Maya Chan Life

So, did you ever write a book and realize you had so much fun writing that you decide to write a blog but then realized instead of writing a blog you should be writing another book but when you weren’t looking a pandemic hit and all you could write about was how lonely you were without guests and then the guests returned and you were so busy trying to reopen that there was no time for blogging and before long you realized it had been way too long since your last blog and you are just embarrassed to start again so you wait a little longer? Phew. That’s a load off my chest. And so…….
After refunding everybody during the pandemic, (well into six digits but I digress), we did spend considerable time weighing our choice of reopening. We were tired. We were all beached out. And we had really had it with the constant battle to even exist. We flirted with the fact that we could no longer sustain Maya Chan.
So we started looking for an exit strategy that might have involved selling this place. But there was a catch: we all agreed we did not want to leave Costa Maya. This little community, with all its ridiculousness, just felt familiar. And David and Julie had plans in the works to build their own home here. So there was that. We also did not want to abandon the name and reputation we worked so hard to develop. But again, we were tired of fighting Mother Nature. Our little Mayan beach wasn’t the same as when we bought it. Tides changed, weather changed, and where in the world did this sargassum come from? One voice was telling us to tap out, another voice told us we could relocate Maya Chan to a beach that did not have sargassum. An interesting thought, so we went out on a fact finding mission. It was only with a mild sense of nostalgia that we learned every thing down here is exactly the same as it was 14 years ago. The land time forgot. Which isn’t a good thing when you are trying to run a business. Or trying to decide your future.
We spent a lot of the down time looking for land both north and south of Majahual. Having already established what it took to run a business in a hostile environment, our bar for considering a new location was set pretty high.
1. It had to be at least as large as the current MCB, or maybe larger. Almost every piece of land we saw was either 15 meters of beachfront or, if lucky, 20 meters. It became obvious rather quickly that we would need to find a series of lots for sale that actually stayed within our budget. (as if we had one).
2. The water at the new location had to be calm. Our guests enjoy floating in the chairs and being served cocktails. It’s our thing. No waves, no blowing sand.
3. If we were going to make this move, we would need to improve on our current situation. Electricity was a must.
4. It couldn’t be located any further from the port as our current site is. We timed all possible future locations and learned that would be close to impossible. We also realized any future location would still require substantial time on a dirt road. Not all guests see the journey to Maya Chan as part of the whole experience.
5. There had to be a reasonable promise of no sargassum.
6. Absolutely NOBODY could know, or even suspect, what we were thinking. Fourteen years ago I said “if you have diarrhea at night, everybody knows it by morning”. Nothing has changed.
How do we accomplish all this while remaining incognito?

After several outings, we did actually find a series of 4 lots that fit most of our requirements. Within the extended family, we found a legitimate email address that had been around for years. We contacted the “agent” as an out of town investor. We couldn’t even suggest we knew the area. We noted that this agency had “For Sale” signs on all of the properties we were interested in. Fourteen years ago we learned “Nobody”really had listings on any property, because “Nobody” was a legal real estate agent. We knew this, but to stay under the radar, we had to continue with the stupid gringo game.
We had our nonexistent, extended family member contact the agency that presented itself as possessing the exclusive listing for the four lots. We were actually quoted individual prices for each lot and offered a discount if we bought all 4 of them. Several emails later, we were told the lots on both ends were available but the lots in the middle were not. The owners of the middle lots were not happy to learn their lots were for sale. The next day those signs were down as well as several other signs that once adorned properties we had an interest in. And this was from the “most respected” agency in town. Yeah. Right. And we are stupid gringos.
During all this time, our reopening was running towards us. We did look at several different locations, but nothing could compare to what we already had. And let’s face it, Mark, David, and I were 14 years younger when this adventure started. David still had the sense of adventure and the knowledge and strength to start again. Mark and I simply did not. There’s so much more to starting over than building palapas and planting palm trees. We had to remind ourselves of the paperwork, the endless meetings with lawyers, and paying their endless bills. There were the biological studies, the environmental reports, court battles to acquire the zoning rights and the rights to the Federal Zone. And we were reminded of all the time spent just waiting. After all, it’s been 14 years and we are STILL waiting for that single piece of paper for the Federal Zone at our CURRENT location. Because we like to see things in writing. Mexico does not like to dispense things in writing. Go figure. We came to the conclusion, Mark and I could not possibly start over. We had come so far. (hahaha)
Long story a bit longer, we decided to reopen. We realized everything we were looking for in a new location was already here. We will continue to battle the taxi syndicate and all the vendors who, after 14 years, still believe we are not going to pay our bills. We will continue the fight for our Federal Zone. We will work with Mother Nature and everything she throws our way. We might scream and yell and stomp our feet, we might even cry, but the battle is ours to win. And we thank all our friends for supporting us through all this crazy.