Preparing for Retirement
In my experience assisting individuals and families in their retirement planing, I found that my clients are very enthusiastic to discuss the “sexy” side of finance and “hip” investments decisions that have turned to rags or riches. However, when probed about current savings in, let’s say, an employer sponsored tax deferred retirement savings plan, few...
The Federal Zone – Maritime Terrain Federal Zone Concessions
What is it? What are my rights and obligations? How can I get it; and what are my benefits? “En el mar la vida es mas sabrosa” / “Life is better at the beach” 1. What is a Federal Zone? The Maritime Terrain Federal Zone, commonly known as the “Federal Zone,” is considered as: a....
Posadas – The Secret to Affordable Travel
For someone who loves to travel but has a limited budget, Mexico offers a dazzling array of options for sleeping cheap while on the road. Despite steadily rising prices during the last decade, two people can still bed down almost anywhere in the country for $500 pesos – or considerably less – per night. When...
The Popol Vuh and the Mayan Creation Myth
The Popol Vuh is the name given to one of the Sacred Books of the Ancient Maya. Originally written in Quiché by one or several indigenous people shortly after the Spanish Conquest (sometime in the middle of the 16th century), it was later found by the Spanish priest Francisco Ximénez who translated it into Spanish....
Mayan Facts
The Mayans first appeared in Southern Mexico, Central and South America around 7000 BC and by 250 AD they had reached great heights as an intellectual, artistic, and cultural civilization. And during the years between 250 AD and 900 AD they made many advances in math, science, architecture, writing and astronomy that were not to...
Shopping Ixtapa
Check it out! If you don’t know where to look you just might miss it. Ixtapa has a veritable shopping city, located just off the main boulevard and sprawling off behind it. Driving along the Ixtapa Boulevard you will see a smattering of boutiques and small shops, but that is just the beginning. Wander behind...
Prehispanic Art at the Rufino Tamayo Museum in Oaxaca
You don’t have to be an anthropologist or an art expert to appreciate pre-Hispanic art, all you need is an eye for beauty, according to Alicia Pesqueira de Esesarte, Director of the Rufino Tamayo Museum of Pre-Hispanic Art in Oaxaca. “It’s about the expression of beauty made by humans for humans,” she says. But pre-Hispanic...
Letter from the Editor – December 2006
Welcome to Another Day in Paradise. As we come to the end of 2006, we are reflecting on beginnings as well as endings. This month we look at the Mayans, an advanced civilization of people who were contemplating the stars when most other societies were still digging in the dirt. We feature the...
Gastronomia Nortena
Cuisine of Northern Mexico – States of Chihuahua, Baja California, Sonora and Sinaloa Thinking of northern Mexico conjures up images of the wild west – of cowboys and charros, duels being fought over pretty señoritas, Hollywood westerns, as also of carne asada, flour tortillas, ranchos and musica norteña. On the darker side, the region is...
Shore Fishing
Is there any shore fishing in Ixtapa – Zihuatanejo? This is an often asked question. A lot of people, if they are not chartering a boat that day, like to hit the shoreline early in the morning, or late in the evening for some additional recreation. Shore fishing has a lot of advantages. You do...
Letter from the Editor – November 2006
Welcome to Another Day in Paradise. And welcome to just the beginning…as we kick off our eighth season here in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo. Today is the first day of the rest of your life, so the saying goes. That can be either an exciting or a scary proposition. It all depends on the state of your...
Exchanging Money in Mexico
If you’re coming down for a few weeks or even for the entire “high season,” you can convert your funds in three ways. First, you could bring U.S. (or Canadian) cash and trade it in for Mexican pesos at either a bank or a casa de cambio (a money-changing station). Second, you could arrive with...