Remote Writing: A Working Vacation

If you're like many professionals, you get caught up in the day-to-day tasks while those big writing projects stay stuck on the one-day-some-day list. Here's an idea: take a trip and spend a few days writing and working away from home and office. No distractions, no worries, no problemas.

I'm writing this from Mexico: I'm taking advantage of a long weekend for the U.S. 4th of July holiday. Since our home in Ajijic, Mexico is rented out, I'm staying at a lovely bed & breakfast across the street: Los Artistas.

With wireless connections greatly improved in some parts of Mexico, working remotely is no problem.  All  you need is a wireless laptop, a plane ticket , and someplace quiet to go to.

Most of Mexico is hot and humid during summer, and most beach resorts are noisy, crowded and expensive. Not so inland. Right in the middle of Mexico, on a 60-mile Lake Chapala, Ajijic is paradise.

Ajijic, located in the colorful state of Jalisco, nestles in Mexico's Sierra Madre Mountains on the northern shore of Lake Chapala. The almost perfect year around climate provides a haven for North Americans. Many come escaping cold winters and seeking retirement, where the cost of living is reasonable, and the locals friendly and hospitable.

Only thirty minutes from the Guadalajara International Airport, Ajijic remains a quaint, cobblestoned old Mexico village, a rustic reminder of an earlier time.

The village, founded in the early 1400's by Nauhatl Indians and colonized by the Spanish in the 17th century, absorbs the new, with its art galleries, chic shops and many restaurants, while remaining faithful to traditional ways.

Your hosts are transplanted Alaskans Kent Edwards and Linda Brown and their Bassett Hound, Sophie*.

*Sorry, Sascha, there's no photo of you. Everyone knows your cute anyway.

So how much work will I actually get done? That remains to be seen...there's always manana! Ole!