Finally, some of our American expat friends are beginning to wake up to the ranting and raving I’ve been doing about living in Guanajuato. Now, if you’ve been reading my columns on a regular basis you know from time to time I lose my mind, rather totally, and go all Pancho Villa about life in Guanajuato.

Mind you, I am not talking about normal Mexican things. I am not talking about things like stores never opening when they say they will. I am talking not about the traditional, provincial Mexican custom of never showing up on time for anything. I am not talking about never offering so much as a “How-Do-You-Do” when the kindly Mexican is asked why he didn’t call to cancel an appointment by his good anal-attentive American pal. That’s not what I mean.

I have been talking about things in my columns like getting shoved off the sidewalk into the path of a bus manned by someone who thinks he is a racecar driver. I am talking about calling for the bottled water to get delivered only to have it finally come after you’ve died from thirst and your body was shipped back to the States three months ago. That’s what I mean.

My friend sent me a story today. She is one who has finally admitted that perhaps my wife and I see this sort of stuff, and she doesn’t because she and her husband, in typical American expat fashion, stay pretty much holed up in their lavish estate (it isn’t really an estate but I am adding this in case she reads this-and she occasionally does) until they need something. When they venture out, when they pull themselves from their American TV channels beamed from space via satellite, they drive everywhere. They rarely walk so they seldom have the pleasure of being run over by a bus when a kindly Guanajuatense pushes them into its path.

Our friend went to the Mega Superstore today. Yes, gentrification has begun in Guanajuato with a superstore, on the scale of a Super Wal-Mart, to totally destroy a way of life and ancient culture in Guanajuato. She was in a line with just 7 people in it. A Mexican woman, with no groceries, was in line in front of her. When “her turn” came, she whipped out her cell phone and called her large extended family–comprised of several generations–to get up from the coffee shop and come up front to check out. So, here came her family, about 30 of them, with shopping carts full to overflowing, to cut in front of our friend and check out. Our friend did the “Guanajuato Shove” and cut in front of this woman saying, “Con Permiso” and checked out before she would have surely been thrown, shoved, and elbowed out of the way.

”In general, Mexicans are polite and formal when dealing with foreigners from the North. Newcomers from the States often take this treatment as friendliness, but it is far more complicated than that. Mexicans and other inhabitants of Latin America often wear a mask that
covers their true feelings.” – Ken Luboff

All sympathetic ranting and raving will be entertained and appreciated by phone or e-mail.

Mexico real estate has been doing very well over the years, when I came here 8 years ago, life was slower and it was 3rd world but today we have millions of Americans Canadians and Europeans looking for a place to life quietly and inexpensively and they now number in the 7 million range and increasing quickly.

It is still possible to have a new home under $150k and live a slower lifestyle with the gentle Mexicn people and slower pace. In my region of the Riviera Maya, things have picked up and its been booming for 5 years with tourists

Mexico real estate sector has evolved in last few years tremendously. The property sector has strived to cater to needs of discerning international investors who expect and demand word class facilities and innovations. One such trend has been condo living in Mexico. Condo concept is very popular all over the world and every year people are increasingly adopting this option. So, why is condo living so sought after globally? What benefits and improvement in lifestyle quality does condo living offers that has caught fancy of home owners and investor both? Reasons are not too difficult to see. Every year thousands of home owners, families & individual looking for second vacation homes and investors have fuelled the growth of Mexico Real Estate. Let us list few distinct advantages of condo units over conventional homes.

1) Location, location, location: Most condo projects are located at prime location of a city. In Puerto Vallarta for instance, most condominium buildings and infrastructure are situated within a city or close to it. So the Condos in Puerto Vallarta have easy access to facilities like hospitals, restaurants, malls and schools etc. This is also good for professionals since their offices are not far enough and they can reach to their workplace without long hours of commuting.

2) Facilities: All condominium projects in Puerto Vallarta Mexico come full equipped with all basic and luxury amenities and facilities. Parking lots, gyms, spa, tennis courts and pools are some of the amenities that come most of time with the condo units. Other recreational and entertainment facilities may be available depending on the project scope and cost.

3) Management: Since, condos are managed by condo management companies, all condo units have administrators who are in charge of upkeep and maintenance of the property. All housekeeping and other needs like plumbing, electricity and cleaning of outdoor and common areas are handled by property management company. In a standalone home, the owner has to take care of these things and this could be a big hassle if you are not a local and the home is a vacation home. Condo unit are better option as experts handle and oversee all the maintenance for you for a fee.

4) 24*7 security: All condominium buildings are full secured and well protected. The condo units are equipped with advanced security features to ensure the safety and well being of each occupant inside the building. Electronic surveillance devices and alarms along with well-trained and highly-skilled guard services 24*7 keep the residents safe from outside dangers round-the-clock.

Your beachfront condo in Puerto Vallarta is within your reach. Check out the listings of Puerto Vallarta Beachfront Condos plan correctly to Finance Puerto Vallarta Homes and Condos and plan for a beautiful future today.Contact Tom Budniak for insight into this booming market.

Author: Tom Budniak

By: Jim Scherrer

Invariably, when tourists visit the Puerto Vallarta, Mexico area, they inquire with questions such as “What kind of colorful bird is that?”, “What kind of amazing animal is that?”, “What are those beautiful flowers?”, or “What’s the name of that unusual looking tree?” After 12 years of replying with “We don’t have a clue, but they’re all over the area; pretty neat, huh?”, we decided to do a little research so as not to seem so oblivious to the natural beauty surrounding us in the foothills of the Sierra Madres overlooking the Banderas Bay in the center of the Mexican Riviera!

One such remarkable quirk of nature is the Ficus; a member of the Mulberry Family. Other names for the Ficus tree are Banyan tree or Fig tree. There are approximately 1,000 different species of Ficus trees which can be found on just about every tropical continent and in most of the tropical rain forests throughout the world including the Hawaiian Islands which lie on virtually the same latitude as Puerto Vallarta.

Often, these exotic fig trees grow from seeds that have germinated high up in the crowns of palms, sending aerial roots down and around the straight trunks of the palms to the ground. Once the aerial roots have reached the ground, they begin to grow in size, eventually strangling out the host tree; hence they’re referred to as strangler figs.

These strangler figs or banyan trees have the appearance of a large boa constrictor wrapped around the host palm. After many years of growth, they will dwarf the palm and eventually destroy it leaving behind a huge fig tree with a bizarre looking trunk; often with a hole up through the center where the palm once existed.

In the Puerto Vallarta area, these stranglers can be found all over the hill sides and of course along the banks of the Rio Cuale. In fact, just recently a huge strangler fig tree near the Banderas Bay shoreline adjacent to the Rio Cuale had to be removed for the construction of a new beachfront condominium project. Fortunately, a group of botanists saved some of its branches and planted them in a local botanical garden. After a year or so of taking root, they have been replanted in the same location of the spectacular “mother” tree and hopefully it’ll once again become a majestic banyan tree.

Other notable banyans in Vallarta are located along the Rio Cuale and on the small island in the center of the river where a number of famous restaurants are located. These banyans provide a beautiful and interesting sight for the guests of the fine dining establishments.

The banyans are so well protected that streets are sometimes routed around them so as not to disturb them after well over a hundred years of growth. One such tree with a six foot diameter trunk is located totally in the street of the bypass around town!

Not only are the beautiful live stranglers located all over town but dead ones are also often seen. One of the most common uses for harvested banyans is for small structure or palapa support columns; palapas being the open air gathering places with the thatched roofs. A typical palapa will have columns of a native hard wood but a really neat, “high end” palapa, will have columns of the more expensive and much more interesting and beautiful hard wood strangler fig. They are generally shaved of bark and then varnished to yield a magnificent surface finish.

Very large banyans can also be sliced to produce unique table tops and furniture pieces. The number of products that can be manufactured from these wonders of nature is only limited by ones imagination.

In certain societies, the banyan tree is the symbol of spirit and matter, descending to the earth, striking root, and then re-ascending heavenward again. To others, it symbolizes fertility and is worshipped by those who want children. Prior to the advent of grain and other food products, some early Indian cultures have been known to find nourishment from its “milk”. To some cultures, this tree, with its ability to support its growing weight by an ever-widening circle of root-like branches, represents eternal life. One thing for sure, the banyans or strangler figs are unique and have been appreciated by mankind throughout the world for 1,000

Have you heard the horror stories about traveling through Mexico? Worst yet, can you imagine living there?

Well, being the adventurous and courageous retirees that we are, in 1997 we bought a beautiful new mountainside villa overlooking Banderas Bay and El Centro, or downtown in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The villa is actually a compound, surrounded by 10 foot walls with a walk-in gate and doors for car entry.

Our initial thought while closing the doors during our first evening in our new villa was to hire a couple sentries to guard the villa at night. One could be positioned in front and the other down below on the backside facing the bay, thus providing the security required in this foreign new land.

Well, we never got around to hiring those guards and furthermore, we?ve never heard of anyone being burglarized in the neighborhood for the past ten years. Municipal Police do cruise through the neighborhood a few times every night and we do have excellent street lighting; however crime in the neighborhood, known as the ?Beverly Hills of Vallarta?, is virtually non-existent.

Ten years ago, we would be pulled over by the local police every two or three months for any of a myriad of concocted reasons. It was the typical corrupt Mexican police shake-down where after you handed him 200 pesos or $20, you were no longer guilty of breaking any laws or committing any crimes. You instantly became his amigo! That corruption is seldom seen anymore in Vallarta and we haven?t been pulled over by the police for a number of years. In fact, they seemed to have gone 180 degrees the opposite direction being very friendly to all Americans and Canadians.

The city of Puerto Vallarta, referred to as PV or Vallarta by the residents, has exploded in population during the past ten years to the current level of 350,000 inhabitants. That growth can be attributed solely to tourism. Virtually every job in PV is based on tourism and without the influx of foreigners from the US and Canada, Vallarta would still be a sleepy little Mexican fishing village. Because tourism is so important, the young locals are taught to treat the Americans and Canadians with dignity, respect, kindness, and as friends. The very last thing they can afford is to have tourists encounter problems while visiting Paradise and to return home with negative feelings about Vallarta. The objective of each and every Vallartense is to assure all tourists an enjoyable and safe time while visiting so that they look forward to returning. The young Mexicans are taught that safety is the prime concern of all visitors and to harm a tourist would be equivalent to taking food or money out of their own family household.

As a side note of interest, there is currently a film, ?South of the Border? being shot here in Vallarta by the Disney Company. It?s a cute story about a chihuahua, owned by a Beverly Hills socialite, that got lost while she was visiting a spa in Mexico. A group of local Mexican chihuahuas found this pup, took care of and entertained it, and then assured its safe return to Beverly Hills. The film will be released in 2008 and will help promote the social, cultural, and economic relations between Mexico and the US. The bottom line being, that the safety and security that one feels in Vallarta is quite comforting and is demonstrated in the film through the life of a chihuahua.

Serious crimes such as murder, rape, kidnapping, etc. are unheard-of in Vallarta. Security is such that armed robberies are virtually non-existent. One reason of course is, guns are not permitted in Mexico. The penalty for carrying a firearm is much more than anyone would ever want to pay.

The one crime that persists in PV is related to drugs. Although the Mexicans seldom use them, they are plentiful for those tourists too ignorant to understand the consequences. The penalty for drug possession and use is so severe that anyone dependent on drugs is best off avoiding Paradise. With full employment in PV, even the art of pick-pocketing is no longer practiced here; it?s just too easy to find a job!

The US and Canadian Consulates in Vallarta are well staffed and ready to assist any tourist with just about any problem that could arise while visiting here.

Even though Vallarta has reached the size of Anaheim or St. Louis, it?s still a small city where everyone seems to know what others are doing. Any crime committed by a local would be known about by many others immediately. Not to be picking on Anaheim or St. Louis, but when comparing Vallarta to cities in the US of similar size, our hunch is that it?s much safer in Paradise!