I'm a travel writer and love to travel, especially to Mexico. The country is vast, the people friendly, and vacationing there is inexpensive. Last winter I unexpectedly got a chance to rent my condo, which is near a major ski area. I knew I could live in Mexico easily and loftily on my rental income.

The tenant wanted the condo for six weeks. But how could I keep in touch with friends, family, and business associates? Telephone calls from Mexico cost $1 a minute, and the less expensive hotel rooms don't include a telephone. Previously, my travel trips have been for only two weeks. I could put friends, family, and business on hold for two weeks, but for six weeks?

I began participating in a web forum MexConnect . This is an active group of people who are very knowledgeable about Mexico. Some of them live there. Most have traveled extensively. With their encouragement (they told me how to access my e-mail from Mexico), I headed to San Miguel de Allende. I chose this location based on the fact that there's a sizable expatriate community of North Americanos, and I knew there was Internet access.

What a time I had! I enjoyed shopping in the wonderful mercados (where avocados cost 15 cents each and I could get five oranges for a quarter), and I also did some writing on my laptop computer. But the best part: I kept in touch with friends, family, and business associates via the Internet.

I found a wonderful cybercafe, Estacion that had just opened. For 50 pesos an hour (about $6.50 USD), I sat on a comfortable wicker settee and used Estacion's computer as if it were my own. I could read all my e-mail, yet it still remained on my stateside Internet server. This allowed me to answer messages that needed immediate attention.

My three-times-a-week communication with my son in Boston didn't miss a beat. He enjoyed getting mail from his Mom south of the border. I was as close to him as if I were home. Actually, closer because the Internet service in the small mountain city of San Miguel de Allende had more high tech equipment that my U.S. server!

One of my girlfriends was working in Latvia. We shared experiences we were having in countries thousands of miles and oceans apart. A snowmobiling magazine wanted me to write an article for them. I immediately zipped an e-mail into cyberspace and accepted the assignment.

And, of course, once I regularly checked in with my tenant to make sure the homefront was safe and sound. It was. He handled the calls on my answering machine and zipped the important messages to me.

Estacion became my second home. I couldn't walk by without checking for messages, which sometimes only took 5 minutes, so the $6.50 for 50 minutes of use was a real bargain, compared to telephone calls. As it turned out, there weren't many public phones in San Miguel, and I didn't have a telephone in the casita (small house) that I rented, so telephoning wasn't even an option.

It's true, not all foreign places have internet access, but most cities do. To find a listing of worldwide cybercafes, go to: www.netcafeguide.com. Internet access is increasing so rapidly, it's hard to keep up with all the cybercafes. Wherever you are, ask around, and I'll bet you'll find e-mail access. In San Miguel, in addition to Estacion, the Instituto de Allende offers e-mail service to its students, and the public library also will send e-mail for a fee.

However, I liked the friendly atmosphere of the cybercafe (the cafe part was downstairs, but you could order food delivered to your computer station also). The Internet kept me connected to my world back home, while I explored another scenic and exciting world in the mountains of Mexico.