The fun benefits of living in Mexico
By: Suzanne Marie Bandick
I have been thinking lately about different things that I appreciate about living in Mexico; so it occurred to me that I should start a full list.....

News from the United States Consulars Office in Cozumel- February 2008 update.

Help an animal in a shelter or sanctuary at no cost to you, see The American Community Band perfrom free of charge at the Plaza, or find out more details on how to vote in the US elections while living abroad. For further details and information read more below!

This is reminder that we are entering the U. S. presidential and state primary season. Five primaries are currently slated for January, another 20 are scheduled for February, and the rest will take place from early March through early October. Registration for the first primary (the District of Columbia) closed on December 10, 2007. We encourage you to act now so that your opinion is heard !

By Suzanne Marie Bandick

Our dream may be to open a business, change careers, move to another country, travel the world, become independently wealthy, or any number of other wonderful things. It is really easy to dream it, but how can we make it happen? How can we make our wonderful dream come true?

Come on down to the beach and enjoy an American Thanksgiving feast in Playa del Carmen.

Whether you are an American visiting or living in Playa del Carmen, or if you are just a fan of turkey and mashed potatoes, come and join Captain Dave's Bad Boys on the Beach for a Thanksgiving feast.

How you can help with the relief efforts in Tabasco.

One of our readers sent us a public service announcement on how we can help our neighbors in the state of Tabasco get clean drinking water. In addition, there are various drop off spots, in Playa del Carmen and the Rivera Maya, for non-perishable food and clothing items as well as fundraisers that will be helping to raise money for the relief efforts. Om Hotel and Lounge Bar and the Coffee Cafe (look for further information below) are two local Playa del Carmen businesses that are helping with fundrasing and relief efforts. If you know of additional drop off spots or fundraisers please let us know so that we can add them to our list…..

By Mari Pintkowski

Note: This is the 11th part of the serialization of Mari Pintkowski’s book, “Embarking on the Mariposa Trail.” The book is available at local bookstores along the Riviera Maya or on the author’s web site www.laselvamariposa.com For previous chapters see the PMN archives.

From Gulf to Shining Sea.

In the morning, a fog surrounded the sleepy city that seemed to be in no hurry to get moving. Our maps indicated that today we would be driving toward the coastal city of Vera Cruz by way of Puebla.The city of Pachua fell from sight as we maneuvered out of town on a four-lane highway with no speed bumps. Within a few hours, we began to see raw concrete structures stacked on the hillsides and some tent cities with homes pieced together from wood, tin and plastic on the other side of the road. The flow of traffic increased tenfold, and Lou took his place in one of the lanes as he slipped into taxi-driver mode.

Come on out and join the fun of Mexican Independence Day in Playa del Carmen, and participate in El Grito; Viva Mexico!

By Mari Pintkowski

Tour within a tour.

Note: This is the 10th part of the serialization of Mari Pintkowski’s book, “Embarking on the Mariposa Trail.” The book is available at local bookstores along the Riviera Maya or on the author’s web site www.laselvamariposa.com For previous chapters see the PMN archives. The fluttering yellow mariposas led us into Monterey and began to disappear over the next few days as we climbed high into the Sierra Madre mountain range. We found ourselves in the middle of rush hour traffic with no hotels conveniently located. We drove on and could see that we were leaving the city. The pink sunset over the surrounding mountain ranges signaled that our search to find a place for our first night on the Mariposa Trail was becoming more urgent.

~Thursday August 23, at 12:00 PM~

Hurricane Dean update from Tulum, Bacalar, Chetumal, and Mahahual.

As news from other communites south of us trickles in we are trying to wade through the fact versus fiction and get correct information to you! If you know of pertinent information or have photographs you would like to share please e-mail us at: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it and we can add your information to this latest article.