A Change In The Wind

We're getting very close to almost being ready to get started with our construction project in the jungle...soon.

Time moves at a completely different speed in Mexico. The timeline of construction for the widely promoted Maya Train project proves this, since the government is promising its first route (Cancun - Tulum) will be active by Christmas and we’ve been watching the same 1/2 kilometer stretch of that track adjacent to our little town of Puerto Morelos progressing at a typical glacial pace over the last 9 months. Imagining that project complete in a few months’ time requires Interstellar-level time loops.

Maya Train construction near Puerto Morelos as of January, 2023

Our own construction project seems to move forward in the same quantum-state of potentiality; progressing imperceptibly, though never quite complete, but definitely happening. While no ground has been broken, the paper chase has been tangibly real. Applying for permits in this country is a petition to a jealous god, whose plans are mysterious and whose priorities are incomprehensible to mere mortals. There always seems to be another official document and another relatively trivial fee required to nudge this leviathan forward.

It doesn’t seem that complicated to us. We just want to build a house with a couple extra rooms for a business. Around here, it’s very a common thing to do this but what is uncommon though, is actually filing for permits. However, nothing about our project is common or typical, so here we are.

The floor plan of our future home (south of the courtyard) and business (north of the courtyard) superimposed over a survey of the trees in the area

Our property is owned by a corporation, which is owned 50/50 by two gringos, which is building in an environmentally-protected area of the jungle, and so on… It is a couple acres in size and near the beach, and that is not typically available to foreigners, which is why we had to set up a corporation to buy the land in the first place. So the whole thing is very much on record and I wanted to do everything possible to prevent future fuckery from the local authorities about any of the activities happening on our land. Therefore…permits.

This partly explains why we’ve had so many delays getting to the point where we can start construction but, then again, Mexico is just kind of like this…nevertheless, finally, we heard a few days ago that we’d paid our last fee and were ready to sign the permit and move forward with the project.