We were thrilled to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary in San Miguel de Allende. It’s so incredibly beautiful you often feel like you’re walking around in a fairy tale.

But simply being in this fabulous setting wasn’t enough for such a momentous occasion. We wanted to make this anniversary extra special. To create a lifelong memory.

Cynthia came up with the perfect idea. We would celebrate with a 5-day extravaganza. One event for each decade!

To kick things off we enjoyed a lovely lunch at Cumpanio, a downtown bistro serving French and Italian classics with a modern twist.

The menu featured inventive dishes like this pumpkin blossom ravioli in a citrus sauce. Delicious!

Next came an afternoon of pampering at a spa we had noticed while exploring. After massages, reflexology, and facials we floated back to our place.

Day 2, our actual anniversary day, started with lunch at Restaurante del Parque, a Belmond property nearby. Yes, those pork al pastor...

Cynthia:  Transitions from one expat destination to the next are always our most difficult days, but the trip to San Miguel de Allende got off to an especially rough start.

Edd:  Beginning before we even got to the Cancun airport. We checked out of our Airbnb early to give ourselves plenty of time. It’s a good thing we did because an accident caused a massive traffic backup. Our 15-minute ride took more than an hour.

C:  We had a choice of two airports to fly into—Querétaro or León-Bajío. They’re both just over an hour’s drive from San Miguel. We took the second choice because it was cheaper, but can’t give high marks to our first experience with Viva Air.

E:  This airline is one of those low-cost carriers where the flight is inexpensive, but the add-ons can, well, add up. The agent at the ticket counter was trying to nickel-and-dime us with stuff like, “Your bag’s too heavy—your bag’s...

Cynthia:  Our day trip to Isla Mujeres was so different from anything else we’ve done during our months in Mexico exploring expat destinations.

Edd:  For sure. Starting with live music on the ferry from Cancun. Early morning classic rock including a ZZ Top cover?? That was certainly unexpected.

C:  “Unexpected” was pretty much the theme for our entire visit. Since lots of people told us we had to go there, we decided to just show up with minimal research and see for ourselves what was special about this place.

E:  Something that wasn’t a surprise was how touristy a little island near Cancun is. As soon as we stepped off the ferry we were approached by locals hustling diving tours, golf carts, and souvenirs. 

C:  No time for any of that because we needed to find the coffee shop where we were meeting a local expat. Isla Mujeres has been his home for seven years, and he was happy to get together to share some interesting insights...

Edd:  We had vacationed in Cancun before but arrived with no idea what it would be like to live abroad there.

Cynthia:  You’re right. On an anniversary trip years ago we only left the property where we were staying for one night. And even then we remained in the hotel zone.

E:  Cancun’s development began in the 70s, around the same time the area where we live in Cuenca called New Town started to be built. We were caught off guard to experience how similar downtown Cancun felt to our neighborhood.

C:  Especially after weeks walking throughout historic Mérida where the walls and doors are built right to the edge of the sidewalks. Then the contrast of countless mid-rise condos with rooftop pools in Playa del Carmen.

E:  Of all the places we’ve been so far, who knew we would feel the most at home in Cancun of all places!

C:  Not only because of the architecture, but also by the small family-run shops and restaurants serving mostly...

Cynthia:  Playa del Carmen was certainly a different experience from Tulum, wasn’t it?

Edd:  I’ll say. To begin with, the “hotel zone” of Tulum is totally separate from the actual town. The design of Cancun is similar. In Playa it’s all one big happy family.

C:  Generally speaking there’s the beach area. Running parallel a couple of blocks from the coastline is the famous pedestrian 5th Avenue. Beyond that thoroughfare, the town becomes more residential with businesses to support daily life.

E:  Gotta mention the beach itself. Our review of Tulum was kind of gloomy, so we didn’t even bring up the tons of stinky seaweed there and again at Playa.

C:  It was disappointing to see our second expat destination in the Riviera Maya having the same problem. You’re quite the ocean lover and you never got close to the water.

E:  No way I was going to walk on that disgusting greenish-brown carpet. Seaweed...

Edd:  Since we were only in Tulum for four days and there were heavy rains a lot of the time, we can’t really give the place a thorough evaluation as an expat destination.

Cynthia:  That’s true, but we do have some snapshot impressions we can share. I think it’s fair to say when most people think of Tulum, they picture blue skies, crystal clear water, powdery white sand, and upscale hotels and resorts.

E:  Of course. Tulum has done a marvelous job of packaging its image as an eco-chic destination. But even though we were only there a short time, we quickly recognized there’s a night and day difference between the “hotel zone,” along the beach road, and the actual town of Tulum.

C:  It’s important for our readers to understand that throughout our travels we’re staying where expats might actually live, not in pricey vacation areas. And, boy, the Tulum we experienced was an eye-opener.

E:  I’ll say. As...

Progreso is a port town on the Yucatán Peninsula less than an hour’s drive from Mérida.

It’s claim to fame is boasting the world’s longest pier, stretching 4 miles into the Gulf of Mexico!

Since many locals own second homes in the area or visit the beaches there, we decided to take a day trip to check it out.

We hopped on an early morning bus from downtown. Our round-trip fare was so cheap (about US$2 each) we thought we misunderstood the lady who took our money!

Our excursion was on a Mexico election day, and the beach was almost deserted when we arrived.

The government wants voters to have a clear head so no alcohol was being served that day. No problema. We plopped down under a big thatched umbrella with lemonades to enjoy the scenery.

It was kind of sad to see vendors with so much merchandise and so few customers.

We ate scrumptious seafood at a restaurant a block away from the beach. (Insider tip: same food, cheaper prices) Ever seen a...

Mérida, the capital and largest city of the state of Yucatán, is also the cultural and culinary center of the peninsula.

With over a million residents from a broad cross section of countries beyond Mexico, Mérida offers a dazzling variety of food options.

Yes, burritos, enchiladas, and tacos are everywhere. American chains like Starbucks, Chili’s, and Texas Roadhouse are around too.

We’ve had our share of wonderfully prepared Mexican meals.

Inventive, artistic dishes almost too beautiful to eat. Almost…

And one of the best pizzas ever at a small neighborhood restaurant.

Yet the traditional cuisine of the area is still very much present and quite unique.

Relative isolation from the rest of Mexico, the traditions of its Mayan ancestry, and exposure to the ingredients of European traders visiting its ports combined to create an amalgam of fascinating flavors.

Many dishes include the holy trinity of Yucatecan food—sour orange, achiote...

We were thrilled to be invited to spend a night at The Diplomat Boutique Hotel, Tripadvisor’s #1 rated hotel in Mérida, Mexico.

Our stay confirmed why owners Sara and Neil have earned that lofty designation through flawless attention to detail in everything from design to service.

We were welcomed as old friends by Sara and escorted to our spacious poolside suite, The Paramount. With its tasteful furnishings, 20-foot ceilings and elegant bathroom, we immediately knew this was going to be an exceptional experience.

The Diplomat has an honor system bar with a variety of craft beers and wines, plus a complimentary tequila station. Wow, right?

After a relaxing afternoon at the pool and a lovely dinner out,

a tequila nightcap was the perfect ending to a wonderful day in this beautiful oasis.

Morning coffee and tea service was available in the lovely dining space next to the pool before our included breakfast. We were impressed they...

After being sidelined for over a year by COVID-19, a beloved Mérida event called Biciruta was recently reactivated.

From 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. each Sunday the east lane of the city’s most famous boulevard, Paseo de Montejo, is open for bicycles only.

Thousands of riders and pedestrians enjoy the beautiful views along this shady avenue patterned after the world-renowned Champs-Élysées in Paris.

At the end of the 19th century the outbreak of the Spanish-American War created a shortage of hemp, the fiber used in nautical ropes, from the Philippines.

This caused the price of henequén, a similar fiber produced in the Yucatán, to skyrocket. And for massive wealth to be created almost overnight. At that time there were more millionaires in this small Mexican state than anywhere else on the planet!

Paris was THE most envied city at the time, so newly-monied Yucatecans developed their own version of Champs-Élysées lined with massive...