Gold and Spice Souk in Dubai… Is not the new Dubai, but is a must see attraction!!!

Once you arrive to Dubai, all the new buildings and new attractions capture your attention and forgot that the city started hundreds of years ago as a trading post for precious metals, pearl industry and fishing village. Not far from the new Dubai you will find this markets or Souks the way they are called here.

The Gold and Spice Souks are located in Deira, Dubai; can be said on the Old Dubai. Deira is the commercial part of Dubai but has lost focus due to the accelerated growth of Dubai other commercial places. In Deira you will find the Dubai Creek a natural waterway, where you will found many small boats (Abra boats) moving from one point of the city to another point of the city by paying $1 or $2 AED. The markets are more than 100 years old with gaining relevance with the oil boom of the 70’s.

Once you get to the Souks, walking them are easy and secure. As many places in Dubai they are well kept and with good signage to facilitate walking from point A to point B. As you enter the Gold Souk you are greeted with the biggest gold ring in the world (another record for Dubai!!!), weighting at more than 140+ pounds is huge, it can be the ring for King Kong. As many records they announce you will see the Guinness certificate.

Yes is a GOLD ring and below ou see the Guinness certificate

Along the hallway you see the different shops showcasing their work, all things gold… Gold Clothing, hundreds of necklaces, chains, rings, bracelets, everything you can imagine is there in gold. Different Karats and colors can be found, also Silver is widely available with many products being offered. It is a great place for a nice stroll just looking and stopping to see the level of detail in some of the pieces. We did enter to a couple of stores and never felt being hassled to buy something, obviously they will try and show you their work and get you interested but in a relaxed manner.

Some example of the gold pieces you can find

Not far from the Gold Souk you will find the Spice souk, also with good spaces you will have a colorful and aromatic journey from the different spices you can buy there. The displays looks wonderful and inside the stores you also can see other variety of products. The cool thing here is you can see the product very close before you buy and discuss with the shopkeeper on the different spices and their history.

Walking the Spice souk gives you a sense of traveling back in time, when no supermarkets were available and went to the markets to buy what you needed for the day, there’s no doubt that the level of intimacy on the service is the best compared to the big box stores that exist today in Dubai.

As the year start I will continue the updates from Dubai and sharing more insight on this great place, also will include some post around neighboring emirates. 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….

On the path to “normal” … Change of Scenery, Day 1 at Dubai

This pandemic has changed a lot the way we work, vacation, or how we do daily life. When I started writing the blog the idea was to on a monthly basis share some experiences of the many great things Mexico has to offer to the people, it changed drastically since March 2020 when COVID took the world by storm.

Trip back to Puerto Rico after more than 2 years, before I go to Dubai!!!

Vaccination is underway but still we have very low levels of vaccinated people in places where the availability is high and even lower in places where is limited supply. If we want to be back to “normal” and enjoy our life and travel, this need to be priority number one…. So, go now and get vaccinated. We already did.

Happy to get vaccinated… easy and safe… Thanks CVS

Getting back to 2021. Change has come in other forms, after close to 10 years of working for Latin America now I have taken a Global role in the company. This is a great opportunity to continue learning around new cultures and places, you cannot imagine the great people we have across the world. With the new role, a new opportunity of collaborating from a different part of the world has arrived…. Will be working on a special assignment for 6 months based out of UAE in Dubai!!!!

Very excited to not only get to work in the AMEA region, but also to get a first person view of what this great place looks. If you have seen images, it looks unreal…. Biggest building, deepest pool, longest …., etc. etc.

Great Exprience traveling in the Q-Suite from Qatar Airways

I am sharing some of the first pics since my arrival to Dubai, very impressive initial sights. Will continue sharing some insights as I settled and my assignment permits.

As you know the idea of the blog is to share a little bit of how we see Mexico, but now will be shifting to Dubai as I will live for 6 months there. I know you will still enjoy. If you just read it forward to your friends and sign in to receive our updates about how Dubai looks and can be enjoyed. 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….

Weekend getaway at the Live Aqua San Miguel de Allende (with proper social distancing )…

For the past 4 months we have followed recommendations and stayed at our home; e-commerce has taken a large part of our shopping and our weekend have been about exploring mexican cuisine and grilling at our homes from the many instructional video on the internet.

As time has passed the different governments around the world have taken steps to activate their economies, in many places if you don’t work you do not collect any income. Here in Mexico unemployment benefits are non- existent, so people need to have economic activity to bring money to their homes. In late July the city of San Miguel de Allende let businesses start opening with limited capacity for restaurants, hotels and retail shopping; with this signal they started receiving tourist at 40% capacity.

Great surroundings around the hotel, cold beer. City Center very relaxed

We live 1 hour from San Miguel de Allende, and have read about these new urban resort Live Aqua San Miguel de Allende, a great idea of putting a modern hotel that fits the colonial style of San Miguel de Allende. From what we understand it has become one of the top hotels in the area since the opening.

Entrance start showing reference to SMA architecture, but also modern trims

After doing some research we book a suite for the weekend (Jul 24-27) looking to have a relaxed weekend and have some amenities like in room pool, good food (that we did not had to cook ourselves) and a change of scenery of the past 4 months. After the reservations was done we received an email confirmation with the details of our stay and that some areas of the hotel were not open due to the contingency. The communication was a good first impression, being front and center of what we should expect, I also took the opportunity and ask them for a early check in or private room to finish a business call the day of arrival facilitating us our arrival before lunch.

Our first suite also spectacular!!! Bar, foosball, pool

We left our home early friday (10AM) and at the entrance of the city there were police officers asking people to show a hotel reservation so you get access (good idea) and taking your temperature as a precaution, with that and after arriving to the hotel we were shown to a room so I can finish my call and started the weekend getaway.

Police Filter… Great way to control people entering San Miguel de Allende.. No ticket No laundry

After the call, the check in was a breeze. Our room the Adam Suite was spectacular with our own private pool, bar and 2 big tv´s 80″ and 55″ that were perfect to see the MLB oppening weekend. We asked for room service and ordered a Club Sandwich ( I taste one in every hotel visited), let me tell you one of the top 3 club sandwiches that I have tasted and taking creativity the #1 (Pork belly, Sun Dried Tomato, Egg salad) definetly somoething to try at the hotel. Later in the night we went walking around the town, we have been there many times, obviously the vibe was different as many places are still closed, still was cool walking around the city square.

On saturday at 5PM, our room started having electrical problems and we thought was a signal of a short weekend getaway. We called the front desk, explained the situation and quickly presented us with an alternative of moving to another room to complete our sleep and on the morning see if the problem could be fixed or another solution was needed. There was a good signal the way they accommodate us looking for our security and convenience, there can be problems of these nature the important thing is how they bring solution

San Miguel at night or day… great place to walk and enjoy

On saturday morning they told us to have breakfast, while they were working with the situation. Food at breakfast was also very good: huevos rancheros nicely done and some great green and red salsa, Chilaquiles in green sauce also very delicious and some “Jugo Verde” a mixed of fruits and veggies to start the day full of energy. At the end of the breakfast they told us that was complementary for the issues we had during the night and that a solution to our room situation was ready at the front desk (Great focus on service and not letting you down on the weekend).

We went to the front desk and they told us our room and the whole block had technical issues, but they wanted us to stay and complete our weekend so they offered us the Luna Suite ( Presidential Suite) to compensate for the issue the first night!!!! So they help us move our things and went to the Suite, the room with some great details like Karaoke, Private deck and Pool looking to the main pool area, big family and dinner area. We did not planned these but the opportunity was exceptional.

Great day to rest in our private pool and sunbathing, we continued trying their food from their Zibu Allende restaurant: Paiko de Res /Short Rib tacos / Rib Eye Tacos, all the food excellent taste and quality. The way they prepare and present their food it’s phenomenal so if you want just relax and do not move far, their restaurants are top alternatives

At saturday night and sunday afternoon we venture in the town and tried a couple of local restaurants CASSA NOSTRA & LA PARADA, good french & peruvian places. One (Cassa Nostra) with a great owner who takes time in explaining his food and how they do it, also takes every precautions as they manage thru the contingency, the other one (La Parada) we have been going since we first arrived on 2015, their taste and consistency makes them a good choice in SMA (Also the Pissco Sour)

Enjoying our day, while social distancing from others!!!

In summary the weekend was a great time for us to share good quality time and forget a little bit of how the world has changed due to the contingency, also to be thankful that I have been able to continue working supporting our business and delivering food to stores in the Mexican market.

San Miguel de Allende looks a little bit like Old san Juan

I know that better times are just around the corner, we need to have some patience and continue take the precautions as individuals, but also when you go out there and connect with people that love their jobs like Esteffany (Great Host) / Amor (Banquets) / Eden ( Best Waiter) / Alejandro ( Guest Seervices) and take the extra mile to deliver a great experience you know that the world has talent that can deliver to any situation. We thank you for making it better for us, we are now #aqualover

Some great food… Our place for the weekend!!!

The Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve, great place to connect with nature…

Just 3 1/2 hours from Queretaro you can go and explore a great natural reserve with beautiful mountains, rivers with cristaline water and small towns were you will feel welcome as soon as you step in. We have been a couple of times to the Sierra and I can tell you that we finish the weekend with the desire to come back again.

You will need at least 3 nights to enjoy a visit to the Sierra, there are great outdoors activities during the day or night, a good combination of OFF Road rides with ATV rides or RZR and remarkable sightseeing of forests, rivers, and waterfalls. A good day trip is at least 6-8 hours with a couple of stops to relax and enjoys the gorgeous views the Sierra Madre has to offer.

These last trip we had the opportunity to enjoy the trip with 3 additional families, it added to the experience since there was a good mix of experience people and others that the sights were all new to them. It is important that you have a good portion of the schedule planned before you go, it will facilitate mobilizing the group and prepare a budget for the trip. You will find good 3 stars hotels at great prizes with good location and good laid back service, similar to the island living time pass at different speed here in the mountain also …. relax and enjoy.

There are many tour operators that will offer you different alternative to explore the Sierra, some of the highlights are: Cascada Chuveje, Puente de Dios, Puerta al Cielo, Franciscan Missions from the 18th century or the Edward James gardens just to mention some of the best places. We used the Aventurate MX tour operators, their service and knowledge of the are were incredible. I would like to share a special thanks to Osiris and Marcelo they really make a difference in our weekend trip, you can find them in facebook by Aventurate Sierra Gorda.

Words cannot describe the views of the Sierra, I hope that the pictures shared help better explain why you need to go there and explore. One last important thing that you need for the trip is to share it with great friends, I would like to thank Juan Manuel Coronel and the great Gaby Coronel for the invitation, we have been blessed to found friends in Mexico that have become family.

Great group, people that make you feel like family!!!!

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Monterrey… More than Carne Asada, a great place to go eat, see, and enjoy a game of “beisbol”

One great thing about living in Mexico is the opportunity to explore the vast geographic extension of this country. On November 20 they celebrate the Mexican revolution, so we have a great excuse to go out on the long weekend and have a family road trip. A seven hour drive north will put us in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon or how some “Regiomontanos” call it “Tierra Santa”.

Having Fun in Monterrey / Huge City – 4 million people living there

Monterrey founded in 1596 is currently the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Mexico with more than 4 million persons living there, it has a unique topography with huge mountains surrounding it. With this size of population you can find almost everything a big city has to offer: Live Events, Sports, Great Restaurants, many tourist attractions. Definitely one weekend is not enough to know every place but I guarantee you we did visit some of the best places to have a great weekend.

Mexican History Museum to the left / Chair Hill in the background, huge mountain

We stayed close to the Macro Plaza one of the top 10 biggest town squares in the world, it is a great place for a morning walk with the large spaces, also you can find places to have breakfast and eat morning tacos “tacos mañaneros”. We had them in a place called “Tacos Leal”, it was definitely a great find (Thanks to an uber driver) and a great way to begin our day.

Macro Plaza covering multiple city blocks

ONe of the great findings of the weekend – Tacos Leal with the selection of stews ( Pork / Beef / Chicken)

Around the Macro Plaza you will find many government buildings and museums, we went to the Mexican History Museum were they have a very nice exhibit of Mexican history with a focus on the north of Mexico. From there they have a man made riverwalk were you can go to another gem of Monterrey: “Parque Fundidora”. The park is located were the old Fundidora de Acero Monterrey was located, it is huge with many outdoor activities like riding a bicycle, skateboarding or you can do some zip line in the old steel mill. People from all ages gather here to have fun and reduce stress, we finished the afternoon having a beer in a restaurant on the top of the steel mill. Great way to end the day!!!

Then next day after some shopping we went to the “Cerro del Obispado” from this hill you get a 360 degree view of Monterrey and on a clear day fantastic views of the many mountains surrounding the city, there is a showcase of the different variations of the Mexican flag until the current one. There is a great view of the “Cerro de la Silla” the mountain top of the hill seem to be a horse chair.

I love sports and as you know from one of my post also wrestling, so if there is a chance to see some live sport event we are there. Monterrey has professional teams in every major, there are 2 huge immensely popular soccer teams: Tigres and Rayados (more on soccer on another post). Monterrey has a professional baseball team celebrating 80 years of existence the “Sultanes” and on 2019 they began participating in the Mexican Pacific League, they were playing the “Tomateros” from Culiacan, Sinaloa one of the top teams in Mexico. The stadium is top notch and the atmosphere even better with live banda music and continuous entertainment from the mascot, cheerleaders and entertainers. If you like baseball go, it has MLB quality.

Baseball game is a party from the beggining to the end, must see!!!

The last place we visited was “La Huasteca” were you get up close and personal with the great mountain scenery of Monterrey. We saw many mountain bikers that definitely enjoy the trails , also you find climbers and campers. If you like the outdoors is a place to know and spend time. In 2006 the Park was declared a World Nature reserve by the UNESCO.

Monterrey is definitely a must see as part of exploring Mexico, it has many great things to enjoy and the people are great I have personally get to know one of the best BBQ chef Francisco “Paco” Martinez one true “Regiomontano”, he will definitely be missed in the office …

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See some history while having a beer!!! YES you can in Queretaro @ Cerveceria Hercules

One of the most signature neighborhoods in Queretaro is called Hercules or how local people like to call it “La Hermana República de Hercules”, the place has more than 500 years of history but the highlight is a textile manufacturing facility that dates from 1838 and worked continuously until this year. In 1838 the owners brought machinery from England and opened the factory working continuously until 2019 to satisfy the local textile market, current market conditions from asia imports made it difficult to continue operating so they decided to close the factory. Maybe 30% of the space is being used for the brewery and the garden right now.

As part of the evolving changes in consumer taste and taking advantage of growing trends in beer culture the textile landmark integrated a Beer Micro Brewery called “Cerveceria Hercules” founded in 2011 and in 2016 they expanded their offering by opening “Jardin de Cerveza Hercules” , now in this historic place you can find good food, entertainment and more important great beer .

Beer gfor here and to Go / Pizza is delicious (Pepperoni )

We have seen their development during these 4 1/2 years but one thing has been a constant: their quality in everything they do. Today they offer a wide variety of in house brews that mix perfectly with a balanced menu of pizzas, sausages, and seafood options. On special occasions they expand their food offerings with some other specials. For me the pizzas and sausages are gooood and are the perfect fit for the different beer options like the MACANUDA, HURACAN or the SUPER LUPE

Their options continue growing, more than 15 different types of beer!!!!

As part of the development of the space now the garden offers live music multiple days in the week with nice variety from cuban music to electronic sounds and even when a good soccer match is on they will show it on screens, additionally you find ping pong, table games and cornhole. For us Cerveceria Hercules has been a pace to gather with friends and family to celebrate any occasion or just to have a good time

It has been fun watching Cerveceria Hercules grow, now you can find their beers in many of the restaurants around Queretaro; they invested in machinery to sell their beers in cans and have opened a store were you can buy them directly or thru the internet.

Definitely Cerveceria Hercules has been one of the great places we come to know during our stay in Mexico, it is a required visit if you come to Queretaro. Just gather some friends and taste the many alternatives the “Jardin de Cervezas Hercules” has to offer, hey and if you like them a lot by a couple of them at the store and put them in your luggage.

You can see the chimneys of the old textile factory

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