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Tips for Living in Mexico: No Matter How Much You Love Mexico, You Are Still a Gringo

Use sunscreen and insect repellent as your life depends on it

Marcia Gage
Bouncin’ and Behavin’ Blogs
4 min readNov 27, 2024

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Neon sign flashing sunburn
Photo by Garv Chaplot on Unsplash

You may find yourself totally immersed in Mexican culture and loving the weather. But especially if you hail from above the Mason-Dixon line, your physiology needs some assistance dealing with the increased sunshine and various forms of ever-present life, such as flora and fauna, insects, and lizards.

I am the extreme case since I’m from Minnesota and, as a former redhead, have very fair skin with basically no melanin. But even if your skin is olive or darker and you’re not used to the tropics, you still need to take extra care. I knew a very dark-skinned gentleman who returned from a Hawaiian vacation with an impressive sunburn.

I never leave my casita without applying sunscreen with at least SPF 50, and if possible, I use a 70 SPF. Don’t go any lower than 30 SPF, and if you’re spending a day in and out of the pool, make sure to reapply it often. If you forget to pack sunscreen, no worries. Here in Puerto Vallarta, there is at least one farmacia (drugstore) on every block. Nobody likes a sunburn, and contracting skin cancer is far worse.

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Bouncin’ and Behavin’ Blogs
Bouncin’ and Behavin’ Blogs

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Marcia Gage
Marcia Gage

Written by Marcia Gage

I love that freelance writing, and Medium provides the opportunity to learn, teach, and share experiences about travel, wine, health, relationships, and more.

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