by vagabondette on June 10, 2009
I walked past Posada 5 several times on my way to/from Backpackers/Na Bolom before I stopped in. I was getting sick of dorm life and since Posada 5 had gotten some good reviews I thought I’d see how much a private room was.
The Posada is fairly small with 5-6 private rooms and a dorm with 10-12 beds. The kitchen is not as nice as the Backpackers Hostel and there really isn’t a central sitting area besides the kitchen but the prices more than make up for it. Dorm beds (single level, not bunk) are only 50 MXN/night which is 1/2 the cost of the cheapest dorm at Backpackers. My single room was 75 MXN/night. It’s the cheapest because there is no window but even the one with a window was only 85 MXN/night. If there are two it’s even cheaper. They also allow camping for, I think, 40 MXN/night.
The bed I slept in (queen size) was very comfey though the other bed in the room (single) was NOT.
One of the best things about Posada 5 (aside from the cheap prices) was the view. It’s situated on top of a hill and the back patio overlooks a large, grassy back yard with swing set and a couple of run-down hammocks but what really grabs you is the view. From the top of the yard you can look over the main downtown area and across the valley to the mountains on the other side. The view is just beautiful and I would have loved to have seen last night’s lightening storm from the patio.
The Posada seems to be more geared towards couples and families so if meeting lots of other young travelers and going out partying is your goal the Backpackers is probably a better option. But, if you’re ready for some alone time and a private room to call your own I think Posada 5 is a great option.
by vagabondette on June 8, 2009
One of the best things about not being on a schedule is that when opportuniities come up I’m able to take advantage of them.
As I wrote a few days ago, I’ve begun volunteering at Na Bolom a local non-profit that has just a ton of stuff going on. I was brought on by my friend Julio to re-design the website and, if I had time, offer some suggestions for operational improvements.
Things have been going well and I’ve very much enjoyed working with Fernando and Julio but I thought it best to finally have a chat with the president of the Board to get her take on the project - and it’s a good thing I did.
She has a very detailed, very involved viewpoint of what they want the new Na Bolom web presence to be and it was nothing like what I am currently designing. It will also take much much longer than the original 2 weeks. In fact, it will probably take closer to 6 months - so it looks like I’ll be returning to San Cristobal after a few side trips.
This was something I had already been contemplating as there are some operational improvements that could really make their lives easier and I just wasn’t sure how I would be able to get it all done in time. But now it’s official. Fer also mentioned something today about maybe getting paid in addition to the free room and board but we’ll see how that goes. I’ll be satisfied without the paycheck just because of the new skills I’ll be learning, new friends I’ll be making and the great addition to my resume and portfolio.
The New Plan:
I will leave San Cris @ the 22nd of June and start making my way back to Cancun via Palenque, Merida and maybe Chichen Itza. I will then fly be in the US from July 1-7 before I fly to Guatemala City. I will most likely stay in Guate for several weeks taking Spanish classes as most of the people I’ll be working with on this expanded project have limited English skills. I will then return to San Cris to finish the project.
by vagabondette on June 7, 2009
Since not everyone is into the whole RSS feed thing I’ve added the option to subscribe via email. If you choose to do this you’ll get an email each time I post rather than having to come back and check…not that you’re not welcome. :) Hope it helps!
PS: I experienced my first earthquake today - that was interesting!
by vagabondette on June 4, 2009
I get lots of questions - from friends, family, other travelers - about just how I can afford to travel on a full-time basis. My standard answer is that I do website development which means that anywhere I have an internet connection I can work. The real answer is perhaps a bit more involved but that gets across the basic idea.
Generally the next question is: Can I see one of your sites?
It’s hard to explain to people who don’t do it, but most successful online marketers do not give out their website information willy nilly. It seems a bit counter productive, but there are reasons behind it so as a rule, I don’t let people know which sites I’ve developed.
However, I recently developed a site that is aimed less at making money and more at disseminating information so I figured what the heck, why not satisfy the curiosity.
So, for those who wonder just how the heck I can not work full time in an office, here is an example of one of the sites that I’ve developed to make that happen: http://www.freemarketingproducts.info.
This is just one of many sites in many niches, and for those of you who are not into online marketing, you probably won’t care about this site but for those who are interested in following in my vagabondette footsteps the info on this site may give you some ideas.
