Hey,
It's now been one full week since I arrived in Playa del Carmen, Mexico... It didn't take long to find an apartment. I arrived last Monday, looked at 20 apartments on Tuesday and Wednesday, chose one on Thursday and moved in on Saturday. I signed a 6-month contract so that I have a home base while travel is not possible.
My apartment is a renovated 2 BR place in a building I really like, with a super nice pool, palm-tree filled courtyard, balcony and new furniture. It's located in the heart of town, less than 10 minutes walk to the beach, supermarket and anywhere else I need to go. And it costs $900 USD per month. Of course, since I usually don't rent apartments for 6 months, I didn't realize that I would need to buy my own sheets, towels, pillows and so on. I certainly had a big "Oh no" moment upon moving in. I then had to go on a very rushed late night shopping run. By midnight though, the apartment finally started to feel like a home. Now I can spend my time getting reacquainted with this great town! Quick notes about Playa del Carmen: - The area is on yellow alert which means that most businesses can open at about 50 - 80% capacity.
- Masks, temperature checks, sanitizer and social distancing are required at pretty much every business.
- Several of the beautiful beaches in town are open with some rules such as no food or alcohol and you can't be more than 4 people together.
- Apart from that, life here seems quite normal, but with only a mere sprinkling of tourists compared to normal time
Travel-related tidbits that appeared in my inbox this past week. - Royal Air Maroc: I received yet another email from this airline telling me that the $356 USD travel voucher they owe me for a cancelled flight is still being processed. It's now been 5 months since the day they said I would have the voucher.
- Netflix episode about Mayan food: Thank you to Gene, a reader of the newsletter, who sent me an episode of the Netflix series "Chef's Table BBQ". It's about a Mayan woman who cooks up world-class food from her simple home in a village outside of Valladolid, Mexico (not too far from here actually).
- Emails about Playa del Carmen: Since arriving in Playa del Carmen, I've received a lot of emails from many of you who are interested in moving here too for awhile. If you have questions, I'm always happy to assist if I can!
- My Google Fi bill and how it works: I use Google Fi as my mobile network and my bill arrived in my inbox this week. I owe $34.00 USD for August. Google Fi allows me to keep my US number all over the world, text for free, make calls at very low rates and I'm instantly connected to unlimited data in every country I visit. I pay per GB but the most I can be charged is $60 USD. Usually, I end up paying around $30 - $35, making it a sweet deal for frequent travelers.
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I was recently a guest on The Innovative Mindset podcast where host Harrison Kelly asked about my life of travel, business lessons I've learned and achieving goals. It was an excellent, laid-back conversation that you can listen to here: The Innovative Mindset - Wandering Earl |
Matcha approves of our new apartment in Playa del Carmen! |
KOWLOON WALLED CITY
A fascinating look at the story of the Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong. In 1990, 50,000 people lived here, within a mere 6.4 acres (2.6 hectares), making it the densest place on Earth. ABANDONED CITY OF KILWA
The abandoned East African city of Kilwa was once the center of the medieval gold trade, with African, Arabian and Persian influences. Now it's a UNESCO site with impressive ruins of a palace and great mosque. GANESH FESTIVAL AND COVID
The annual Ganesh Festival in Mumbai, India has taken on an entirely different format due to Covid-19. Instead of dumping thousands of Ganesh statues in the ocean like usual, this year there are mobile, artificial ponds that come directly to the homes of worshippers, making it much more environmentally friendly. MAP OF FALL COLORS If you're planning a road trip in the US, this neat fall foliage tool allows you to see exactly what the fall colors should look like on any given day anywhere in the country. THE SOUNDS OF NATURE I opened this cool soundmap of forests from around the world and I was hooked. You click on a forest on the map and you instantly hear what that forest sounds like. The first one I chose was a forest near Câmpu Cetății village in Romania. Quite soothing! And finally.... |
Thank you for reading and all questions and comments are always welcome!
Regards,
Derek (my middle name is Earl) *If you received this email from someone else and want to sign up, just visit A Life of Travel. |
Wandering Earl Tours - Ready to join one of my small-group tours to some really cool destinations around the world once this current global situation has passed? Travel Insurance - Be sure to check out Safety Wing, my personal favorite for incredibly affordable travel insurance. Cruise ship jobs - While cruise lines are not hiring right now, they will be hiring thousands of new crew members once they start up again. My popular e-Guide How to Work on a Cruise Ship will help you get a rewarding job on board a cruise ship once the time is right. Travel resources - My updated Travel Resources with the booking sites, gear, apps and more that I use on my own travels. |
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