Every time I watch someone making gorditas–thick corn patties with filling in the middle–(also called tlacoyos in Morelos) I want to know how to do it. It’s mesmerizing to watch people put a filling into corn masa, pat it flat, and make a steamy meal. I especially like Tlacoyos with mashed aba (large lima beans) filling.

I got my chance to learn today when my mother-in-law taught me. We made our filling out of garbanzos (which have lots of calcium and don’t cause gas). First we soaked then cooked the garbanzos with salt, onion, and garlic in the cooking water. Then we liquefied them in the blender with as little water as possible. Finally, we simmered them until they were almost dried. We set them aside in a bowl and as they cooled they formed a thick paste.

For the first step of the masa we purchased about 3/4 of a kilo masa at the local tortillería.  My mother-in-law knows how to doctor it up so that it works well for gorditas. She added a splash of cooking oil and a dash of salt. The oil is to make the masa malleable so that it can be worked without cracking on the edges or sticking to your fingers. It also helps the gordita to get a nice crunchy exterior when it is cooked. It really takes very little oil. You don’t even notice it in there when you are working the masa. The salt is to give the masa flavor. Since the gorditas are quite thick, they taste better if very lightly salted. You don’t want them to be salty, just not plain tasting.

Luckily, my mother-in-law knows how to make gorditas, but isn’t an expert. The experts put the filling into the masa so deftly that they do it in about 2 pats and I can’t imitate them. My mother-in-law was able to show me some steps that were achievable for a beginner like me. To form the gordita you grab a mandarin orange sized amount of masa and roll it into a smooth ball. You pat it alternating your hands–you probably have to see–and hear–this to know how to do it–pat, pat, pat–until you have a disk about 1/2 cm thick. (The trick to keeping it from sticking to your hands is to keep it moving from one hand to other. If you stop to help your toddler son, for example, to keep his masa from gluing to the chair he is standing on, your masa will stick right to your palm.)

To add the filling you grab a tablespoon sized glob of paste (it can be garbanzos, refried beans, abas, or ricotta-like cheese) and flatten it into the center area of the masa. Leave about 1 cm or more around the edges untouched. Fold the edges of the masa up toward the center, covering the glob of filling. Nudge it together to try to cover the filling completely. If a small amount shows through, don’t worry. It will stay in there. Pat the whole thing out until it is about 1 cm thick all across.

Heat on a comal or hot metal pan with a minimal amount of oil. You can do with without oil, but the gorditas won’t have the same nice crunchy exterior. Turn the gorditas once or twice to keep them from burning, but allowing them to get hot all of the way through. You don’t have to worry about the masa and filling being moist in the center because they have both been pre-cooked. You actually want the gordita to be moist in the middle. They are done when they sound hollow when you tap on them.

Eat with salsa, sour cream, and shredded salty cheese on the top. You can also put finly chopped lettuce on it if you want. In Tepoztlan they are served with strips of boiled nopales on top. Mmmmmmmm.

Now that I live in Mexico my house doesn’t have any heat. During the winter months our house is actually quite cold. It gets into the 60s and even though that doesn’t sound cold to people who live up north, if you think about it, it is cold. If you sit outside in the shade on a day that is 65 you eventually start to shiver, right? Now imagine that you are acclimated to 80 to 90 degree weather. Well that’s what happens in my house! To top it off I am sitting on the cold tile floor with my little son to play and read books. The cold soaks right through our clothes and I have a worse time keeping him warm than myself.  We have to wear lots of sweaters and warm socks.

I had started to think of my house as a lonely refrigerator. Now my mother-in-law has come to stay with us for a couple of weeks and we are moving around more and chatting a lot. Now the cold house reminds me of a cabin. When I was little my parents used to take us to the mountains to ski and a couple of times we got to rent a cabin. Wearing the sweaters and socks and hats inside reminds me of those fun times. The memories connected to this makes me feel more like the holidays are coming up and it’s fun.

We took a quick trip to Michoacan this weekend. On the way there we traveled through some high mountain villages and we noticed that the road is getting quite worn out in many of these. Because the road is a narrow two-laner with no shoulder, it is kind of like doing a moving puzzle to guide your vehicle around the potholes without going outside of your allotted area of blacktop. There is a lot of breaking, swerving, and gear shifting involved in it and travel becomes exhausting.

Just moments after my husband exclaimed about how the government had to get up there and fix the road, we passed some men with shovels standing in the middle of the road. They had filled the potholes with soil from near the road and were collecting tips from drivers for the service.

This is quite illustrative of Mexico and how things often work. When something needs to be done the people who should do it often don’t, so some people who want to do it do it but it doesn’t turn out quite as well as if the people who should have done it had done it.

I just saw my first snake. When I lowered the lid of the washing machine there it was. Luckily it tried to hide by tucking its head under the weather-protection cover on the washing machine.

I just lifted the lid back up hoping it would stay there until we could figure out if it was poisonous or not.

Later, my husband did kill it because it apears just the same as the nauyaca–the most deadly snake in Mexico. Great.

Now I’m freaked out.

After watching a scary movie late into the night I was preparing some toast for a midnight snack. Suddenly, the lights went out! It was really eerie. Have you ever noticed how silent it is when the lights go out. The just, turn off. I kept reminding myself that this is normal when you live in Mexico. I lit a candle from the flame on the stove and prepared my toast in the dark. Every dog barking sounded like a shout. Did the crickets outside just stop singing? AAAAAAH!

There has been a lot of discussion on the news lately about the increase in the cost of living in Mexico. Political opinions about the topic align along party lines with those in the PAN maintaining that the cost of living has only increased something like 3% (I don’t remember the exact number), while those of the PRD maintain that realistically, that percentage is more like 40% (again, I don’t remember the exact number) this year.

They are both right, but I agree with the 40% estimate. How can they both be right? The PAN is using an official index which considers the price of certain items and services. As a news commentator explained, included in the index are things such as the cost of airfare–things that only a small fraction of Mexicans ever actually purchase. The PRD must have taken a selection of items from the list that they consider to be used on a daily basis. Food items such as bananas, onions, and avocados have increased substantially in price.

I remember that 6 years ago, when we came, we were excited to be able to purchase avocados for 12 pesos a kilo! That’s about a dollar for two pounds! Now they are 25 pesos per kilo and have recently been as high as 35 to 40 per kilo.

The truth is that many items have increased, but I just can’t remember what the prices were before in order to be able to write about it. I do know that it takes more money to get the same amount of food when we go to the market. For the regular people of Mexico this is hard. Salaries aren’t going up.

For information about the cost of living in Mexico as it relates to planning to retire in Mexico you can read my page about some of the hidden costs in Mexico as well as a description of the cost of living based on lifestyle levels.

There are people who go around neighborhoods in Cuernavaca buying scrap metal that they then resell to recyclers. One of my neighbors has a bunch of scrap out where the sidewalk would normally be in front of his house. He also has the hulking, rusting body of a classic American - made gas hog that he believes he will some day restore and drive down the highway, wind ruffling his now gray hair. Needless to say, all the scrap metal guys come down our street and shout extra loud, “!Fierro Viejo que vendan!” (”Scrap metal that you want to sell!”) 

It’s always men. The other day, a pickup truck equipped with a speaker on it came down the street. I’ve heard this one before, but this time it was a woman’s voice calling out. I was so surprised that I surprised myself.

I’ve been in Mexico so long that I’ve become accustomed to the traditional sex roles. The other day I saw a man with long hair and thought he was a woman for quite a while! Again, I surprised my own self. When I was in college I would never have believed that some day I would think that someone was a woman just because they had long hair. I had plenty of male friends with long hair at the time. I think 6 years in Mexico may be too much!

First Published
on Mexico Connect September 1, 2007

Everybody’s Happy at Morelos’s Las Huertas Adventure Paradise

By Julia Taylor

Close your eyes and imagine warm water rushing over your shoulders and massaging your back as you recline in the shade, leaning against a log. Open your eyes and you are at Las Huertas enjoying the artesian fed stream at the heart of the park. Paraiso Adventura Las Huertas (Adventure Paradise Las Huertas), located in southern Morelos along the Amacuzac River is both adventurous and relaxing. It is a relatively small park, of about 3 hectares (approximately seven and a half acres), with both man-made pools of varying depths and a cascading waterfall, with artfully enhanced natural pools.

Swimming and Lounging at Las Huertas

Just after entering Las Huertas you see the aqua-colored eye of a warm spring. The spring is surrounded by a C-shaped edge that provides places for bathers to lounge. The mouth of the “C” is a stepped waterfall where people can sit and enjoy a warm body massage. The stream continues down slope forming a series of shaded pools and falls, all perfect for exploring and lounging with friends and family.

The bottoms of the pools are sandy so it’s a good idea to bring some kind of water footwear in order to explore with gusto. The course sand is fun to scoop up in your hand and let slide out again, observing the colors and shapes.

It is easy to access much of the stream from the bank, which is bare of vegetation, and on Sundays elderly women can be seen enjoying the warm, flowing waters.  As long as you aren’t there on a weekend there are plenty of private nooks further down the falls, near where the spring joins the chocolate colored Amacuzac River where you can get a sense of solitude. As you recline in your choice location you occasionally catch a very faint hint of the smell of sulfur.

There are also a couple of places where you can lay on your back and float a short distance, gazing up at the leafy canopy. If you look closely you will see that many of the trees produce the squishy black fruit called zapote negro.

The natural pools reminded me of my childhood days of playing in the streams of the Pacific Northwest with my sister, though I appreciated that in this case the water is warm and you can stay in it for hours in the shade without getting cold. I went to Las Huertas on a Sunday, the traditional day for family outings in Mexico, so the park was packed. Everywhere I could see bathers reclining in the water, chatting with their companions.

While I appreciated the falls for their natural look, shadiness, moving water, and sense of adventure Las Huertas also has three round swimming pools of various depths and one rectangular pool, ranging from less than a foot deep, to about four feet deep which are perfect for children’s rollicking games. The rectangular pool is surrounded by palapas for those who wish to sip their ice-cold drinks and read while the kids have their fun in the sun. The pools are clean and free of mysterious little yucky things, so you can fully enjoy them. Bring your water wings, inner tubes, and beach balls to enjoy these sparkling play areas.

The Facilities at Las Huertas Adventure Paradise

Las Huertas provides picnic tables throughout the park stationed near the stream and pools so you can stake one of these out as your home-base. You are allowed to bring your own food and drinks, though glass containers are strictly prohibited. There are relatively few barbeques in the park so if you aren’t going on a weekday it would be smart to bring your own portable if you have one. I had to laugh at the sign at the entrance prohibiting microwaves! I guess the park staff has seen it all as Mexicans are used to transporting all sorts of equipment for work and recreation because electric hotplates, propane tanks, pets and weapons are also prohibited.

Camping is allowed anywhere you would like in the grounds on a first come first serve basis. Level areas are limited, so come early to get your spot. There are many small trees and if you have a hammock you can bring that along for a relaxing siesta. On the Sunday that we visited the afternoon smells of beef and longaniza cooking over hot coals made my stomach growl with longing.

I appreciated the noticeable lack of trash throughout the park. Despite the fact that on the day we visited there were easily 1,000 people packed onto the grounds, I only saw three Styrofoam cups all day long. Garbage cans are available in convenient locations and it is clear that staff members also move through the park, keeping it clean.

The only disappointment at Las Huertas is that the bathrooms are standard Mexican bathrooms. There was no toilette paper in the lone toilette paper dispenser and no soap-not even soap dispensers to give the illusion of the presence of soap. By the end of the day mountains of used, imported T.P. were flooding the bathroom stalls, though the bathroom had been cleaned recently enough that there was no odor. Secondly, mud is tracked into the bathroom and changing area. Mud in and of it’s self is OK but there are no hooks or shelves in the changing area to allow you to keep your towel and other things out of it. Se la vi. You’re in Mexico and you have to take the good with the bad.

There is plenty of good to be had. As we were enjoying the kiddy pool a father loaned our son his daughter’s little inner tube and beach ball, just out of the kindness of his heart. Later on he saw us getting ready to leave and told us that if we wanted, his family had left over beef that we could throw on the barbeque. “We always bring lots,” he said. “Really, you are totally welcome to it.” He told us that we reminded him of his family when his first child was a baby and asked us about sights to see in downtown Cuernavaca, as he had come from Mexico City. This kind of hospitality is infectious and makes traveling in Mexico a joy.

As it was, we declined his generous offer and went to the palapa restaurant at the uphill edge of the park, open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Here you can order all types of gorditas, quesadillas, or a fried carp as well as classic snacks such as potato chips, pop (that’s soda for those of you not from the West), and packaged cookies. The prices are reasonable. The gorditas and quesadillas are large and handmade on a comal for only $10 pesos a piece (approximately $1 U.S.).  The fried fish is huge and comes on a bed of lettuce with a dressing on the side for $80 pesos (or approximately $8 U.S.). I was impressed with the prices because the park is in the middle of nowhere and could easily get away with charging higher prices for foods. A second restaurant in the modern style building at the entrance sells hamburgers and French fries, also for reasonable prices.  Next to the burger restaurant is a store that sells bathing suits, floatation toys and other things for fun in the water.

The park allows visitors to enter from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily and the entrance fee for adults is $50 pesos (approximately $5 U.S.) with reduced fees for small children. If you stay the night you can enjoy the park for two days for $150 pesos per person and $75 pesos each additional night.

Tourism Jobs

We talked to a park employee who told us that the park employs 40 people regularly and 70 on holidays and vacations. These jobs are an alternative to the farming and grazing that are available in the tiny towns a few kilometers away from the park.

How to Find Las Huertas

Getting to Las Huertas is a real Mexican adventure that is best done in a private vehicle. From Cuernavaca take the toll highway, south, following signs to Acapulco. You pass through the first toll booth and pay $56 pesos for passenger vehicles. From the toll booth you travel an additional 31.5 kilometers through hot, grazed forest and occasional sorghum fields. Here’s the trick. The turn off is an unimproved cattle guard at the end of a cut bank. You can’t see this turn off as you approach it. The one and only warning that you have to flick on your turn signal and slow your speed is that about 100 meters before you will dive off the narrow highway shoulder you see the small kilometer marker (just like the mile markers we have in the U.S.) for kilometer 149. Keep your eyes on those kilometer markers and as soon as you see the marker for kilometer 149, slow your speed and prepare for a rough exit. Do not miss this because it will be many kilometers before you can turn around and you will probably be charged two more toll booths to do it.

As soon as you cross the cattle guard you see a large sign for Las Huertas and a second water park. Turn left at the signs and cross the bridge to the other side of the highway. Next you travel a little over three kilometers on a graded dirt road through the booming heat of southern Morelos, catching glimpses of the Amacuzac River. You pass only two solitary sheds where you can buy quesadillas before arriving at the parking lot and park entrance. Don’t let the tricky access road stop you. On your next visit to Morelos let Las Huertas fill your heart with joy.

Captions for Everybody’s Happy at Morelos’s Las Huertas Adventure Paradise

1. Boys jump into the turquoise mouth of the spring at Las Huertas
2. Bathers lounge in the cascading waters below the mouth of the spring.
3. Men enjoy back massages in a waterfall.
4. Older women rest in the warm, flowing water.
5. A group of bathers in a shaded pool. Yes, bra straps cause troubles in Mexico, too.
6. Boys exploring in the shaded pools.
7. A sill log creates a smooth cascade, perfect for back massages.
8. Families enjoy splashing in the sparkling waters of one of the pools
9. People of all ages enjoying a swimming pool.
10. Bathers take a break from the water to snack and chat in the shade.
11. A gecko at the entrance declares reduced rates for children depending on their height. 
12. The Amacuzac River gurgles quietly.
13. One of the signs on gravel road leading to Las Huertas.

I just learned something important for all those who live in Mexico and are married to Mexican citizens. With your current FM3, you can apply for residence in Mexico. I’ve lived in Mexico for 6 years. Why did it take me this long to figure this out? It’s the Secretaria de Relationes Exteriors (SRE — Department of External Relations) that you have to talk to, rather than the Instituto National de Migracion (INM — National Migration Institute) which issues the tourist visas, FM3s and FM2s.

Why did I not learn this detail in 6 long years of life in Mexico? Well, the people at INM never told me and I didn’t know I should ask more questions about residence in Mexico. I assumed that they had not only given me correct information, but complete information about my options to live legally in Mexico. I have to investigate this topic more deeply for inclusion in the 3rd edition of Mexico: The Trick is Living Here, but at this point it looks like INM has tricked me into paying for 4 years of prorrogas (extensions) on my FM3, when I may have had another option.

In the meantime, if you live in Mexico with a Mexican spouse, call the SRE and ask, ask, ask.

Mexico Tops Global Retirement Index

If you think you want to retire in Mexico, here’s another reason to plan it. The number 1 country for retirement abroad in 2007, according to InternationalLiving.com is Mexico. Of course, those who are already retired in Mexico aren’t surprised! “We give top priority to those things that matter most to anyone planning for retirement….” reports Laura Sheridan of International Living in reference to their yearly Global Retirement Index.

The Global Retirement Index considers 8 factors of common concern to retirees or those planning their retirements. The most weight goes to the 4 factors which will have the strongest effect on the retiree’s pocketbook. 75% of the Index weight goes to cost of living, health care, special benefits, and real estate. The remaining 25% is covered by entertainment, infrastructure, safety, and climate.

Quick Guide to the Global Retirement Index:
1.  Cost of living — 20%
2.  Health care — 20%
3.  Special benefits – 20%
4.  Real estate – 15%
5.  Entertainment, Recreation, and Culture – 10%
6.  Infrastructure – 5%
7.  Safety and stability – 5%
8. Climate – 5%

Learn what the retirement index can’t tell you.

Isn’t it nice when someone gives you statistically analyzed support for what your heart knows to be true? It’s a good idea to retire in Mexico.

Sheridan emphasizes Mexico’s Geographic/Climactic diversity as one of it’s greatest advantages as a retirement location because, “[E]verybody can find exactly what they want.”

As the Index tells us, Mexico perfectly combines low costs, geographic variety, modern convenience, pleasant climates, and, well … fun! Sheridan writes, “[w]hether your vision of the ideal retirement involves shopping, fishing, sunbathing, diving, biking, mountain climbing, parasailing, collecting crafts, visiting archeological sites, partying, going to concerts, attending the theater, or fine dining, in Mexico you can engage in all of these activities, and many more.”

Hey! You and your spouse can retire in Mexico together and both get what you want. Don’t have a spouse? There’s plenty to do in Mexico.

What about those “Special Benefits” which receive 20% of the index’s weight? Mexico allows people who are over 60 and hold valid residence visas to participate in its senior discounts program. Discounts are often up to 50% and are offered for services such as health services, bus and airline tickets, and admission to cultural events.

You haven’t yet reached retirement age? Perfect! As Sheridan stresses in her article, these factors weighed by the Index are factors which are important in retirement planning. If you dream of retirement in Mexico, then you can begin to take steps toward that dream today. For example, you could purchase real estate and begin planning your dream home. Don’t wait, though, because sometimes when a country becomes popular as a retirement haven real estate prices increase.

Finally, here’s what makes home-sweet-mexico.com special: The author reminds you that Mexico isn’t only about low prices and luxury living. Mexico is about growing and changing. About getting to know yourself better while learning a new language and culture. If you really want to retire in Mexico, take some time and enjoy Mexico. If you are going to pick the best retirement destination for you, you have a lot of fun traveling to do. (Remember, it’s a diverse country.)

source: http://www.internationalliving.com/retire/paid/09-01-07-top-heavens.html

Convinced you want to retire in Mexico? You can learn more about the real cost of living in Mexico here.

Back to Letting Go of Materialism to learn more about the lifestyle when you retire in Mexico.