We have some very exciting news! This information will make your trip planning easier, will enable you to have Riviera Maya Events at your finger tips and will take the guess-work out of what to do when visiting the area. There is a new Riviera Maya Events webpage in town and it is full of events for everyone! www.rivieramayaeventscalendar.com No longer do you have to use smoke signals, listen to the stars for some sort of mayan sign to hit you on the head to know what is going on, or rely on street information that gets to you too late! This is an up-to-date events calendar where you can see area happenings, post your area happenings and check area happenings daily so that you don’t have to think or search for things to do. The absolute best part of this is that it is FREE…yes Gratis for all of those who want to post or browse. Yes, it is for free, I swear.
Lets review it together. Go to www.rivieramayaeventscalendar.com and go to the events page. You will witness first hand a calendar FULL of all kinds of events, restaurant openings, happy hours, cultural events, school events, weekly events, yoga classes, for the entire coast. There are scouts in each major city that post event information daily. It is colour coded so you can just search for sporting events, for an example, or food events, or cultural events. It is the coolest one stop event calendar in the area.
For visitors it is great to have an overview of what you can do each day in each community. No longer do you have to walk around and collect the various magazines or tourism bulletins to find out what is going on. No longer do you have to search the web to find out the local activities that make the area so personal. and for large events, like the Taste of Playa, or the Italian food Festival or the Eco Fair, you can see when they are happening so vacations can be planned around these destination events.
For people hosting events, you can submit your event for free on the calendar…yippeee, free publication and a captive audience…have an event, fundraiser or just a cool place for people to hang out? Put it up and get an audience that is looking for things to do. Just post the link to the website on your homepage or facebook page or twitter about it and you will have more people interested in what you are offering the Riviera Maya. If you wish to have the scrolling events calendar on the your webpage, have a look at www.buyplaya.com or www.locogringo.com , they have one, just send a request to the administrators at info@rivieramayaeventscalendar.com and they will send you the script to add to your page. We have just added it to the Tropical Casablanca home page so that our visitors will have a full view of what is happening.
This side of Mexico is a great place to visit because there is sooo much going on. The events are personal, in the sense that someone knows someone who is putting it on, or you meet up with someone who has referred you to the area. By attending the events you also meet so many people who live or work in the area, so you find your entire vacation is not an anonymous visit but a friend-sharing vacation with new friends and old from all over the world. The area is getting larger and there are more things to do, but with the Riviera Maya events calendar, the area becomes smaller as you have information at your fingertips.
Very few people were able to access information about what was happening in other towns other than in the places where they were staying. It seems silly to miss a great event in Akumal when you are staying in Playa Del Carmen. Akumal is 35 minutes by collectivo and has a lot to offer. Same with those staying in Puerto Morelos and missing out on fun events in Playa Del carmen. The coast is big, but it is easy to access super fun things to do, when you know about them.
Check out the Riviera Maya Calendar Events Page before its official release in the new year. Submit your contact information so that you get updated events. Check it out daily if you want to find something to do. Easy as 1, 2, 3 and as rewarding as winning the lottery!
Have fun with it and if you wish to see more features, email them at info@rivieramayaeventscalendar.com.
Many people can not imagine Christmas in the Caribbean. No snow, no cold, no usual Christmas reminders. But after living here for 10 years, I have to say, spending Christmas in the cold, the snow and the regular rituals of a North American Christmas as I had known it, seems less than appealing at this point. Call me acclimatized, to the weather and the new Christmas as I now know it as, but my Christmas in the Caribbean would not be switched for the world!
Back in Canada, I would walk the downtown streets of Toronto in the snow and do my shopping, stomping my boots as I walked into every store looking for the perfect gift. I made Christmas cookies, Christmas Chocolates and this process would take over my life for a month…dont get me wrong I loved doing this, it was part of the Christmas ritual. On Christmas day I would visit family, friends and relatives and just hang out..
In mexico it is very different. There is no shopping, I make donations to not for profit organizations worldwide as this seems to share the Christmas spirit in more positive ways than I could ever imagine. It also takes about 2 hours to do this on the internet and I know that my donations are helping others who can benefit from this Christmas present. Giving presents at this age, and my age will not be mentioned, seems silly, we have all we need and to add yet another THING to the house seems, well, redundant. A donation seems more within the spirit of giving and sharing and I love to think that some else benefits from my life, my work and my love.
Christmas day is spent on the beach; there are no snow walks, park walks or running in and out of cars to visit, it is a swimming day, a beach day and friend visiting day, on the beach. If family chooses to come to Mexico, great, they too come to the beach to enjoy a different kind of Christmas, and enjoy the fact that few clothes have to be worn. In the evening, it is a time to go out and enjoy the one of the many restaurants that put on an incredible spread of Christmas. Cooking all day in the house when it is sunny and warm outside just does not do it down here. Having dinner out and with friends seems a much better option. NO dishes to clean up, no food to buy and prepare, it is just eating, and chatting…with no additional work to do!!!!
In Playa del Carmen, whether you live here or are on vacation, Christmas is about spending time with friends and family, and I include our clients and guests in that. We are fortunate enough in our businesses to have guests and divers who are our friends, which makes life a lot easier and much more enjoyable. There is no separation, it is one big melting pot of family, friends and more friends.
I like and accept the new Christmas rituals that have been brought into our lives as residents of the Mexican Caribbean. What has not changed is the overall intention of the holiday season, to bring joy and happiness to all, to be with friends and family and to celebrate the wonderful blessings that we have in our lives. No matter where you are, what climate you have, and what language you speak, Christmas is about celebrating life and those we share it with.
Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and we wish everyone a great and prosperous New Year!
We have another ‘Can’ put it down book’ which I found on the shelf of the Hotel Library a little while ago. Published in 2005, it has since been made into a major motion picture and has the won the hearts of many.
Taking place in South Carolina in the 1960s, The Secret Life of Bees written by Sue Monk Kidd, explores race, love and the idea of home in turbulent times. It is a lovingly written drama that keeps the reader engaged. It is about a young girl who’s mother dies and is taken care of by the family housekeeper. Living in the south, this American girl witnesses racism towards her housekeeper and decides to support the freedom of her new caretaker and her personal freedom from the abuse of her father. They both run away and escape the detriments of their lives, as a young white woman and an older black woman and find refuge in the pink house where they learn life lessons and fumble through their understandings of life as they wish it to be and life as it is.
It is a story of love, a story of trying to find understanding, order and answers to the life that we are given. The characters that live in the pink house keep the reader entertained, though provide a great overview of how each person sees the world differently, and has different means of coping with the ups and downs of what we are given.
This is a beautiful story and it deserves every bit of praise that it has recieved. This book literally fell into my lap and gave hours of pleasure. Unexpected great reads always makes me happy and this was one of them.
JOIN THE DIRTY MARTINI LOUNGE, HOTEL TROPICAL CASABLANCA AND THE ABYSS DIVE CENTER IN THEIR FIRST PRESENT EXCHANGE PARTY!
We can be pretty smart sometimes and we think we have a great idea….are you ready! On December 23, 2009 we will be hosting a Present Exchange and Gift Donation Party on the Life Just Became Simpler Property. For those who dont know where that is, it is where we are all located an 1st Ave between 10th and 12th streets.
So here is a short explanation of what we are doing. YOU have OPTIONS!
Option #1 Present Donation You can bring a toy for a young child and we will donate it to a local charity called DONATE A TOY, GET A SMILE . This organization has been collecting new toys for children throughout the area and distributing them to local families. This has been a tough year so I suspect their help is needed more then ever. Please bring unwrapped NEW toys, with a preference going to school supplies, non battery operated toys and items that do not require electricy. Most small villages do not have electricity and batteries are expensive so stuffed animals, colouring books. back packs, hair items, are all useful. Nancy will come and pick these items up and deliver them for Christmas. All you have to do is buy a small item and place it uder our Donation tree. www.giveatoygetasmile.com
Option #2 Present Exchange This is the fun one and can be hilarious. Bring a present, and exchange it for another one under our Exchange Tree. Limit is 100 pesos and you can ham it up, do something serious and make it unisex…or not. It is up to you. This is a fun tradition that we would like to keep so come on down and exchange what you have for something that someone else has placed under the tree. Price Limit 100 pesos.
The Dirty Martini will be having some drink specials, christmas drinks, and just a good ole time on 1st street. I am voting for eggnog martinis but lets see what they come up with. Things get underway at 7 pm. Bring the kids, bring your mom, bring your girlfriend, boyfriend…who ever you wish…this is a time of joy, parties and celebrations so dont miss out! And you are not limited to just one option, you can participate in both if you wish!!!
Great news today everyone, Santa is coming to town, but more importantly, Elton John is coming to town….(sing to the tune, Santa Claus is coming to town)
Yes, it is true, after the success of the Sara Brightman concert on October 31, 2009 at Chitzen Itza, Elton John has decided to do a concert as well…..woo hooo how exciting is that…
Tickets can be purchased in advance at ticket master or ticket stumbler but the price tag can be steep. The best seats are rumored to be 10,000 pesos and the cheap seats are rumored at 2000 pesos…that is about 800 usd for the expensive seats and about 175 usd for the cheap seats..all well worth it and a great opportunity to see the master in an amazing setting.
The concert is running on Easter weekend and we are happy to offer anyone who has a ticket a discount of 30% off their rooms at the hotel. I would book early so that you get your choice room. If there are enough people coming then we can arrange for transport….that will be discussed later….
So get your tickets now, book your room and lets see what we can do for you to make this concert really rock….
