Tag Archives: mexico

March 30, 2013 · 8:58 am

Two Thousand

This is my two thousandth post. Across very almost ten years – that milestone is just a few months away. That’s about two hundred posts a year. Where do I find the time? I find I have less time here in the UK for such frivolous activities than I did in Mexico. Writing posts has become as much a habit as a hobby. I should cut back. I don’t though. Partly because it is profitable. But mostly because I like the people who hang around in this corner of the virtual world. Cheers to those of you who’ve ever commented. And to those of you who haven’t too. Especially to those of you whom I have met in person. And those of you whom I will meet. Beers all round.

I did once before reach the two thousand post landmark. That’s because I merged my 365 photo project into this blog. But I had a change of heart and un-merged them. I’ve also ‘lost’ a fair few posts over the last decade too. Some disappeared into the ether back in 2005 when I self hosted everything, and forgot to do a complete back up before cancelling my hosting plan. Duh.

Other posts of a commercial nature, hundreds of them, were left behind on an old blogging platform when I switched to Blogger from Opera. Blogging has been profitable over the years. How much is it worth. Tens of thousands of dollars. Not enough to live on, but certainly enough to have some fun on. But they don;t make good reading. Those who didn’t much like my guest posts will be pleased to hear there will be no more of those. Although I will still explore other lucrative avenues.

How to celebrate this landmark? Every post needs a photo. It’d be too much of a drag to go find my 2000th upload to Flickr, although that would have made a nice matching pair. How about my first ever upload to Flickr? It certainly wasn’t the first photo I ever took with a digital camera, nor my first photo in Mexico. When I joined Flickr, I sent an experimental batch to the service to see what it looked like.  I wrote yesterday of my need for some sunshine, so it’s a fitting photo…

Sunshine Tiles

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February 16, 2013 · 3:00 pm

Two Year Itch

Doesn’t time fly? Or perhaps not. It seems a lifetime ago since I wrote this old post. But it truly was just two years ago. To the day. My final day in Mexico, before returning ‘home’ to England. I find ‘home’ harder to define these days. My passport says it’s to the east of the Atlantic. There’s a part of me that disagrees with that conclusion. Either way, I have a visa to live in Mexico sorted out, and perhaps one day I will have a new passport that I find more agreeable.

There’s just one last hitch. An undisclosed hitch. It’s a maybe type thing. Something over which I don’t have the final decision. Stay tuned, as they say. Till then, here is one of the last photos of me that was taken in Mexico. Where am I? I’d run a guessing contest, but it could be anywhere. As it happens, it’s a nice little restaurant in Tlalpan.

Dragon Paper

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January 20, 2013 · 6:07 pm

Maverick Mexicans

This video is worth posting on its own merits. They are brave/foolhardy young chaps, that’s for sure. Watch it to the end – just when you think you’ve seen the most dangerous jump, there’s another around the corner. I actually came across it on Facebook. There’s a uniformed chap at the end that tells us this is in Mexico. But one very sharp eyed Facebook Friend named the very place it’s shot. Care to take a guess where?

Edit: Darnit, the video shows where it was filmed. No need to guess. I now have a new adventure sport to do when I return… :)

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January 11, 2013 · 11:05 pm

The New INM Regs Part 6

The Mex-pat part of the internet world is ablaze with news, rants, tales, rumours, reports and suggestions about what the new immigration regulations have in store for those choosing to make a home south of the Rio Grande. Rolly Brook seems to be one of the more renowned experts. And Señor Calypso has a number of recently published posts , detailing his experiences. The latter opened his series with a sage piece of advice. Don’t pay too much heed to anyone’s advice. You won’t need to search the internet for long to discover that different INM offices are interpreting the new rules very differently. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that different personnel at the same offices are interpreting the rules differently.

But anyway, the overall consensus is that the new regs are far more onerous that in the past. It’s possible that some foreign residents in Mexico may become persona non grata. Would I be stretching it to say that the Mex-pat world are giving the new regulations a big fat thumbs down? Maybe. Except, except, except. Me. I am not applying for the same sort of visa as everyone else though. I think. I’ve been told I’m applying for the Unidad Familia visa. Which I’m buggered if I can find mention of anywhere of the interweb. It costs MXN$3,000 and allows me to live in Mexico for two years. At the end of which I can apply for the Permanent Residency.

Sounds too easy? It really did sound too easy to me. All I needed, I was told, was my passport, my wife’s passport, our wedding certificate, one passport photo, a completed two page application form and six months of bank statements showing an average balance of £903. Oh, and copies of each. That’s it. The marriage certificate didn’t even need to be apostilled. So today, me and Mrs P headed off to the Mexican Embassy in a plush part of London, not far from Oxford Circus to put this all to the test. Surely it would backfire. Some new scrap of paper would be needed. An obscure document. A new requirement. Something.

Nada. Zilch. Nowt. No new, mysterious, previously undisclosed, hidden or secret requirement was revealed. We were greeted by the same friendly, helpful lady whom I had conversed with on the phone and exchanged a few emails with. She checked my documents and helped me complete the application form. I had my fingerprints taken. Electronically, mind – no mucky ink for me. And another photo was taken. We paid the (ever changing) £22.06 consular fee. She smiled, thanked us for our patience, and told me to return on Tuesday to collect my visa. The visa is good for one entry. Upon arriving in Mexico, I have to go to the INM office in DF, pay a further MXN$3,000 and get the proper visa card.

I won’t be returning on Tuesday. I’m working. But Mrs P will pop by and collect it next Friday. Unless there is a catch. With something so important and eagerly desired, one can’t help but fear the appearance of a ‘catch’. But from all appearances, the system seems to be friendly, efficient and speedy. I hope so. Next week, all being well, I will publish a post entitled The New INM Regs Part 7, which will be the last in my series. All being well. Fingers crossed. Here’s a snap of the rather snazzy, if discreet, Mexican Embassy in London…

Mexican Embassy

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December 12, 2012 · 8:17 pm

The New INM Regs Part V – The Penacho Plan

It was simple. Whilst in Vienna, Mrs P and I would enter the Museum of Ethnology, cunningly disguised as tourists. We’d make our way to the Penacho, and whilst Mrs P distracted any museum staff member present, I’d snatch the Penacho and slip out of a side exit. We’d return to Mexico as heroes. Visa? Who needs a visa when you have brought the Penacho back home?! Surely this sort of patriotic deed would be worthy of instant honorary citizenship? After all, Luis Miguel (the Puerto Rican singer) was granted citizenship when his illegal status was uncovered, and that was just for a few songs here and there over the years.

DSCF5572

Alas, our grand scheme didn’t go quite according to plan. It’s hard to put a finger exactly on what went wrong, but the fact that we were both frozen to the bone by minus 7 degree Celsius temperatures didn’t help. Also, the museum guard was not of the distractable kind.  She was also a fearsome looking beast. I wouldn’t have wanted a wrestle with her. We left, sadly, without the Penacho. Moctezuma’s feathered headdress will have to remain in Vienna for now. This also means I will need to grind on with the standard procedures for obtaining a visa. The next step will be in January, when we go up to the Mexican Embassy in London to present all our papers.  Such is life.

The Mexican authorities will have to continue their quest to have the Penacho returned through more diplomatic means. It is an impressive item. Did it really once sit atop Moctezuma’s bonce? Who knows. It seems to me to be a good story, and good stories are often just that. Whether it crowned an Aztec leader or not though, Mexico do want it back. Should it be returned? It’s another of ‘those’ dilemmas. Ninety per cent or more of the item’s history is based outside of Mexico…

DSCF5574

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