Peaceful Paradise Hideaway

Finally, I've put together a photo story so you can see the entire house here in Buenavista.  It is so peaceful and heavenly here.  Peace and quiet. No traffic noise, rarely a car passes by our lagoon road, and it is fun to just watch the water and sky.  The stars! It seems you can see all of them.  

This place brings to my mind a lot of memories of oher places I've been. The cove reminds me of the place we anchored for a month on our transpacific sail trip - in Niuatoputapu Island.  The reeds close to shore make me think I am on the Nile, and I expect to see a baby in a basket floating toward me at any time.  The entire place, village and all, takes me back to the Mexico I fell in love with- undeveloped raw beauty and nature. A night heron loves to perch on the dock or the seawall searching for food. When he sings, is he singing for his food?  The hummingbirds drink of the hibiscus flowers every day, that reminds me of the BVI.  Having a lawn- it's been a while. Hawaii was lava rock, Merida was cement.  Even if I had to wait a lifetime to find this piece of paradise, it was worth the wait.  Have a look. 

The yard and lagoon side of the house.  The yard is nicely maintained, and the sidewalks lead to the Lady of Guadalupe sculpture and altar, the trees with orchids, and the palapa and dock. The house is wheelchair accessible outside and inside.

The road to the shore palapa and dock.

The shore palapa and the dock with palapa, and of course stairs to enter the crystal clear water. 

A view of the cove to the west of the dock, which is similar to the view to the east of the dock. 

A photo from the kayak.

The sunrise. 

The spare bedroom with private bath.

 Front entrance with handy ramp.

Lagoon side patio.

Same lagoon side patio.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Protector in the corner of the property.

Master bedroom.

Kitchen view towar living room area -- the door at the back is the master bedroom.

Dining Room.

 Picture from master bedroom of living room, kitchen and dining room.

Laundry Room.

My Little Paradise- Buenavista on Bacalar Lagoon

It took a lot of time, and a lot of help from my friends, to make this happen.  This is the dock. It is the view from the house, it is the natural swimming pool.  It's my aquarium. It's my paradise. It took me forever to write this blog, because it took forever to close on the Merida house, thus taking forever to close on this house, and it was last July 1, 2014, mon anniversaire, of all days, when the papers were finally signed and this became mine. Then 

I didn't want to write about it until the paperwork was all done. What's more, the paperwork was a big stress mess on both the selling and buying ends and I wasn't fit to write. However I was able to enjoy time in the lagoon, and really enjoy the comforts of this house. 

Buenavista is a strange little village. It has a few little tiendas, where you can get most of the supplies you need, including limited vegetables and fresh chicken or pork.  There are fresh eggs a few doors down from a lady named Alejandra. Of course beer is available, but only a couple guests we've had have taken advantage of that amenity. There is a tortilleria, there are craftsmen who build or fix about anything.  I've found even more little stores tucked in here and there.  One man processes the best honey and bee products. The town doesn't have a defined center, so when there is an activity, event, or announcement, there is a truck with a megaphone that drives around the town announcing events and such.  We're down on the waterfront so we don't hear the announcements. The coconut wireless works to make sure we know what is happening in the village so we are not totally out of touch. There is a basketball court and a soccer field. The main tienda has internet and most of the kids are there with their cel phones what's app-ing or playing games after school.  For such a Mayan village it seems to lack a certain amount of the Mayan culture one would expect. Of course I am mostly stuck on the computer down on the waterfront working - so maybe a lot more goes on than I know. It is a peaceful little town tho, very family oriented. The people are friendly but shy. I only have one neighbor. She is from the Netherlands and lives alone. On the other side of the house is an open field owned by most of the village- so the sheep graze there, people come down on holidays and camp out for the day using the lagoon.  A little farther is a balneario, or beach club, that I've not been to either. They play music on weekend nights.They also have a restaurant and bar open most days.

We have a few friends. Jose, the caretaker for the house a few lots down- former governor's mansion- spends time with us. He also maintains our plants and yard and helps with little problems that may come up.  This is pretty much 'off the grid'.   He has been a great help to us. We have gotten to know the few foreigners who live in Buenavista as well as quite a few of the local residents.  They are hard working, fun loving, real people.  

This patio is perfect and my favorite area inside the house. And to be on the water, even on a hot day- there is often a breeze- sometimes a gale- and it is cool on the patio, all screened in and bug free, looking out over the turquoise and blue water. I love being on the water.

It is a bit isolated here, which means it is very peaceful and quiet. It relaxes you and allows you to forget about what a mess much of the world is in.  We swim, kayak, snorkel as well as watch ducks and turtles and lots of wild birds, butterflies, dragonflies, the water is mesmerizing in that regard. 

This is indeed my dream house. And it took a lifetime to find it. There are day when it reminds me of several places I have been.  The cove we are in, with a view across the lagoon reminds me of an anchorage in Niuatoputapu, Tonga, from our sail trip across the Pacific back in 1990.  There is a sculpture of Our Lady of Guadalupe that reminds me of my cousin's house- she had an altar to Mary as well.  This is a unique place. Considering that my work causes me to read way too much news - when I finish I can forget all about it and just appreciate the natural beauty that surrounds us. 

Come visit some time. It's not that hard to get to. You can fly to Cancun and bus down 4-5 hours or fly through Mexico City and connect on Interjet to Chetumal.  We are less than an hour north of Chetumal. 

Still loving that life in the tropics, and have found my personal paradise.