I’ve never thought of myself as adventurous. When I think of an adventurer I think about people who discovered new lands; people that climb Mt. Everest; daredevils. Certainly not me! I’ve always tended to be risk averse, personally and in business. I study things usually before trying them. I’m a good investigator. For example, before moving to Mexico, I read about it. Specifically, I read about American citizens moving to Mexico. What to consider; even perhaps what others had encountered (the good and bad). The first time I adopted a cat (almost 20 years ago), I read about it. Talked to friends that had cats. That’s just me.

So when I did decide to move to Mexico, I first visited for three weeks. I stayed in an AirBnB and looked into the different parts of the city where I was moving to (Veracruz). I met with realtors and did home tours. I had never lived in a furnished apartment long-term. That was certainly new. I did that again when I moved to Puerto Vallarta. That time I think I only stayed one week and found in apartment in that time! Wow, huh? I had the area where I wanted to live pinned down so it was just a matter of finding an apartment that met my needs (rent, size, view). And I found a beautiful apartment. After a year there, I decided to move again. Only 30 minutes north of Puerto Vallarta, but it was another city in another State. I love where I am now. It’s not as busy as where I was in Puerto Vallarta. A beautiful community with many foreigners, mostly Canadians, who winter here.

As you may know through my other posts, I have always moved in my adult life (many times!), mostly due to work. And now that I’ve been in Mexico for over 3 years (4 next summer), I feel like it’s time to try something new. Does that make me adventurous? Perhaps. But I think a better descriptor for me is someone with an adventurous spirit. I like to see new places, meet new people, and generally, I’m curious. I do think that moving to another city, another state, another country does take a certain amount of courage. And that I do think I have.

What drives my adventurous spirit? I’m not sure really. I’ve read that being adventurous takes doing something that you haven’t done before or even, perhaps, something you fear. One thing that I will say was definitely an adventure was zip-lining. I was on a vacation that I was awarded at work for top performers. It was a 4 day trip to Costa Rica. The group went zip-lining and though the idea made me very nervous, I decided to try it. This was many years ago (over 10). DId I enjoy it? Hmmm not too sure about that. I am glad I tried it, but I can tell you, I wouldn’t do it again!

Now let’s get back to moving, I’ve done that many times before. I don’t really think it makes me adventurous. Moving to another country on another continent? Yes, perhaps that does qualify.

Maybe my adventurous spirit was inherited from my parents. They did, after all, leave their country (Mexico) and moved to the USA when the kids were quite young. As children we didn’t vacation to many exciting locations. We drove to Mexico every 2-3 years to visit family. And I do recall a trip or two to Las Vegas where my parents enjoyed the casinos and us kids loved the pool. We never flew anywhere, except one time home from Mexico. And look at me now. I’m an American Airlines (AAL) frequent flyer with over 2 million miles flown with their airline alone. Imagine that! I just received an email from AAL congratulating me on my 43rd anniversary as a frequent flyer. Pretty awesome!

So back to my adventures… a new one coming up this week is my trip back to Spain. I’m very much looking forward to it. This is something new, in that I’m going to a city I have never been to before. My focus during the month of December will be to travel to numerous cities in the South of Spain to see if I find one that I like and that could be a possible future home for Lola and I.

I will be spending Christmas and New Year in Spain. Not sure what I will do. Maybe I’ll find new friends and visit a local restaurant somewhere. I’ve never had too much trouble making friends. I’m looking forward to this new adventure. I’m not really sure what to expect. That’s my adventurous spirit I guess. Trying something new, and yes, a little scary. But I’m up for the challenge. Join me, will you?

Stay tuned for more…