Dubai winter, you will love the time outside!!!

If Dubai summer is a tough time of the year to be outside in the desert heat with temperatures above 40 Celcius (100+F) every day, the winter seasons is completely the opposite with “cold” weather from 16 to 26 Celsius and do I need to add sunny with no rain. Is the time of the year where you only plan to do things outside enjoying the great places Dubai has to offer like going to the beach, seating outside in a restaurant for a drink/meal, watch a nice sunset or ride a bike across the city exploring it.

Beach during winter months is a great option, water is cold for my taste but just enjoying the sun is more than enough.

We have been living in Dubai Marina for the past 2 years and as empty nesters it offers a great environment if you don’t mind being in a tourist area; being so close to the beach, restaurants and bars makes it an enviable place to live. From Marina you have easy access to the metro, tram, water taxi, scooters, and bikes, there is no excuse to enjoy yourself outside and have a good time.

A couple weeks back we decided for a different outing and enjoy the benefit of having a Careem bike station in front of the building, for $20AED ($5.50 USD) you get to rent a e-bike for the day with unrestricted trips of 45 minutes. The service is very easy to use, you just need a mobile to download the app, register and be ready to enjoy the service, the only thing is that every 45 minutes you need to stop a a station lock the bike and then unlock it again to start new 45 min.

Dubai is a flat city, riding an e- bike is easy, plus the infrastructure help to get you along good distances. Our plan was to bike 40km, from marina to Dubai mall and do some sightseeing along the way, finishing in the mall for some shopping and a good late lunch. The route would be mostly across the beach shore making it more enjoyable, passing through some of the most iconic places in Dubai like the Burj Al Arab, Kite Beach, and the Burj Khalifa.

As you can see from the photos, it is a great way to explore the city and exercise a bit (bike e-system makes it easy). Now that winter has arrived, we will enjoy the next 3 to 4 months outside before is time back again to go inside the buildings and turn on the AC to manage the intense heat of the desert.

If you come to Dubai during these months, take advantage of the great weather and explore all the beauties of this great city. Thanks for reading the post, please share to your friends and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, and Facebook search for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD. Until next time….

Phuket Thailand: a great southeast Asia destination, with tons of things to enjoy

I have been lucky to visit some cool beach destinations in the Caribbean, Mexico, and the USA; from mega resorts to Airbnb spending a couple of days at the beach are always welcomed. Being a native of Puerto Rico we know what good beach are: Flamenco in Culebra – Luquillo & Palomino in the east coast or Jobos and Domes beach in the northwest of Puerto Rico there are so many great beaches that we are spoiled in our beautiful island. Now going back to Thailand and specific to Phuket… what an awesome beach destination with so many things to do, here I will only will share a fraction of the things to do.

The first thing you need to know is that Phuket is the biggest Island of Thailand, is the second smallest province, close in size to Singapore. Today it looks like tourism is the biggest source of income, it is 550 miles of Bangkok with a great airport that welcomes local and international flights everyday of the year. The location close to the equator makes its climate tropical with good hot weather all year long.

Majority of the people are Buddhist (60%+), with Muslim (25%+) making the 2 biggest groups. Is very common to find Buddhist monks walking through the streets, also in the airport there is a special lounge for them. We went to a couple of places of interest where we got to learn a little of their religion and beliefs; for me this is one of the biggest plus of traveling and is learning new things and expand your knowledge by learning and experiencing close and personal the different cultures. Is so great that we have differences and that we can make positive impact from many different ways.

We had the opportunity in this short trip to visit some of the best attractions Phuket has to offer, also very good places to eat in different price range. Our stay was short just 3 nights, you will need at least a full week to explore the majority of things Phuket has to offer from my observation of all Phuket has to offer. Let me share some of the highlights of our trip.

Since Phuket is an island, definitely a tour to explore the open sea is required and enjoy some of the most awesome sights you can get at sea. We found a tour by Amazing Canoeing in trip advisor “Phang Nga Bay Sea Cave Canoeing & James Bond Island w/ Buffet Lunch by Big Boat “, great communication with them and 100% truly recommended. It was a fun and exciting day with a great bunch of people and the employees were top: special thanks to Tony the big Chief, Noon on the Cannoe, an Miss Kong for the Amazing food.

The many small Islands are impressive, just passing through them is a spectacle with their size and unique shapes. We made a couple of stops to do some canoeing and get a bit more closer to truly see their beauty, as part of the trip we were inside a cave where you see hundreds of bats. Another stop was at James Bond Island (Khao Phing Kan), here you stop at 2 small islands very close together, where you can see a lime stone rock iconic in a couple of James Bond movies. The cool story from locals is that this rock was formed when a Fisherman pissed for not getting fish dropped a nail and it become Ko Ta Pu, the place is truly awesome and very well kept from local authorities. It is a very long day, but the different activities makes it cool.

We also did a tour around the big island of Phuket to see a bit more of the cool spots and learn a little bit on the history of the place. For this tour we also looked at trip advisor and found a good one, here is the description ” Phuket Instagram Tour: The Most Famous Spots (Private & All-Inclusive)”. This one was also a very thought tour with great coordination, many thanks to Sheriff who was our tour guide for the day. Good knowledge of Phuket and great sense of humor, all adds to a superb day. There were many stops in our tour some of the most memorable were: Big Buddha overlooking the city, Chalong Temple where we learn about Buddhism, Karon View Point a place high in the mountain with an awesome views of some of the beaches, Old Town Phuket, and a local restaurant to have real local food.

This tour was more than 8 hours, but when the guide is a great storyteller time flies and this was the case for us and if you add the great sights and long history of Thailand is like going back in time and understand how this country and specifically Phuket is a place where you can find balance between nature and the people. As we are getting out of COVID, will be important that this balance continues and proper planning is done to keep the places in good condition for generations to come.

There are many beaches where you can stay, from relax to party places, is important you study before selecting the place to stay. Because of the short time we were going to be in Phuket, we decided to stay in Patong Beach; it is the most busy part of the island but the hotel we choose Four Points Sheraton was excellent to rest in the night and centrally located in Patong.

One night we decided to do some fine dining and some bar hoping at Patong Beach where you have a very long street with many bars, discos, restaurants. Food at the Baan Rim Pa was very well done, I recommend the place for a good dinner in front of the beach. Patong Brach street is a 10 minute drive in a taxi, go for some drinks is a cool and different place with huge crowds. Patong beach at night can be a bit hectic but there is order in the disorder you see. People in Phuket are focus on maintain the place safe so tourist give great review and recommendations ad get more people to visit. All the people we met were great, with a good attitude and service oriented.

The sights in Phuket are impressive, you need at least 5 or 6 days to see most of the great locations it has to offer. Thanks for reading the post, please share it and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, or Facebook look for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD. Until next time….

Dubai Marina: Impressive promenade, close to JBR beach with many restaurants and activities for all ages

30 minutes from the airport on Sheikh Zayed road you will arrive to Dubai Marina, one of the top communities in the UAE, established in 2003 is considered one of the biggest man made marina in the world (If you ask here they will tell you is the biggest). For the developers to make it real, they excavated and brought the Persian Gulf waters into the development creating a 3KM long canal.

A great urban space with activities for everyone

There are 2 big areas that are part of of the community, one is Dubai Marina with many buildings across the canal and the other is JBR (Jumeirah Beach Residence) which is in front of the JBR beach. The JBR project is massive with more than 30+ buildings, that include hotels and apartments with many retail outlets. JBR is the largest single phase residential development in the world (another Guinness record for the UAE), the project looks impressive when looking it from the sea.

Great Skyline of the Dubai Marina from the different points in the Promenade

There are hundreds of boats that go in and out every day, from daily excursions, big yachts rentals, and private boats that are anchored on the marina. Just sitting in one of the many restaurants and look into the canal and see the boat movement can make for a relax experience. You can rent from a couple of hours to full days and get to explore a different view of Dubai from the sea.

One of the secrets to view Dubai Marina is the RTA public transportation boat you can board, at 4:30PM every day the boat leaves from a station near the Dubai Marina Mall it goes through the canal and to open sea, making it way back when it reaches the hotel Atlantis, the trip is one hour long and provide great views of the many attractions in the area. The price is around $30 Dirhams ($8 USD)

Dubai Marina connects with JBR beach, this adds tons of additional things to do and enjoy

If you like to run the Marina promenade give you the opportunity to run around the marina, with great views of the buildings, boats and tourists. The route is around 6KM so you can do some work before going to one of the many restaurants and then to the beach. The views are simply spectacular, the massive buildings and the canal waters makes it for great views something very difficult to find elsewhere.

Great place to catch a run or simply walk to relax after a hectic day

There are restaurants for every taste from the classic fast foods, to local cuisine or international restaurants; many of them have tables outside and when the weather is good makes it for a spectacular gathering. One of my favorite places is Pier 7, this locale has 7 different restaurant where you can go to eat, drink and have fun with great views of the marina.

Walking distance from the JBR beach is a new development called Bluewaters also a place with many entertainment options and also restaurants, here you can find Ain Dubai the tallest and biggest observation wheel, another record set in Dubai. Is a great place to get a good view on the Dubai Marina skyline

Ain Dubai and Bluwaters at the top of the photo

If you are in Dubai do not miss it, take at least one full day to enjoy it. For sure I will be writing again about this great place, if you just read the post please forward to a friend and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, or Facebook look for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD. Until next time….

JBR beach and Jumeirah public beach… great places to cooldown in Dubai

Being from Puerto Rico, a beach day was something very regular… As a children you would go with your parents to Isla Verde or Luquillo, these beaches are very close to San Juan. In long weekends go an stay in small hotels at one of the many great beaches that Puerto Rico offer like Flamenco located in Culebra (one of the best beaches in the world) or to the west and stay in Isabela or Rincon and visit one of the many great beaches Puerto Rico has to offer there. So we can certainly appreciate a good beach when we see it.

Dubai Marina is an impressive place, all this buildings are walking distance to the beach

After arriving in Dubai and being in awe from the great architecture, I decided to adventure and get to know some of the beaches Dubai has to offer. There are many across the Dubai coastline, many with easy access and parking making them easy to reach and enjoy. Not only does the beaches are easy to get, but also there are many amenities close to them; you will find retail stores, restaurants, rental of aquatic sports, chairs and umbrellas.

JBR Beach – Awesome Beach… Ain Dubai Ferris Wheel… Dubai Marina buildings

Beaches are well kept, clean and with great signage so you know where to find the different amenities. Rental of Umbrella and Chairs is expensive, but somewhat necessary if you want to enjoy the day. I saw people bringing their own chair and umbrella so you have that option also. You cannot bring alcoholic beverages, but can buy water and soft drinks and have them at the beach.

Jumeirah Public Beach… Great view of the city on the background

My arrival to Dubai was in August where the temperature during the day is extremely hot, so you will see people go very early in the morning or in the afternoon to protect themselves from the sun. Talking with locals they tell me that in October the weather changes and it gets more comfortable, I am really waiting for that weather to get here!!!!

LA MER is a open shopping place with restaurants and retail in Jumeirah Beach

One cool thing about these beaches is that once the sun comes down, there is another dimension to the place. Many restaurants come to life, people arrive for the evening session if you will… you see a transformation with many lights from the restaurants turning on and providing a different perspective on the beaches.

The Beach – Retail offer in the JBR area… Had a great lunch in Operation Falafel restaurant

Will continue the updates from Dubai as I explore more places and their culture here in Dubai. For now if you just read my post, forward to a friend and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, or Facebook look for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD . Until next time….

DUBAI first impressions… Waoooo

After the long journey from Mexico to Dubai and a good rest to adapt the new time zone (9 hrs ahead of Queretaro), had an initial walk around my new surroundings just to venture a little and get a first glimpse on one of the most visited cities of the world.

UAE Flag… Tons of flags are flying around the city

Dubai is the most populous city of the Emirate of Dubai with a population of around 3.3 million. The city has seen exponential growth in the since late 90´s, and now boast some outstanding records: biggest Shopping Mall (Dubai Mall), Tallest building Burj Khalifa, deepest pool (Deep Dive Dubai) and others that we will talk in other posts.

Inside the Dubai Mall… Huge Fountain.. One of the many shows inside Shopping Malls

In addition to have many Guinness records, Dubai is home to people from more than 200 nationalities. 85% of the people are expatriates and while Arabic is the official language you see people talking in the streets many other languages including English. If you speak English, you can feel comfortable on the street as many people talk it as second language.

English Football is closely followed here, LFC store inside Dubai Mall #YNWA

The views of the city are amazing and with many constructions happening it will only get better, as you move through the city more buildings surface and the different areas of the city. I just only have ventured to a couple of places but there is a lot to see and enjoy during my time here.

Beaches are spectacular… Here Marina Beach… Where you find biggest Ferris Wheel of the world

One of the things that have impressed me is the height of the Burj Khalifa, the closer you get the more imposing it is. It seems unreal the height achieved; with 830 meters It is almost 200 meters higher than the previous record holder. Close to the Dubai Mall that also is impressive in size and shopping options (more details in another post).

Also have explore a couple of beaches around Dubai: Jumeirah Beach and Marina Beach. Both places also look great with a good amount of space to relax and enjoy a Beach day, if you can manage the August weather. I now know that August is one of the most hottest months and will improve as the year goes along ( wohoooo!!!), currently being outside id tough specially during the day, that is why you see people enjoying the city more after 6PM.

Jumeirah Beach… another great place close to the big buildings

Will continue updating from time to time as I explore more in-depth the culture and life here in Dubai. For now if you just read my post, please forward to your friends and sign in to receive our updates; also follow us on Instagram, or Facebook look for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD . Until next time….

Zihuatanejo… great beach town with a strong local vibe!!!

For the 2nd year in a row we decided to spend the last week of the year in a Mexican beach town, this year the reason was very different since the COVID affected our plans to see family in Puerto Rico. Zihua as the locals call it is located around 6hrs drive from Queretaro on the State of Guerrero a very fertile land located in the Pacific Coast. Very close is the more known Ixtapa also on Guerrero, is more focused on big resorts and you will have a less local experience.

We got a reservation via Airbnb for an apartment located within walking distance of the town center and with a great view of the Bay, the view was as great as advertised and the people living in the building were great, between locals and retired persons the building has great character. During the stay we had an issue with our beloved dog “Tina”, the people from the building and local veterinary were marvelous in supporting us during the incident. One more proof that the good ones are more everywhere we are. She is doing very well if you want to know!!!

The center of Zihua still looks very simple, kept very clean and you have tourist and locals in the restaurants, stores and pier all day long. There you can have some fresh seafood, buy your ticket to Playa Las Gata or talk with local fishermen to buy fresh fish to make at your apartment. One morning we had a great breakfast in Cafe Galerias the “huevos rancheros” very tasteful with a little bit of spice to get to a great start, we also tried “La Sirena Gorda” for lunch during our stay the Adobado fish very tasteful and the ceviche fresh. Definitely the Zihua center has alternative for the family with many alternatives to eat.

The standout of food in this trip for us was Letty´s restaurant it is very close to the town center, their specialty Coconut Shrimps. Their food was so great we went there multiple times to eat, a great thing of going to small towns is the closeness of service from the owners, Letty is a great woman with many years of experience in the kitchen, her cooking secrets are comparable to big international chefs. We were no fan of octopus but the way she prepares it makes it a gem. As many restaurants from around the world they are suffering from the slowdown in business, i hope that next time we are there we will have the great Coconut Shrimps.

If you go to Zihua it means you are going to the beach and here you will find a good number of them, we went only to a couple of them but they have similar experience: fun, great food, beers, sun and nice water. You get to the beaches in different transportation modes from walking, by car or public transportation to a small boat. The important thing is that you plan for the day since there are many activities to do and lots of places to eat, drink and be merry. I will share some insight from 2 beaches that for us were great

Las Gatas beach is located in front of the pier in ZIhua, to get there you need to take a small boat (cost $80 pesos both ways / $4USD). If you want to take a good place you need to arrive around 10:30AM and will guarantee some lounge chairs in front of the beach. Once you arrive you have many restaurants to choose from, we went to Otilia´s and the experience was good. Here the service was 5 star from a guy named Franco , the attention to detail was phenomenal and that made the day great. From heavy surge there are lot´s of rocks in the sand so you should bring shoes to be in the water

La Ropa beach is also in Zihua, this beach is bigger in size compared to Las Gatas. You can arrive by car or walking (30 minute walk from our place), here also you have multiple restaurant you can choose from and we went to La Perla, here the food was very good and the service from Jesus also phenomenal, they really made our days even better. In La Ropa you have many choices of water activities, you can get close to them and negotiate good prices from a Jet Ski to be launched in a Parachute to appreciate the bay. We feel pretty secure there, following common rules of security.

At night you can go to the many restaurants to eat and have a drink or if you have a great view get some food and have dinner by the moon. For us it was a full day of action and at night #chillax at the apartment.

As we close 2020, we hope that 2021 is a year were we can get to explore more, for me life is measured in the experiences you have and share, we still need to know lot´s of places in Mexico and I know 2021 will be a good year to continue our journey

As you know the idea of the blog is to share a little bit of how we see Mexico, and the great places and people they have. If you just read it forward to your friends and sign in to receive our updates about how you can enjoy Mexico as much as we have done. Follow us on instagram, or facebook look for #BORICUASLIVINGABROAD . Until next time….

On the Mexican Pacific coast there is a great little gem called: San Pancho, Nayarit

For our winter holiday we decided to drive from Queretaro to the Pacific coast and have a couple of days relaxing in some beach towns across the Mexican Riviera. The drive is an easy 8-9 hours route via some good toll roads (two lanes each way), maybe the last 90 minutes is the toughest part were you cross some mountains in a 2 lanes (one each way) road.

Great roads from Queretaro to Vallarta & Roads in the beach towns with plenty stores, 5mph

We set up base in Nuevo Vallarta in the state of Nayarit from here there are many beaches within one hour drive including San Pancho or San Francisco (official name). Let me tell you, once you get to this beaches time slow down, people are relaxed so just chill and enjoy the views, the food and the people.

Lots of small restaurants and shops, really get to know the people

San Pancho is a small town founded on 1936 with less than 3,000 people, small streets with many small restaurants and hotels that finish at the Beach where you will find more restaurants and hotels all providing services to people gathering in front of the beach. The beach is a great place for learning how to surf, waves are not that high but enough to challenge new comers and give a platform to showcase skills of more experiences surfers. If you only want to take bath on the beach, there are some areas were waves are not that high and you can enjoy also the water.

Great beach , plenty of space to get a good seat

If you get early there re great places on the the beach to sit and enjoy a fun and relaxing day. There are beach lounges from restaurants that are free of charge when you eat and drink from their place. We tried some ceviche and fish fillet and was exquisite, fresh and very tasty, obviously accompanied with a Pacifico beer.

Many great places to get tasty food, from Grilled Meat to Fresh Ceviche

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HOLBOX a hidden gem in Mexico… Great place to relax and enjoy life

If you ask people outside of Mexico for beach places, you will definitely receive answers like Cancun, Los Cabos, or Acapulco but somewhere in the Yucatan Peninsula there is a small island still not heavily touristed but rapidly getting noticed by foreigners specially Europeans. You have two ways to get there: by ferry from Chiquila (2 hours from Cancun) or by plane into a landing strip that fits small planes like a 13 seater Cessna. You will not see cars in HOLBOX if you want to move there are plenty Golf Carts used as taxi or just walk, this is one of the cool things and get you immediately connected to island life.

Holbox Sign right in the water, see the white sand and clear water

There are plenty small hotels or airbnb available for short and extended stays, my recommendation if you want to fully enjoy the place and disconnect from the rest of the world you can do 4-5 nights were you can mix outdoor activities with relaxing beach days and during the night go into the town center to eat in many of the restaurants or get someone to cook you dinner and eat by the stars in your terrace looking to the beach!!! One thing you will need to try during your stay and is the Lobster Pizza, signature dish of Holbox. We went to a place called ROOTS were you will find a great pizza but also live music, setting the stage for a great dinner night.

Day life in HOLBOX moves at island time, just relax and enjoy a beach day in front of the water and hear waves crashing into the white sand or take one of the many tours they offer in the island from Whale Shark sight seeing to a bicycle ride . I personally took a tour that went to Bird Island, Passion Island and Yalahau Lagoon all 3 places are unique with great views and things to do like jumping into a water hole, eat fresh fish or walk through the sand. One great thing about the island is how easy you can move thru the island, rent a bike and you can move basically to every corner: get a beer, eat a pizza, take a splash in one of the many beaches.

During the night you can find great nightlife all around the island, from bars and restaurant with live music to places were you can watch the latest soccer or football game. I am a football fan and was able to catch the game of my team the Chicago Bears on a Thursday during thanks giving weekend, great place called “La Chingada”. The people that work and live there are great and they will do whatever they have at their disposal to help you and have a great time.

Rustic Places, but the food and the ambiance great!!!

Holbox is unique, their one of a kind infrastructure and their welcome people makes it one of the best place to enjoy Mexico.

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Winter is coming… Life is a beach in Mexico!!!

It is clear that when people says Mexico the images of tacos, fiesta, and traffic comes into their mind. Mexico vast coast give life to some of the most beautiful and cool beaches in the world, with more than 5,500 miles of beaches you will definetly find great places to surf, eat and chillax.

We come from Puerto Rico, a place that has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world for pleasure (Flamenco in Culebra) and surfing (Jobos en Isabela), so we now a great beach when we see it . Maybe another time I will write a post about the beauties of our island but for now the blog is focus on the great things Mexico has to offer.

Culebra used to be an Army practice area (Can you imagine!!!) / Flamenco Beach / Kite Surfing in Isabela

During our time here in Mexico we have been given the opportunity to know beaches across the 2 oceans both the Pacific and Atlantic, also the selection of places includes small towns like Holbox and big tourist destinations like Cancun. There are endless things to do for all budgets and great food like seafood tostadas or lobster pizza.

Lobster Pizza Place in Holbox / Fried Fish, from sea to the table in 30 minutes!!!

In future posts I will get into specifics on the different places we have been and what in our opinion you should do while on a Mexico beach. One thing is important for you to know, Mexico beaches are quite spectacular and you can choose among many alternatives to enjoy good days in hot weather and wonderful margaritas. So go ahead and this winter plan a vacation in one of Mexico beaches, I know we will!!!!

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