On Friday, I had the pleasure of speaking with Amigo Rodrigo of KMex Radio. This is an English language radio station for expatriates from anywhere, who are living now in Mexico. It's also good for those who wish that they were in Mexico, now that the home skies are darkening and paradise seems a billion miles away.Amigo founded KMex Radio as 'something to do while in Mexico'. He does have the day job too. He's a professional voiceover artist. Originally a native of Minnesota, USA, Amigo has travelled all over the world. He and his wife have lived in California and Wisconsin, USA, as well as Wellington, New Zealand, before heading out to Mexico. They know the pitfalls, challenges and pleasures of setting up home in foreign climes.
KMex Radio seeks to address these. It brings together people from America, Canada, Europe, Australia, South Africa and dozens of other places, creating a community of ex-pats. Amigo found that they all had something in common. While most people arrive in Mexico looking for beaches, cheap beer, cheap shopping and all of the other superficial delights, those who live here find that there is so much more. They share their newfound love of the country, while exchanging tips to counter some of its challenges.
One of these major issues was the language barrier. In the tourist areas, like Cancún, English is spoken everywhere. Most ex-pats can get by with little or no Spanish at all. However, everyone would like to learn the language. Being able to order your food in the restaurant is all well and good, but the best local newspapers are in Spanish for a start! KMex Radio is doing its bit to address this need. There are links on the website for the best Spanish language literature. Meanwhile, on air, there is the Spanish word of the hour. Liliana Ayende, better known as the weathergirl on NYC's CW11 Morning News, introduces a different word each hour, covering a host of diverse subjects.
In addition, the programme has tips, advice, English language Mexican news and 24 hours worth of upbeat music to have you dancing in your chair.
If you wish to hear the interview that Amigo Roderigo did with Jo from Endless Tours, then you need the May 29th 2010 show. Please click here to find that.
That's one way to ruin a lovely daydream. Let's see if we can get it back on track. The truth is that the above scenario is all very feasible and extremely likely to happen, with the exception of the ending. There are sharks around the Yucatán Peninsula, as evidenced by the fact that the word shark itself is Mayan in origin. But the chances of them eating you range from highly unlikely to extremely improbable. You are far more likely to get hit by lightning than attacked by a shark, let alone eaten by one.
As well as upfront costs, which run into the thousands, there will also be mortgage payments, travel costs, broker fees, maintenance fees, property taxes and finance charges for your room and/or weeks. The monthly maintenance fees are likely to increase every year, as they are linked with inflation. Some timeshare properties also employ someone to look after your interests there and you will be contributing to that person's wages. 
Timeshare representatives have a job to do and that job is to sell you timeshare. You will be approached at the airport, in the mall, on the street or, for the truly desperate, via a call to your hotel room. They will be friendly and may not be honest in their position. They may say that they represent your hotel and just want to give you a tour of it, so you can become oriented. They may say that they represent any company but a timeshare one. They may deny all hint of timeshare, even if directly asked. Others are more honest and will immediately state their position. If you aren't at all interested, then a simple 'no gracias' at this stage is perfectly alright. Then walk away. If they follow you, tell them that you live in Mexico. They aren't allowed to sell to you then.
On the other hand, you will probably have the incentive as a gift, so if this is the only way your family can afford to enter an attraction, then you've secured that. Please note that timeshare representatives are paid by commission. This isn't very much money, so they need to make several sales to earn a living salary. Their nastiness at this junction is completely due to the fact that they've just worked for the past 90+ minutes for free. This is not putting food in their children's bellies, even if it is putting Aquaworld tickets in your children's hands. 
One of the major lures of timeshare is the ability to swop weeks with other owners in different locations. While another family is using your timeshare allocation in Cancun, you are using their allocation in Venice. That sort of thing. 
However, that hasn't been without controversy. The blue agave plant, from which tequila is distilled, is only found in limited places in the world. All of these places are in Mexico, but even there it's only in a tiny region. The blue agave can be found in the state of Jalisco and limited regions in the states of Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit and Tamaulipas. Mexican law states that if the alcohol hasn't been distilled in these places, then it's not tequila. 
1, Choose your glass well. Most spirits have the correct glass to use and tequila is no exception. Riedel or Caballito glasses are the things to own. 
The remains of a once prosperous Mayan city lie within the southern hotel zone of Cancún. It is an ideal destination for those who wish to sample the historical delights of the area without travelling for hours. The whole site can be covered in half an hour, though many like to take their time amidst the peacefully magnificent surroundings. Animal lovers and children alike will adore the wild iguanas and exotic birds, which make their homes there.
Research at the the El Rey ruins suggests that the town was first settled around 300 BCE, but there is little evidence left of those wood and palm buildings. Between 200-1200 CE, the area was home to several small settlements, which possibly traded salt and fish throughout the Caribbean Sea. The ruins seen today date from 1330-1500 CE, the Late Post Classic era, when trade boomed, bringing wealth along the Eastern Coast of Mexico. El Rey was now a small city, boasting of three palaces. 
Fermin Anonio Mundaca y Marecheaga was born, on October 11th, 1825, in Santa Maria, Spain. He was well educated, but as soon as his studies were completed, he crossed the oceans to make his fortune in the slave trade. He raided Mexico, in search of Mayan people to abduct and sell. He also undertook voyages to Africa, where he bought people to ship to the Americas. Both Mayan and African slaves were destined for the sugarcane plantations and mines of Cuba and the Antillas. There were rumours that he was also a traditional pirate too, but no actual anecdotes to back this up. He certainly called himself a pirate and none of the other pirates around at the time challenged him on the nom-de-plume.
Mundaca fell in love. He called her La Trigueña (The Brunette) and had a great archway built, as the northern entrance to his estate, in her honor. El Paso de La Trigueña! The Gateway of the Brunette! He built a two-storey, palatial home overlooking a shallow valley. He created stone terraces with carved stone benches, each bearing a hand-carved plaque. He made a massive sundial for her called 'La Rosa de los Vientos' ('The Rose of the Wind'). You could tell the time by seeing upon which flowers the shadow of the dial fell, during any hour of the day. He dug a well and constructed eight walled gardens around it in an octagon shape. He extended his gardens and added a menagerie of livestock and exotic birds. He had ploughed and sown a huge vegetable garden. A second archway, as the south-eastern entrance to his estate, had the words etched into it, 'Entrada de La Trigueña' (Entrance of the Brunette). He plundered the local Mayan ruins and brought back ornately decorated stones to be used in his own hacienda. He created a warren of small pathways, lined with sea grapes and icaco, lit with torches and leading down to the bay. Coconut palms and chitale were planted for their milk. All for her.
Mundaca also went to the cemetery, in the north part of Isla Town, on the island and created a tomb for himself. The granite tombstone is peculiar. It was carved by Mundaca in 1877, the date which he added to the stone. It is intriguing to ponder upon the date. Did he intend to do away with himself in order to render the date correct? Or did he consider this the moment when his life was over, despite himself still moving and breathing in it? The tombstone shows a skull and crossbones as its icon. There is also a message for his disinterested love:
Jean LaFitte (pron. La-Feet) claimed to have been born in France and some biographers believe him. Others point out that French nationality helped greatly in avoiding the enforcement of American law at the time. And the Americans had a lot of reasons for wanting to enforce their law upon this notorious pirate. 
The Dutch born Laurens Cornelis Boudewijn de Graaf was better known to the Spanish as Laurencillo or El Griffe. To the Dutch themselves, he was Gesel van de West, the scourge of the West. He was born in 1653, in Dordrecht, Dutch Republic (modern day Netherlands), but was captured by Spanish slavers as a child and taken to the Canary Islands. Around 15 years later, he escaped his captures and turned pirate. Now married, to Francois Petronilla de Gurzman, Laurencillo sailed to the Caribbean as the captain of a French pirate ship. 
The citizens were rounded up and 5,000 of them were locked into the Catedral de la Asunción (the largest cathedral in the city). This wasn't the easy option for the people. They were packed in like sardines, in searing heat, with no food or water. Their ordeal lastest for three and a half days. Some climbed to the top of the belltower and leapt to their deaths, rather than stand it any longer. The wealthiest, most important citizens were abducted for ransom. The governor himself was taken and a payment of 70,000 pieces of eight (eight-reales, the currency of the time) was required to secure his release. Also taken were thirty of the prettiest local girls that the pirates could find. They were taken to the pirate's base, in Laguna de Terminos, for the pleasure of the men. 
Jean-David Nau was born in Les Sables-d'Olonne, in France, circa 1635, and brought to the Caribbean as an indentured slave. White slavery was harsh, but had a limit upon it. After seven years, the 'servant' was free to leave and Jean-David Nau did just that. But his life thus far, under the ownership of Spanish masters, had left him with a hatred of all Spandiards. He renamed himself François l'Olonnais and embarked upon one of the most brutal of all pirate careers. Bertrand d’Ogeron, the governor of Tortuga, gave him the ship upon which to do so. 
Hari Morgan was born, circa 1635, in Llanrhymni, Wales; he was reputedly the son of a squire. He became known by the English version of his Welsh name, Henry. In 1658, he arrived in Jamaica, where his uncle was the Lieutenent-Governor. He married his cousin, Mary Morgan. It was from Jamaica that he began life as a sailor, progressing quickly to becoming a pirate around the Caribbean Sea. His attacks included ports along the coasts of New Granada, Honduras and Mexico. 
Francis Drake began life as a humble farmer's son, in 1540, Plymouth, England. He grew up to become one of the first sailors to circumnavigate the globe; and his piracy made him feared and loathed along the coastline of Mexico. There he was known as El Draque (The Dragon) for his reign of terror. It was not just ships that he attacked, but towns and cities too.
