A SAD NOTE

One saga ends, and sadly another saga continues.  My beloved aunt died shortly after the New Year.  She was born in 1911 and lived to see 2012.  She was the matriarch of a large (if somewhat dysfunctional family), and she was much more than an aunt to me.   I think she saved up all her energy for her 100th birthday and just didn't have any left to continue on.  I saw her again in November and she was notably changed.  Her nervous system was failing and she was in great pain.  She was basically bedridden and her sight was beginning to go.  Once they started her on morphine, it was down hill.  Sadly her mind remained as bright and active as ever, so she knew the end was near.  I spoke with her every week up until the end, when she could barely speak.   She had left a small fortune to her only son, but he died a week earlier, leaving the three grandchildren to fight over her estate.  I will miss her.

I know you are sick of hearing about my apartment, but you want to know about my life.  Well here it is (warts and all).  Of course I never got the television or microwave promised and I never got the lease rewritten.  Last week I awoke to no gas.  Unfortunately I did not realize it until I had broken two eggs in a frying pan.  It wasn't just low, it was gone!  The "super" said they ordered more gas on Friday (it was Monday).  This I do not believe.  I guess I should explain about the gas here.  We don't have gas lines in the street (That is the good news!!)  Instead trucks run up and down the streets selling canisters of propane gas, and for large buildings like mind, a tanker arrives and hooks into a line at street level that carries the gas to a tank on the roof.

Not only can you not fry an egg, you don't have any hot water.  I managed to muddle through the day and went to the gym (my first day for over two weeks, due to my fall).  I was planning on going to my friend's house to shower, but the tanker had arrived and filled the tank on the roof.  I even managed to get the pilot light back on myself (not that great a task since "pilot" is "piloto" in Spanish)  Everyone in the building were mad and I found that four (out of eight) had not paid rent in two months).  No wonder they had to money for gas.  Our Realtor was contacted and said that he had tried to contact the owner, her lawyer, and the management company in November and none of them would return a call.  He suggested we hire a lawyer.

The very next day, I awoke to no electricity.   My first thought was to check my bill to see if I paid someone else's bill.  No, it was in my name and I had a receipt.  I yelled down to my friend Jose (who runs the business below me).  He told me that it was just my half of the building (am I lucky, or what?)  He gave me a cup of coffee out of his thermos and within an hour it came back on.  No explanation at all.  The following morning it was the same,  No Electricity.  Jose called the electric company, but in a few hours it was back on.  Somehow my meter (and only mine) had been set to go off between midnight and 8:00.  No one can explain it, but ever since then, no problem.

Did I tell you about my lease?  It is in Spanish with no translation.  This is not common when "gringos" rent here. Normally there is a side by side translation into English.  I think I should stop here to state once more that what has happened to me is not typical of Mexico.  I just happened to pick the worst building in P.V.  My Realtor told me that is was a furnished apartment (2,000 pesos more) and that the owner paid the gas and water.  He also told me that once the building is fully rented they will put a jacuzzi on the roof (to which no one has a key).  What are the odds??  When all the trouble started I had a Mexican read the lease to me.  It does NOT state that it is a "furnished apartment", let alone specifying a TV and microwave AND it says that the tenant pays all utilities.  The Realtor lied!  What a surprise.  You must wondering how I could possibly live for 74 years and still be so stupid (I prefer the words, naive or trusting).

I spoke again to Becksy (that is not a misprint) who makes an attempt to manage the building.  She promised a new lease with a new starting date and once I paid, I would get my TV and microwave.
Since I will be gone most of March (for my cataract operation) and again in May (to visit my friends is Japan) this is not the ideal time to look for a new apartment.  I have decided to bare with it until June when I get back from Japan.  We will see how things are going then (and if I have a TV and microwave)..

Sorry this posting was delayed.  I had a "stuck tool bar" (what ever that is) that prevented me from getting into my blog.


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BOTANICAL GARDENS REVISITED

It has been a while, so maybe you have forgotten my post on Puerto Vallarta's Botanical Gardens.   It was just before summer when I went and a lot of the gardens were drying up.  I wanted to go back right after the rains stopped, but there was Turkey, problems with the apartment, the Holidays,  my fall, and my general laziness.  On a spur of the moment one day I decided to go by myself.  I had tried for some time to get my friend interested in it, but he was not.

It is still only 20 pesos for a one way bus ticket, but the entrance fee is now 60 pesos.  They call it a 'donation' but I could not figure out how to get in without paying it.  I skipped the 5 peso map and was surprised to see a friend sitting behind the desk (another turns out to be a waiter there).  My, my I am becoming a local here.  The gardens were much prettier and there were more flowers in bloom.  I am still fascinated by that yellow and purple vine that looks like a type of wisteria.  I also had not noticed the last time, that much of the jungle you walk through has vanilla orchids wrapped around tree trunks.  Yes, vanilla beans to not come from a tree, but an orchid plant.

 

This time I did more of the trails that take you deep down into canyons of green ferns, vines and ferns.  At the bottom is a river and there were little creeks running all through the park.  Of course there is a swinging bridge over one of them.   Some of the trees were in bloom and the water lily pond reminded me of Monets water lily lakes in Giverney.  Much of the ground is covered in very colorful leafed plants.

The restaurant on the second floor of the bouganvilla covered building is quite charming, offering vistas of the park.  The food is quite good too.  One woman from my bridge club was there and told me she has had Thanksgiving dinner there for years (something I would like to do next year).  It is a very pleasant day for about $15.00 including lunch.   They are in the process of building a large green house for orchids, but it has been in progress for some time.


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