Rhonda Tranks is originally from Melbourne, Australia and now lives in Cuernavaca, Morelos. A traveler by nature, she first came to Mexico in 1988 and quickly developed what was to be an on-going and passionate love/hate relationship with the country. In the Yucatan she swallowed brilliant blue water from a cenote and was told that Mexico had entered her soul … that she would come back here to live. And she did.
Within a week of the cenote water incident she had another special drink: this time a coffee in the Zona Rosa in Mexico City and met an American musician who had lived and worked in Mexico for many years. Well …… they had a vacation in France, then she came back to Mexico City to live with him and his eight-year-old son and get married. Since then they have also spent a year in New York, then six years back in Australia, where Rhonda set up and eventually sold a successful Organizational Development Consultancy.
It had always been their intention to move on again, most probably to Europe. But after much reflection and to-ing and fro-ing they decided on Cuernavaca, a place they have always loved. Since returning to Mexico in January 1998, they have had a roller coaster ride, full of adventure and tragi-comedy events, but they are still having a good time living in the City of Eternal Spring – “so close and yet so far from Mexico City.”
Rhonda now runs Las Campanas – Cultural & Food Adventures in Mexico. She teaches cooking and food history, conducts cultural tours, does a bit of catering and some food and travel writing. The eight year old is now 20 and back in Australia. Her husband is semi-retired; working with Rhonda in the business and dealing in antique string instruments.
Asked why she lives in Mexico, Rhonda answers, “Most foreigners I know who live here have this love/hate relationship with the place. Mexico can be difficult. It has a myriad layers of complexity but is endlessly fascinating, stimulating and challenging. All this real life (raw and exposed, juxtaposed with art and spirituality …. the height of refinement next to something base) is too frightening or puzzling for some. Others just plain miss the point! But for those who connect, Mexico is endlessly rewarding. I enjoy introducing people to this complexity in Mexico – to help them understand what they are experiencing. Along the way my understanding keeps evolving. Mexico is a journey – for us all. A fabulous journey. Come see for yourself.”
Las Campanas
Cultural and Food Adventures in Mexico
Phone / Fax: +52 (73) 172 678