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Recently Answered Questions

Can I see beautiful flowers, plants and trees in or around Chapala and Ajijic, Mexico?

Valerie Friesen - Blue Angel Solutions

There are beautiful flowers, plants, and trees in or around Chapala and Ajijic. These are wonderful eye candy and many are perfumed, too. In contrast to what most people think that there are no seasons in Mexico, there are, but not the same seasons you would see north of the border, especially in the northern US and all of Canada.

(Click on the picture to the right for a video about the flowers and plants of Ajijic.)

There are different...

(Click on the picture to the right for a video about the flowers and plants of Ajijic.)

There are different plants and trees that come into bloom at different times of the year. In the springtime, it's nice. There are the nice yellow primavera trees and the lavender jacarandas for perfect Easter colors. There is also a soft apple blossom pink variation of the primavera. These trees are filled with flowers. My favorite plant is the bougainvillea, with soft, fluffy pink and bright magenta flowers. There are other different flowers and succulents like blue cacti.

There are also white trees called the Kapok or Ceiba tree,. It is a Mayan tree with spiritual and medicinal properties. When this tree is young, its color is like the inside of an avocado, but it has thorns. The flowers are orchid-like. When these kapok trees get to a certain age of seven years or more, that's when the seed is in its full reproduction stage and you get this white puff –ball which explodes, spraying seeds around.

The mountains in the summer become this amazing brilliant green and look like "big clumps of broccoli". After the rains, the trees in the mountains appear to sparkle. There are also yellow blossoms in the mountains.

In the fall, along the highways and roads, there are golden rods and flowers that are indigenous here in Chapala like “brown-eyed” susies and marigolds.

I come from a family of gardeners, so the amazing colors and smells of the flowers, plants, and trees in Chapala and Ajijic are a huge attraction for me. We have transferred our property with grass, a hedge and two big palm trees, to a Shangra-la Sanctuary in the front and back areas.

There is a gardening club, but unfortunately, I don't have the time to join it. How do you make it happen? Find a good gardener or go to a good nursery, which there are a lot of around Chapala and Ajijic, and explore until you find people who are truly knowledgeable. What we've learned is you must ask people who are knowledgeable about what season the plants are in bloom and how they survive. For example, will the plant grow in shade or sun; dry soil or a moister type of soil?

If the plant doesn't grow and dies in a part of your yard, the next time you try to plant it, don't put it in the same place again, because it doesn't mean that the plant won't grow elsewhere. If you leave a plant in a pot and let it settle in with the light, wind, and temperature, you'll get an idea of whether it'll be successful in an area of your yard instead of removing the plant from the pot and plucking it into the ground. This technique seems to work quite well.

There is no frost and extreme heat so there are a lot of people who do vegetable gardening successfully. One of our customers turned her whole garden into a vegetable garden and has kale and all kinds of vegetables.

Can I get American or Canadian radio stations in Belize?

Christian Burn

You can get everything, including American, Canadian, and any other radio stations through the internet here in Belize. I listened to my Canadian news stations through the Internet. Most people have Sirius XM satellite radio down here in Belize, too.

You can also use Pandora here in Belize. It is blocked in some countries, but not in Belize. We had Skype blocked here for a long time, but now it is all unblocked. Everybody has Pandora. A lot of people hook...

How's the surf and surfing in and around Algarve?

Luis Teixeira da Silva - Algarve Senior Living

Swells at the beach at Carrapateira, Algarve, Portugal – Best Places In The World To Retire – International Living

Surfing in the Algarve is fantastic. Algarve is the second most popular region of Portugal for surfing. The most famous surfing spot can be found north of Lisbon, which is called the silver coast, in the area between Peniche and Nazare. They broke the world record there several times.

The Algarve has a fantastic reputation for surfing on the west coast of the region, between Sagres and Aljezur, and we have a number of famous beaches there such Bordeira and...

The Algarve has a fantastic reputation for surfing on the west coast of the region, between Sagres and Aljezur, and we have a number of famous beaches there such Bordeira and Carrapateira. We also have other beaches in and around the Sagres area, such as Martinhal and Baleal. They all have long, sandy beaches and very good surf. They have a fantastic swell and very evenly spaced waves. It’s easy to get a ride and get it in without being hammered by the next wave. But the water is cold so you need a wetsuit to go surfing.

There is also some surfing on the southern coast of the Algarve. The further west you go, the better the surf. There are small surfing spots just off the beaches around Lagos and around Praia da Luz. The distance between Lagos and Sagres is only about 25 kilometers so you don’t have to travel far to get to surf.

It’s safe to go into the water in Praia da Luz. The waters there are just like the Mediterranean most days. It is calm with azure colors; nary a wave so it’s very safe.

In the western part of the Algarve, you shouldn’t really go into the waves alone. If you have children, they can certainly play in the shallow water but I wouldn’t be far away because a lot of the beaches in that area are very remote and there are not a lot of people there. They don’t necessarily have protection such as life guards and so on. However, most of the southern beaches do have lifeguards.

The Algarve has probably the largest number of “Blue Flag” beaches in Portugal. “Blue Flag” is the European Union symbol for quality of the beaches, infrastructure and water quality. The beaches in the west coast has big waves whereas there are hardly any waves on the southern shores of the Algarve, so there are surf conditions to love for anybody.

(Swells at the beach at Carrapateira, Algarve, Portugal, pictured.)

How are the restaurants in Volcan and Cerro Punta, Chiriqui Province, Panama?

Allen Rosen - Chiriqui Coastal Real Estate

Best restaurant in Volcan?

That's easy: Cerro Brujo

Cerro Brujo (Witch Mountain) is run by Patricia Miranda, a native of Volcan, who happens also to be a first-rate gourmet chef.

The restaurant is a mile or so off the main road in Volcan. As you come into town along the main road, keep your eye out for a sign on the right. Turn there and go about a mile along a bumpy road.

The restaurant is...

What are the best reasons to retire overseas?

David Truly - Dr. David Truly Ph. D.

David Truly giving the thumbs up in Manzanillo, Mexico – Best Places In The World To Retire – International Living

The best reason to retire overseas is to have an adventure – to broaden your experience base, to try something new, and to be open to change, new cultures, etc. The most important reason is to feel like you need something different in your life. You want to change the quality of your life. That is without saying that the quality of your life may not have been good in the States or wherever you came from, but just to say that you want a different quality of life. A life...

How are Americans in Nicaragua treated? How are expats in Nicaragua treated generally?

Linda Carlson

Talco Antisséptico Herbíssimo – Best Places In The World To Retire – International Living

In general, my experiences here in Nicaragua have been positive for the most part. Nicaraguans are very gracious, very kind, and they extend themselves to help you, but if you do not acknowledge them in some way along the way and show your gratitude, their attitude could turn very quickly to disappointment or disapproval.

I find Nicaraguan women to be more gracious, helpful and hospitable, while I find the men to be more likely to be more interested in finding a way to get...

Recently Posted Expat Stories

Where’s the smart money going these days?

For anyone paying attention to the financial markets of late, it should be clear that we’re heading into some troubled waters. Stock market volatility has been unusually high with wild point swings to the upside and downside, commodity prices are collapsing across the board and savers are getting hammered by central bank policies that keep interest rates artificially low thereby punishing anyone trying to get a decent rate of return on their savings.

...

I first came to Panama City in the fall of 1997. Even then the city was vibrant, bustling and full of life. The towering skyscrapers that now dominate Avenida Balboa were a distant vision and the high end residential districts of Punta Pacifica and Costa del Este had yet to be built. Just getting into the city from Tocumen International Airport could be a nightmare. The toll road leading from the airport wasn’t complete and the notorious city traffic jams were...

Transportation in Panamá

TRANSPORTATION IN PANAMA

Panamá has had an amazing history of transportation, Old picture of Panama Railroad – Best Places In The World To Retire – International Living

dating back to 15th century. The story tells us that at the beginning, horses transported gold and precious metals between Indian villages, and then, this transport was taken to the king's authorities in South América though Panamá, and, ultimately, to their final destination in Europe, most often, to Spain.

After that, when Old Panamá was...

Best Places In The World To Retire

Recently Answered Questions

Can I see beautiful flowers, plants and trees in or around Chapala and Ajijic, Mexico?

Can I get American or Canadian radio stations in Belize?

How's the surf and surfing in and around Algarve?

How are the restaurants in Volcan and Cerro Punta, Chiriqui Province, Panama?

What are the best reasons to retire overseas?

How are Americans in Nicaragua treated? How are expats in Nicaragua treated generally?

Recently Posted Expat Stories

Where’s the smart money going these days?

What is the price (or value) of freedom?

Transportation in Panamá

Best Places In The World To Retire