea would not go aways so I walked up the street to the Walgreens and bought the test. I was so nervous. When the little line came up I called Ruben and asked him to come by on his way to work. He did and while we were stading in the back I simply pulled it out of my pocket and after the initial "what the heck is that in her hand?" moment- a HUGE smile crossed his face.


Only a few short months later- we were getting ready for our last 5-6 weeks of pregnancy but Lena had not gotten into position. We were scheduled for an Aversion where they were going to attempt to move her into position. It was sitting at this appointment that the Dr. told us that there was a problem that Lena needed to come out right away. A few hours later I came to to find my little girl and my mom at the hospital. Debuting 5 weeks earlier then expected little Kennedy Elena Rosas Standring was born at 6 lbs 4 oz. And began her reign as Princess of our lives.

Over the past 6 years she has just gotten bigger and better and cuter. I cannot believe how much she has changed and grown. She speaks amazing Spanish, is so beautiful and is an amazing little girl.


For her birthday we had a great time. Last year we had just gotten to Mexico and did not have any money or any friends. This year we did the traditional Mexican birthday party. Lena went around the 2 days before to all the little friends in the neighborhood and told them to come over on Wednesday afternoon. Things have been so incredibly hard lately and money is really really tight so the party that I wanted to do in my head did NOT happen. But it was great. I bought a bag of pink balloons and a bag of white. We had NO tape, rope, or anything to hang them so we just broke the bottom of them like condoms and stuck them over everything. It turned out just fine.


I made a huge tuna casserole - so easy- make the day ahead- really cheap and full of veggies- served with cut fruit. Could that be more perfect a kids birthday party. It was great. For the adults- which actually the kids ate up too- I did a really simple 7 layer dip- even though it did not have all 7. All of the recipes will be on www.cooking1handed.blogspot.com very soon.

The cakes turned out great too. I tried to make a sample strawberry cake from scratch the other day. It did not turn out too well so I decided that I was not going to make my life any harder so I headed off to Playa del Carmen and bought 1 box of chocolate, strawberry and vanilla cake. I was going to do a 6 layer alternating cakes but when I made them the cake would have been like a foot tall so I made 2 - 3 layer cakes. I did make my own frosting. just a simple cream cheese frosting and then divided it in 3 to make strawberry-chocolate and vanilla. It was so cute.

we also made our own pinata but when we put them out to dry - it rained over night and they busted. Oh well, we headed out to the shop to buy the pinata. Lena was so cute. I told her she could have 2 little pinatas or 1 big pinata. She chose 2 little ones - princess and pucca.

My mom and Ruben's mom sent us a little bit of money for Lena's party dress for a gift and to help out with the party. I took Lena with 3 of her friends into town to pick out her dress. She totally fell in love with this one and she looks so cute in it. For her gifts- we really scored. Ruben's family had bought some cloths for her when we first moved to Mexico but they were all too big so I tucked them away. So I went and bought makeup and nail polish and little jewelry and hair clip and put together little outfits. It was really cute. It worked out really well.

We played some fun games and the kids ran around like crazy people. We had a great dance off- freeze game to Lena's favorite music- Mamma Mia. Some of the pictures that were taken at the end of the night totally freak me out. She looks so grown up and she is dark. She has grown up so fast. My little girl. I love having a little girl. She is my queen in training.

Now is not the time...

Sorry I have been gone. I had a great visit with my frined Andi and I will post soon about that. There is a lot of other stuff going on and now is not the time for word vomit.

My 30th Birthday!!!


Well today is my 30th birthday. Yesterday we celebrated the closing of my 20s and it was amazing. First my daughter drew me a card and we are depicted by the dark brown crayon. I thought that was funny. Our tans must be getting really good. Then Ruben made me a margaritta- my all time favorite drink in the world- especially when made by my very talented husband. We enjoyed the day and just relaxed at home. I talked to my momma and of course she was crying. I used to think my mom was a little crazy with all of her little crying jags -- but now that I am a mom I totally get them. I start crying for happiness frequently now. She was telling me how proud she was of me and how we are such good friends (which is totally true) and she was telling me some stories from my birth. How I was supposed to be a boy and that everything in my room was origianlly green and yellow and she refused to come home from the hospitol until EVERYTHING was pink. And that lasted for a lot of years- lots of pink and lots of flowers. It was really nice to talk to her. I love her so much.

Later in the afternoon Ruben and I got all dressed up to go salsa dancing. Salsa dancing is one of my favorite things to do with Ruben. We are not really really good but we have a good time and we are willing to look a little stupid till we can look good. It was really nice. Here is a little video but it is hard to see.

The last full moon of my 20s rose over the Caribbean Sea and it was beautiful. We had a really good time. My good friend Margo was there and it is always fun to hang out with her. Ruben and I headed home and went to sleep ready to start the next day. My friend Crystal sent me a text at midnight - it is custom here Mexico to celebrate at midnight of a birthday. so that was fun.

Today we are going to go have brekfast and then go to my friends house out in the jungle. It was very sweet- Ruben called all of my friends to tell them to come out to the jungle and my friend Olmo spent his whole Sunday cleaning his pool for the party. It is going to be a great day.

I am real excited about today and the rest of this year- well this decade really. I know I am going to be one of those women who looks better in her 30s then in my 20s.

oh by the way... you're not doing anything right.

This shit drives me CRAZY!!!!! Okay, now all of us living here south of the border know that things are done ENTORELY differently then they are back home. It usually takes more then 2 trips to get anything- and this is true even if you speak Spanish and have done this activity before. There is going to be some totally useless form to fill out that was almost exactly like the last one. And that we will most likely need a copy of something- some random piece of paper. We know that if you get upset and annoyed with someone and ask indignantly ask to speak to their supervisor that you have just majorly hurt your cause- kill them with kindness flies further here. And we know that on any given day on any given time the place we need to go will be closed for no logical reason or explanation.

Okay... I get that... I am okay with that... it gives me (and all of us) good material for our blogs but.... ooooooo... this..... just drives me crazy!!! Even though I was warned by my friend in Oxkutzcab of this very phenomenon but still...

The schools here just expect that no mother works. And I am sorry but here in this town a lot of women work. I see them all over the place. I work- granted from home but I still cherish these 2.5 hours when I can work and my kinds are at school. I mean seriously. So I have a friend that takes Lena to school in the mornings which is wonderful. Today she comes to my door- barely beating me out of the house to head to an interview that I have and tells me that the teacher says that we need to bring a copy of her Immunization record to school- TODAY - BY 10:00.

First of all- I know that I am a lot more organized then your average bear. I have always loved to organize and coordinate. (something Lena has picked up as well- she likes all of her shoes in order of color and size and placed neatly in a row. It is really cute- but I digress) I do not have this piece of paper sitting next to my computer.

And further more... are you really expecting that we mothers have nothing else to do? I mean, I know that there are the mothers that stand at the door to the school at 10:00 and bring their kids lunch. Well guess what. I am not that mom. I have a hard enough time walking back and forth from the house and the kids school - which are not near each other just to drop them off and pick them up.

It just ahhh- okay- telling me the day before that there is no school tomorrow- annoying- but reality. Telling me oh by the way- school ends at 10:00 today - or that I have to stay for a meeting and that it is mandatory? I guess it is a really good thing that I have nothing else to do.

I do not mind the day before thing. This is a small town. There is no real way for everyone to communicate with each other. Very few people have a home phone and even less have internet. There are cell phones around but not everyone has them and they are Crazy expensive. So I get it... put a sign out front to tell the parents what is going on - fine.

But the day of? Have a little respect for peoples time. Some of us juggle more then a few balls and throwing a loop like this. So now I have to decide. Do I miss my interview that I have lined up for my business? or do I take in the paper tomorrow?

Obviously I am hoping for both but... This is not that big of a deal and I am not really as upset as I probably sound- it is just so annoying.

I am back! and ready to turn 30!

First of all- I cannot say thank you enough for all of the support that I have gotten here. Thank you to every one who commented as well as those who support me just by reading. I have been very busy lately and things are looking up.

The ups and downs here in Mexico have been very extreme for me. The years in my youth were adventurous and full of activity and intrigue and drama and everything. But the life here in Mexico has thrown me every direction I could imagine. When I have gone through challenging parts in my marriage I have had to do some really hard thinking. What am I going to do? or what would I do? move to the states? stay in Mexico? Move to another part of Mexico? What would I do for work in the USA? Will my business work here in Mexico? etc. etc.

I was very happy and a real sense of peace came over me when I really decided that I like living in Tulum. This is a town of easy going people- fisherman, healers, craftsman and service workers mixed with the beautiful culture of the Maya. It is wonderful here. The beaches are literally the most beautiful coastal site I have ever seen and the water is clear, warm and full of beautiful fish.

Things are going well and I look forward to even better things. I have made a commitment to myself. Now yes... this is pretty much EXACTLY my new year's resolution plan- But oh well.

I need to recommit to taking care of myself. I need to put the sunscreen on my face- especially now that I live sub tropic. I need to put lotion on my tired legs and feet, paint my toe nails - esp now that we are ALWAYS in flip flops, hand the kids to Ruben and walk away- and not feel guilty about it, ... I just need to take more personal time. It is so amazing how fast your time gets sucked from you. And guys I know that it happens to you too but unless you are a FULL-TIME single father- you have no idea what we mom's go through.

So that is my big goal for myself this next decade. I had a friend send me this breakdown of women recently. I really liked it.

GEOGRAPHY OF A WOMAN

Between 18 and 29, a woman is like Africa . Half discovered, half wild, fertile and naturally beautiful!


Between 30 and 40, a woman is like Europe. Well developed and open to trade, especially for someone of real value.


Between 41 and 49, a woman is like Spain , very hot, relaxed and convinced of her own beauty.


Between 50 and 54, a woman is like Greece , gently aging but still a warm and desirable place to visit.


Between 55 and 59, a woman is like Great Britain, with a glorious and all conquering past.


Between 60 and 70, a woman is like Israel, has been through war, doesn't make the same mistakes twice, takes care of business.

After 70, she becomes Tibet .. Wildly beautiful, with a mysterious past and the wisdom of the ages.....

An adventurous spirit and a thirst for spiritual knowledge.

Hell Yeah.


And I start this month and this new decade of my life with my first 2 clients for Tulum Living. I am so proud that I have a product and service worth selling and I am really excited for www.TulumLiving.com to take off. I really think that it can.


On another great note- I spent yesterday afternoon with 4 of the greatest kids ever. We walked around Villas Tulum (our neighborhood) and picked up trash. We had 2 or 3 bags of trash trash and then the rest was all recyclables. It was great. The kids learned a lot. Did you know that it takes a plastic bottle 450-1000 years to decompose! That is just crazy.

Too much to handle


Well, my 30th birthday is coming up and marks a big point of change for me. I have been looking forward to turning 30 for a long while now. I am ready for my 30s to be my selfish decade. I gave my teens to my education and I gave my 20s to my kids and my husbands will and needs -- well in that time there are a lot of things that I have lost about me along the way. And even more, I feel like I have not had the chance to learn myself as this new woman because I have not had the time or the energy. Well, my body is giving up on me faster then I can heal it so if I am ever going to try to focus on myself and be around to enjoy it- i have to start doing it.

There are a number of other changes right now that have been going on - most of which I am just not ready to talk about - especially here. That is one thing that has been hard. When I started this blog I never thought that anyone would read it. I did not understand the blogging world and the community that forms among people who have never met. But it does and it has. So many of my experiences can be and are so similar to the ones that many people living in Mexico and all over the world experience and it is nice to have people that understand the, in my case, rare situation that lead to living in a small town in the Mayan Rivera.

Right now things are so --- I do not know the word--- stagnate- There are things that need to happen and they are not happening and I am just sitting here waiting. And the reason-- as always here in Mexico is that there is no money.

I know that it is always true that you never have enough money but here it is so true. There is simply no money left. We all need desperately to go to the dentist-- there is no money for that. I need to buy Akilean's school uniform- there is no money for that.

On the other side, Akilean had a little school performance the other day to celebrate the Independence of Mexico from Spain. It was a really cute day and a lot of the kids got all dressed u according to their teachers requests. For Akilean, he had to dress up as Father Hidalgo, the father of Independence in Mexico. All of the other little boys had on little stocking caps with white cotton balls to look like white hair- I obviously having NO idea what I am doing- did not do that... luckily for Akilean - the tips of his hair are already white.

Akilean and Lena both have been learning the state anthem for Quintana Roo and the National Anthem of Mexico. Both are very pretty and fun to listen to. I know it will not take long for them to have it totally down. They are both doing really well on their Spanish. But now I have to catch up.



Lena looks so cute in her little uniform. I have gotten very luck that a good friend of ours takes her son to school in the same class as Lena so she has been giving her a ride to school which is so wonderful. Lena still has to get up at 6:00 but she has the time to wake up, eat while I do her hair, get her stuff ready and brush her teeth. Before I was literally shoving a toothbrush into a sleeping kid and it was getting old.

I took some good friends of ours to the fair the other day. It was really cute. These 4 kids get along so well. Akashana is the littlest at 3. She is a bit of a hitter - she is young still- but she is getting better. Akilean and Lena can each play with either of my friends kids in any combination and they have a great time. It is really nice to have friends like this. The kids also speak English as well as Spanish so that is really nice too.

Other then that... not much to report.

What I would not give for a Costco trip.

Remember when you were in college and your parents would come and visit and take you to the store and buy groceries? The feeling of having the things that you need on hand and available to you.... ahhhh that would be nice.

I need so many little things. Hair ties, cat sand, coffee, cleaning supplies and toilet paper. Enough cereal that our family of 5 does not go through in 2 days. And I have 2 Mexican men and 1 growing boy who eat soooooooo much! I always plan to have a little extra of what ever I make for lunches the next day. It never happens. I keep being told that it is my fault... that the food is too good to stop eating. Well thank you... but I can change that.

I first wish that I had a car. If I had a car everything would be different. But since I do not I just sit here and dream of a Costco trip!

Todays Anthem Gracias Jewel

"I'm gonna love myself
More than anyone else
Believe in me
Even if someone can't see
The stronger woman in me

I'm gonna be my own best friend
Stick with me till the end
Won't lose myself again
never, no
Cause theres a stronger woman
a stronger woman in me"

Calvin --The VERY large Cat!!!



Any one who knows me since college knows my first baby.... Calvin. Calvin is a tabby mix that was found in a barn in Spokane, Washington. She was only 2 weeks old when I met her. Driving out a long long long road to a farm in the middle of the country we met a very nice woman who had discovered the litter in her barn. The mother had been taken away by the neighboring family when they moved and the kittens were left. I am not sure if on purpose.

.Anyway. When I first met her I was told that she was a boy which I believed without questioning. My boyfriend was not the biggest animal fan but was willing to go along. As soon as we got home the kitty started to explore and did not take long to climb into the dishwasher and get her face stuck. Although I was scared my boyfriend thought it was really funny. After he got her out she was quickly named Calvin after Calvin and Hobbs. Remember... I thought that she was a he at this point

It was not for another year when she went into heat that we finally figured it out. over the past several years she has grown and changed and now she is the biggest cat most people have ever seen and she has retired to Mexico. She is 12 years old and not one to be messed with.

Lately, ever since we were adopted by 2 kittens on the first day of school Calvin has been spending more and more time away from the house. She still comes in a few times a day but will go away for hours at a time. It is not like she is a young and agile creature anymore. She is a 20lb 12 year old cat. She is more that grandma that sits in the corner and critiques everyone.

I know that there is a gang of cats around here. It is really creepy to walk by the park and see this whole gang of cats just sitting in the park. And these are not street cats, at least not some of them. Some of them are my friends cats and like Calvin are well fed and well treated. I guess we all need our friends.

Dia de la Indepenencia!!! Viva Mexico!


As every single person in the country knows... yesterday (Sept. 16th) was Independence Day in Mexico! The whole country, the entire state and everyone in Tulum was all set for the festivities.

First a bit of history. El Grito! On September 16th Mexicans everywhere take the time to celebrate Mexico's liberation from Spanish control. The Spanish who had came to the shores of Mexico in 1521 began their rule over Mexico and the indigenous Mayan and Aztec civilizations that lived here. Jump ahead to 1810- after much of the native population had been devastated from illness, heavy work load and mistreatment by those that ruled- the seed of revolt began to flourish.

As Spain was taken by Napoleon in 1808, the people within Mexico began to see the opportunity to sever from Spain and gain their independence. In the morning hours of September 16th father Hidalgo and others first rang the bells at a small church at Dolores Guanajuato. The chime of these bells, that night began the Independence War that lasted for over 10 years.

As my husband is from Guanajuato, he loves to always point out to me that Guanajuato is where the Independence started. After the bells rang out, Hidalgo gave orders to his followers to retaliate against every native Spaniard in Dolores.




The same "Cry of Dolores" that was heard that first night can still be heard in every small town at midnight on September 15th. A reminder and an homage to the impulsive yet critical actions of Father Hidalgo and his parishioners that fateful night.

El Grito de Dolores, "Mexicanos, viva Mexico,"

Now that the stage is set... Here in Tulum the festivities were just as they are in every other town. centro was all set with lights that shine in the expected red, white and green. Stages were ready for the wonderful bands that would be going on in the early hours on the morning.


Armed with the kids and an expectation of a patriotic evening, we set out to centro. the kids in their traditional wear all set out to make themselves sick on rides and dulces and agua frescas.

In addition to the festivities in centro there were many wonderful parties all over town. From Ocho Tulum and Om with their VIVA MEXICO parties to Ultra lounge in pueblo. Everyone offering great specials on traditional drinks and food.

We began our night watching the wonderful performances from the classes at "la casa de cultura." I was very impressed with the young ladies and they did a wonderful job. I was very impressed by the traditional bottle dance during which the young lady must dance in a very long dress with a glass bottle on her head.

Although there continued to be wonderful performances on the stage, we strolled over towards the rides and food!!! The kids went immediately to the bounce house. This is a clever contraption basically of 4 large trampolines connected by little slide and a passage way. Well worth the 40 pesos per kid for 10 minutes and I must say a smart business idea. Other then traditional inflatable bounce houses that we are used to that use a ton of energy to operate.

The kids went on a few rides and I watched in horror wondering if they were going to make it off. My son, the crazy one, full of the spirit of Achilles himself, jumped onto the moving carousel ride and then as I ran after him frightened out of my mind--- he dove off!! AHHHH! Ninos!!! But all was well and we had a great time.

The men pretty quickly ran over to find the drinks and in 1 of the largest cups I have ever seen was my margarita on the rocks. Many other options were also available. I do not quiet understand some of the glassware choices and I am not sure what I would do if I saw someone licking the chili and salt from this glass but I am sure it was happening with out my paying attention.

The kids did their best to make themselves sick on rides that went around and around - on cars that went up and down and stuffing themselves with carnival treats.


The festivities in the central park got more and more active as the 11:00 hour approached. The music from the marching band sang out as the marines stepped forward on stage and waved the Mexican flag. The state song of Quinatna Roo rang out among the crowd and was followed by the exhilarating Mexican National Anthem.

The Presidente then stepped forward to recite El Grito. The crowd did as it was supposed to and responded with an animated and lively VIVA!!! After each name was called of the heros who first began the Independence from Spain the crowd grew louder and louder.

After all the "VIVA MEXICO"s were shouted the traditional fireworks began. It was a beautiful site that made the first Independence Day celebration from the newly created municipality of Tulum of total success.

As the mother of 2 young children that were at this point only being held awake by the loud blast of the fireworks above I was the honorary person who got to go home while all the boys continued their adventure.

The next day there was not shortage of celebration. Although the crowds around town and on the beaches were more tranquil from the success of the night before, Dia de la Independencia is in Mexico much the same as in the USA... the perfect opportunity to take the day, celebrate with friends and family that you are in your country... that it is YOUR country... and that you get to be part of such a special place.

We spent our morning at the beach party at Ocho Tulum. The music could be be heard pumping prideful music as we sipped our margaritas and snacked on Ocho's amazing food.

The rest of the day was spent swimming, bbqing, eating, drinking, laughing and just enjoying being Mexican. just as Father Hidalgo would have wanted it I am sure! The pride that has been felt through out Tulum, Quintana Roo and the whole great country of Mexico can be felt everywhere you go.

Viva Mexico!!!

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