Coming To The Riviera Maya With Childrens?

Some useful Tips:

Do rent a car. Playa del Carmen is about 45 minutes from the Cancun airport and many hotels and parks are further; you’ll want flexibility to explore the area.


Don’t miss getting away from the main drag. The cenotes, the Mayan villages, and eco parks are what make this region worth a special trip.

Take the fast ferry from Playa del Carmen to Cozumel. The island boasts incredible beaches as well as snorkeling, fishing, and sailing expeditions.

Even if they tell you the water’s safe, stick with bottled water. Originally, our resort said that the water was fine, but they then recommended that we spit it out quickly when we brushed our teeth. That was enough for this mom. Drinking only bottled water, we had no tummy issues at all, making Zoe a much happier camper.

Bring biodegradable sunscreen from the U.S., and realize that some sites allow no sunscreen at all. Many of the ecological parks, including Xel-ha and X-caret, will confiscate your regular sunscreen because of its impact on their water sources. However, while they have samples of the biodegradable variety, they’re reluctant to part with them (they offered us one small ketchup-sized packet for the two of us). Zoe’s favorite part of our entire trip was swimming in the cenotes, but she had quite a sunburn to show for it afterwards.

Wear comfortable walking shoes. Visiting the eco-parks involves a huge amount of walking over rough paths and rocks – but it’s worth it! The scenery and underground rivers are spectacular.

Bring a notarized letter from your child’s other parent if you’re traveling solo with your little one. According to the immigration authorities, “The U.S. Immigration & Naturalization Service has begun cracking down on single adults departing the United States with children, at the request of international border officials trying to halt the transport of runaways and children involved in child-custody disputes.” While I wasn’t asked for my letter, Zoe volunteered it to the official.

Winter time is perfect; watch out for hurricanes in fall. Although winter is certainly the high season, it’s when the weather’s best. In April, when we traveled, it was hot and humid (average 88 degrees) but sunny. June, September, and October have the highest risk of rain and hurricanes.
 
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The Sacred Mayan Journey 2011 - The Religious Importance Of The Sea

The Maya, wonderful astronomers, skillful architects, sailors and tradesmen, talented artists and zealous caretakers of their gods, developed one of the most important cultures in Mesoamerica before the Spaniard conquerors arrived to this land.

Ports like Xamanhá, today´s Playa del Carmen, and mainly Ppolé, modern day Xcaret, served as the starting point for the pilgrimages that came from the most remote cities of the Mayan world on their way to the sanctuary of the goddess Ixchel in the island of Cuzamil, today’s Cozumel.

On the 5th Anniversary of the Sacred Mayan Journey, we want to keep on reenacting this ritual of the ancient sailors with your participation. Dance, ceremonies, commerce and the physical effort of the oarsmen are key elements of the pilgrimage toward Cozumel in search of the message that stems from the oracle of Ixchel; goddess of the moon, the tides and floods, medicine, pregnancy, weaving and regeneration cycles. An appreciation for the rich culture left by the Maya as a legacy is what brings us together once again

To recreate the Sacred Mayan Crossing in such traditional sites as Xcaret, Cozumel and Playa del Carmen in order to re-establish an ancient practice. In the long run, it can form both a link to a cultural identity on many levels for the region’s inhabitants, as well as an attraction for local, national and international tourism.

In addition, we seek to:

Diversify the area’s cultural offering through a multi-disciplinary project—including anthropologists, musicians, dancers, rituals, ritual purification, business, physical exertion—that strengthens and teaches the area’s original culture, forgotten for many years, and to foster expansion of tourism in the area.

Strengthen communication and cooperation between public and private institutions in Cozumel, Xcaret and the Riviera Maya through a common effort to enrich the area’s cultural offerings.

Educate the public on ancient Mayan practices, especially related to veneration of the goddess Ixchel, considered the Mother goddess of the region’s ancient Mayan culture.

Engage the local community in strengthening the Mayan culture as the region’s original culture, currently at risk due to migratory processes of thousands of workers, professionals and tourists that have come to the area.

The Sacred Mayan Journey promotes active participation of:

• The community, from the youngest people to the elderly men and women.

• Men and women from 18 to 70 years of age in very good physical condition.

• Mayan dance performers (children, pregnant and elderly women).

Download The Sacred Mayan Journey 2011 Program 

Would like to get further information? Visit Travesia Sagrada Maya Website

How to Choose Your Mexico Real Estate Type for Investment

Like most other markets, Mexico real estate offers investors a broad range of styles suitable for investment. The style each investor chooses will be determined by purpose, personal taste, etc. The following are a few different styles, and some suggestions.

Constant income

Investors looking for a constant and steady income, rental properties are the best way to go. Vacation rentals can offer a higher, over-all income, but fluctuate throughout the year. Fluctuation can also take place from year to year, depending on the strength of tourism in Mexico. While 2009 saw a very large dip, 2010 has already seen a recovery surpassing 2008's pre-recession highs.

Tourists are still spending less money, but this lower spending effects accommodations less than restaurants, etc. For this kind of investment property, it is of key importance to work with a strong property/rental management company or plan. There have been cases of excellent properties bringing very little return because of the lack of publicity. Large homes and condos (3-4 bedrooms) tend to hold the highest appeal, since they are attractive ways for small groups of vacationers to save money. Excellent locations for this purpose include Cancun/Playa del Carmen and Puerto Vallarta , which receive the highest numbers of international tourists.

Another option is long-term rental, which is more constant, both month to month and year to year; while it tends to bring a slightly lower income, it also requires less constant attention in finding renters, and is less dependent on tourism fluctuaton. A wider variety of locations can also be considered, including non-tourist locations.

Investment you can enjoy

Many investors are looking for an investment that is not purely return, but offers enjoyment as well. Mexico real estate is a prime choice for this kind of investment because of the close tie between the real estate and tourism industries. On the most basic level, it is just like the vacation-rental properties described above, but investors use the property part of the year.

It is becoming more common, however, that condo-hotels (or "condo-resorts") are being specifically designed to allow for this. Some include specific rental pool plans, where investors choose how much time to dedicate to income, and how much to enjoyment. One possible feature is an on-line "portal" which allows owners to control their investment, deciding how often and when to place their property in the pool. This concept can range from full investment income, with owners enjoying the property in the low season, when the property would be unoccupied anyway, to a focus on the owner's enjoyment, using the rental income just to balance maintenance costs and their own vacationing expenses.

Hands Off

Closely related is the amount of effort which each owner wants to put into their investment. Many of the condo-hotel style developments offer a complete hands-off package, where everything from maintenance to room cleaning is included in the plan, as well as complete control of the rental system (in these cases, owners usually have to indicate there vacationing time at the beginning of the year, and it is sometimes a limited number of weeks.)

A similar situation can set up with condo bought in a non-hotel style complex, through hiring a property management company. In both cases, it is very important to confirm the success of the company in question.

While there is a higher cost involved, this kind of arrangement can be ideal for those who don't have time to find and track their own property rentals or take care of maintenance. Just as important as the amounts involved is the number of items included in the management plan / condo fees, and, again, the occupancy rates offered by that company.

Leveraged Investment

Mortgages through Mexican banking institutions are becoming more and more common. A handful of savvy buyers have managed to find rental properties where the rental income covers the maintenance costs, utility bills, property taxes, insurance and even the monthly mortgage payment. While due care must be taken and it is advisable for investors to have a backup plan, these owners are obtaining a property at minimal costs (the down payment and closing costs) and will enjoy a potential return of almost the entire value of the property (which, if done right, will also have risen significantly) when the mortgage is completed, plus the ongoing income from rental.

Return from value appreciation

Investors looking for future return based on the resale of a property also have many options in Mexico. In fact, some of the properties focused on rental incomes can also enjoy good appreciation. Most often, however, buyers looking for this kind of return will choose properties with a specific focus.

One common choice is land in up-and-coming tourism locations. Tulum, just south of Cancun and Playa del Carmen on the Yucatan Peninsula, is currently a favorite, with a new international airport on the way, and an expected boom both in tourism and real estate. Other areas, such as Campeche, on the other side of the Peninsula are also promising for growing tourism and expat populations, while prices are still very low.

Personal Project

For investors who enjoy making a personal project out of their investment, there are also many excellent options. The same land purchases in up-and-coming areas can become exciting home-building project, bringing even further value to the investment and making the project much more involved.

Another option is the classic fixer-upper. Renovation projects are available in a broad range of locations, including colonial cities such as Merida or Mazatlan, beachfront resort cities, like Cancun, or small towns like Progreso near Merida. These kinds of projects involve a great deal of care in property choice, and also careful planning to avoid a situation where the cost of the project comes close to the resale value. A patience, or even love for, the unexpected and finding innovative solutions is a good trait for fixer-upper investors. A reasonable number of investors have made a fortune in this way.

Published at Nuwire Investor
 
We invite you to take a look these attactive opportunities for both investment and enjoyment for decades.
Contact us if your would like to get further information.

So you want to learn to dive?

There are some who say that all Open Water courses are basically the same. The fact is that they are not. There are major differences in a number of programs. You need to be honest with yourself and decide just how knowledgeable and skilled you wish to be at the end of your first class.

If you want to be led around by a DM or Guide and not take responsibility for yourself there are a number of classes where you would be taught just enough to do this. These classes are quick, allow you to do mostly self study, or be taught by a program on a computer. You will have minimal face time with an instructor and receive just enough skills to survive under water. If you wish to do more than just be led around then you need to find a class that provides more than simple survival skills.

If you want to learn to dive my recommendation is to find a class that will give you all the skills to safely plan, execute, and return from a dive with a buddy of equal skill and training and no professional in the water. You would be able to do this in conditions equal to or better than that in which you have been trained. It should give you the skills to assist another diver should something go wrong and help you develop your sense of responsibility to yourself and your buddy.

Finally it should give you the confidence and judgment to know when a dive is beyond your skill, training, and experience and to call the dive should those conditions arise. The photo below shows conditions where the new OW diver would be better off calling the dive!

The class should contain all the elements that will fulfill these requirements. The class should begin with making sure you are comfortable in the water and most importantly can swim! This sounds obvious but there are some classes that allow divers to complete swim requirements wearing mask, snorkel, and fins.

This is not swimming. Some say divers don’t need to know how to swim because they will have all that gear on. I find that a very dangerous attitude to take regarding swimming skills. Anyone who is going to be in, or for that matter, around water should know how to swim.

The class should include instruction in skin diving and snorkeling. It should cover kicks, mask clearing, snorkel clearing, and at least two types of skin dives. It should allow for practice time using these techniques. During this time it should also include instruction in and the use of proper buddy procedures. This is done by pairing students up and insisting they remain together during every exercise to reinforce the idea that when one is diving with a buddy they need to stay with them.
The classroom associated with this should introduce the student to basic diving history, the equipment used in snorkeling and skin diving, and a discussion about basic physics and physiology. Following this an introduction to the equipment of SCUBA should take place.

The next session in the pool is when they are introduced to SCUBA. It should start by first determining how much weight they need in whatever exposure suit they are wearing. The instructor should not be overweighting students for. Next the student should be introduced to breathing through the regulator on the surface. From this point on all skills are built upon each other.

The pool session should focus on diver safety and comfort. This is done by taking basic skills and reinforcing them through practice and by adding to them. Increased task loading builds comfort and confidence while at the same time adding to the safety of the diver and of their buddy.

The classroom is where dive theory is passed on and explained. In my opinion this necessitates face to face discussion. Having a student take a book home, read it, and answer a few questions only to spend a few minutes reviewing them is not education. It is memorization and parroting what was in the book. The student may or may not get all the info but if not and they miss a detail that is not covered at a later time it could come back to hurt them later.

When I have a student in front of me and am able to see their face and their eyes I get immediate feedback. I know if they are getting the material. I see the lights come and by the same token can see when they dim and I know that we need to slow down, stop, or review the material. Self study material should reinforce the material taught and prepare the student for the next session. It should not replace actual lectures and face to face discussions.
Many times students do not meet the instructor until the actual start of the class. Other classes may have more than one instructor teaching different portions of the course. If the instructors are not effectively communicating for any reason, content can be duplicated or even omitted. This is even more of an issue when it comes to pool training, especially during the first few sessions. Every instructor has their own style and methods for teaching the exact same skill.

To start off one way and then have to switch to a different way is not a problem for students who are completely comfortable in the water and with the skill. For the student who has any kind of issue with basic skills this could prove to be a serious problem. My own experience tells me that the same successful approach to a skill for five people may not work with the sixth one. Often it has been necessary to modify the approach and even spend one on one time with a student in a private. In my classes one of the most important skills that I have seen students need this is in mask clearing.

Some OW instructors are satisfied when a student is able to perform this skill successfully one time. Not all new open water students are expected to perform the skill once and move on to something else. Some classes have students repeat skills over and over every session. They also add other tasks to be performed while doing the basic skill. This has the effect of getting a student comfortable with the skill in a number of different situations.

My own class has students clearing and removing and replacing the mask at least 20 times before we get to open water. And this not the only skill this is done with. By the time students get to open water they should be able to perform all basic skills at any time during the checkout dives. And they should be able to do this while swimming, hovering, and not breaking trim.

This is the kind of training that makes SCUBA diving a much more enjoyable venture for everyone. When looking for a training course there should be a focus on courses that offer plenty of time to learn skills and time to practice them in the pool. A course that offers to get you through in four to six hours in the pool does not allow much time to just swim around and practice those new skills; especially if there are more than a couple people in the class because each skill takes time for each diver to perform.

Class size is another factor to consider. Smaller classes insure that students have plenty of time to just swim and practice the new skills before moving on to something new and that’s the right way to learn to dive.

When selecting an initial certification class ask yourself what you plan to get out of it.
Do you want to be able to dive with confidence and skill?
Do you want to be able to plan a dive, dive that plan, and safely return from that dive on your own?
Do you want to be able to go anywhere within the limits of your training and experience and not have to rely on someone else to keep you safe?
Or is it enough that you receive the bare minimum necessary to survive underwater while under supervision? If so are you okay with hiring a private guide or Dive Master to watch over you?

Because as we have seen earlier this is the only way you can insure that they will be looking after you and you alone. Are you also okay with the idea that if something happens to them that you may have to look after yourself and perhaps even rescue the guide? This is a very real possibility.
And finally are you again okay with the idea that you are literally putting your life in the hands of a stranger?
 If you are ok with all of these things- I personally would never be- then by all means take the quick and easy course. However if you want to be responsible for yourself and perhaps your loved ones, determine how, when, where you will dive, and be assured in the knowledge that you can handle most any issue that comes up then I strongly suggest that you look into a comprehensive course that will contain all the knowledge and skills necessary to do those things.

You may need to do some research to find them but they do exist and are readily available to those who wish to be safe, confident, and skilled divers who do not need to be watched over. I strongly encourage every diver- and diver to be – to do some research before signing up for an Open Water class.

As I stated earlier not all training classes are the same. You will encounter other divers and even instructors who will tell you that the basic class of every agency has all the necessary information and training a new diver needs. And to an extent that is true. Where the truth takes a side road is when you start to determine what those entry level classes prepare you for. Do you want to be led or do you want to lead? I want to lead.

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