Retire Early
Lifestyle
Retirement; like your parents, but way cooler
In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age
of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this
financially independent lifestyle, they invite you
to take advantage of their wisdom and experience. |
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Culiacan,
Mexico
Billy and Akaisha Kaderli
We continued our trip from riding
the El
Chepe train from the city of
Chihuahua to
El Fuerte,
and now we made our way to Culiacan, Mexico.
Culiacan, about an hour from
Mexico's Pacific Coast has been around a long time. Before the Spaniards
arrived from Europe, this site had been a small Amerindian settlement
founded in about 628.
The city as it exists today was
established in 1531 by the Spanish.
But it was only after the federal government built dams in the
surrounding areas in the
1950s did agriculture explode and the city began to grow exponentially. Some
of Mexico's largest agricultural conglomerates operate in these vast and
fertile coastal plains.
Akaisha settling in on the bus
Here I am on the bus from
El Fuerte to Culiacan, about a 4
hour ride.
The buses in Mexico are a real deal, most of the times being quite
comfortable. Depending on the length of the trip, the first class buses
offer food for the ride, free ear buds for the entertainment systems, and
the buses themselves are air conditioned, and have a bathroom in the back.
The colorful letters of the city's
name Once
again, here you see the city's name spelled out in colorful letters.
You will find similar style letters in
El Fuerte,
Morelia,
Chapala,
Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara airport,
Comitan and even
the old, old town of
Patzcuaro.
Notice the
Cathedral Our Lady of the Rosary on this plaza in the background.
Cathedral Our Lady of the Rosary
Every plaza in Mexico is set up with a
church or cathedral being a major feature. Our Lady of the Rosary is
the oldest church in the city, constructed in 1842.
Here you can see the
inlays of pink quarry stone giving a contrast to the white color of the
sides. This cathedral is very well kept. In Patzcuaro, some of
the
cathedrals have mold covering them, giving them a sense of antiquity.
A Name from the Past is doing well here
Do you remember Woolworth's?
We had one in my hometown when I was a
child growing up.
One of the original pioneers of the five-and-dime stores,
the first Woolworth
store was opened by Frank Winfield Woolworth in 1879, as "Woolworth's Great
Five Cent Store" in New York. But soon Frank went to
Pennsylvania to open a new store.
Woolworth's became independent in a management buyout by the Mexican executives in
1997, and the company closed its remaining variety stores in the United States in
that same year.
Retail chains using the Woolworth name
still survive in Austria, New Zealand, Germany, South Africa and Mexico.
Billy with a friendly native of
Culiacan
Wandering around the city, we went straight to the plaza and found people
dancing to some
live music. This man was one of the dancers, and the whole crowd was
rather friendly. Live music will do that to you!
Billy and the "Wild One" are dancing
here
What a HOOT!
We had such a good time...
The "Wild One" grabs Akaisha (and later on, Billy, here) to dance. Wish we had these kinds of gatherings in
more places in the States. Old? No matter. Single? No matter. Can't dance?
Who cares?!! Woot woot woot!!!
Gorgeous girls with loooooong hair!
After we finished dancing in the plaza,
we walked around, finding this restaurant that offered buffalo wings and
beer. It was a happening place!
Every one of these girls had waist-long
shiny hair. Look at that! My Lord, what I'd do for hair like that.
Each one had their cell phone and was
taking selfies to post on social media, as is popular today.
So Culiacan has gone from an indigenous
settlement to the modern city it is today, in about 1400 years!
For more stories and places of
interest in Mexico,
click here.
For videos of Mexico,
click here.
About the Authors
Retire
Early Lifestyle appeals to a different
kind of person – the person who prizes their
independence, values their time, and who doesn’t
want to mindlessly follow the crowd.
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