THE NEW PIER

The old wooden pier had been torn down before I arrived.  I noticed that they were adding some new piling shortly after I got here.   The pier was to be finished last year, but like all things Mexican, it takes a little longer (Two and a half years, to be exact).  The design is brilliant.  Coming off of the end of Francisco Rodriguez is a wide curving walk way that ends in a circle (half of which is cantilevered by cables coming off the mast.  In the center is a tall iron mast and sail, resembling a tall ship.

The main reason for building a new pier (other than to put more Mexican to work) is that the old pier was one height and could only accommodate a few vessels.  Beyond the circle are three docks all at different heights to for small, medium and large ships.  It is also a fishing pier, but mainly it is used for walking.  It is located at Los Muertos Beach (which is Puerto Vallarta's most popular beach.

My first shots (during daylight) were taken a few days before the official opening of the pier.  You will notice that all the metal rails are covered with plastic wrap.  I was told that this was to keep it shiny until the inauguration.  Metal pits very quickly in our humid climate.  You can guess what it will look like in a year.  I thought they should paint the railing, but NO!  Still it is very impressive and a definite asset to the town.  I must say that there have been a lot of improvements since I moved here.

The new sidewalks were definitely necessary.  Of course during the two years they were digging up and laying new sidewalks the street  continued to deteriorate.  Pot holes were everywhere (some big enough to lose a Volkswagen in).  The sidewalks were supposed to be done for the underground wiring system.  Of course not a single building has been connected to it (poles, cables and wires still clutter the streets).  I later learned the real reason for the concrete sidewalk.  The mayor's father owned a concrete company.  Guess who got the contract?  (I know you already guessed).  Puerto Vallarta also began a new tunnel a few years ago.  It too is now complete (not sure who got that contract, but I could guess).  It is larger and better lit than the old one.  Once the new tunnel opened  it, they  closed the old one for repairs, but one day we will have a tunnel with two lanes, going in each direction.  You cannot believe the traffic jams that occur when an accident occurs in the tunnel.  You see in Mexico the cars cannot be moved until each party arrives at a financial arrangement.  If no agreement is settled upon, both cars will be impounded (you do not want to be in an accident here).

The best part of the sidewalks are all the planter that were added.  Most have primavera trees (beautiful yellow blossoms early in Spring)  and bougainvillea vines.  Some streets have added palm trees with that yellow vine that is so popular here.  Along with the planters the city has added some trash containers and ash tray.  This pleased me even more than the all the planting.  You will notice that the trees are growing up into the wiring which was to be taken down almost two years ago.   They also planned new ornate street lights, but that is only partially completed.  In some areas, if the street lamps are installed they will have to go up through the newly installed red tile awning.  All awning are exactly the same (one company got the contract for the whole city even though each owner had to pay for them.  Mexico lives on graft and corruption.

My friend Nancy decided to make reservations at a beach front restaurant for opening night of the pier.  Of course no one knew at what time this would take place, but since fireworks were included (they always are) we were pretty sure it would occur after dark.  Her sister and husband were here for a short visit and they invited me to join them.  Since Nancy has lived here for several years, she knew to go back that day and ask about our reservation.  Sure enough, they had no 7:30 or 8:00 reservations and if we were not there by 5:00, but table would be given away.  Nancy called me and I met them shortly after 5:00.

To our surprise and delight, the inauguration had just started.  Various people spoke and they turned the lights on the pier.  It is quite beautiful and various colors float over the entire pier and sail.  Even before sunset the pirate ship arrived full of fire works.  (It is normally at stationed at the Marina and does fire works every night for the cruise ships.)  Before the sun had set the fireworks started.  I can't really get good shots for my camera has a delay and often the display was gone.  I did the best I could.  Everything was over by 7:30 so we were all delighted they did not honor our 8:00 reservation.

I have included some shots of B. Badillo to show you the planters and trees (could not get a good shot because of the traffic).  The trees are over two years old and my blood this Spring.  I also included a facade that one hotel just finished.  The doors and shutters are all fake.  The entire facade was done to hide the air conditioning system.  Some times the Mexican's get it right.  (Not often, but sometimes!)

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MY MEXICAN PIED A TERRE

This is the posting you have been waiting for. Finally the: pictures of my newly completed apartment.  Only after three months, it is still not finished. Nothing happens quickly in Mexico.   For those of you who have fussed that I do not have enough photos, this one has too many pictures.   The location is a couple of blocks east of where the "snow birds" and visiting tourist frequent, but it is a very respectable neighborhood.  Besides the fish taco restaurant, there are two upscale clothing stores.   The street is one of the few remaining original streets where the cobble stones were laid in sand in a pattern.  Most of the streets now are concrete where they have thrown in some stones for effect.  Of course  it had  lots of pot holes (like most streets here) and I expected one day to find out that they had either dumped concrete in the holes or worse yet asphalt.  To my delight and amazement a group of men arrived dug up the street and relaid the cobble stones in sand and matching the original pattern.

The exterior is quite plain and unassuming (which I like).  It does not look like a place where a rich American would live here (I am not rich, but everyone assumes I am).  The starkness of the outside makes the impression of brilliant color even more impressive when you open the door.  Yes, it is much smaller than my spacious former apartment, (made even smaller by all the furniture I have crammed in it),  but I love it!  It does have an extra bedroom (if I ever have a guest again).   Two of the things I like best are having my own door on the street and the large private deck.  Of course just getting out of the Little House of Horrors would make anything seem wonderful.  Mexico is a noisy place and the bells on the church tower are really loud, but all in all it is so much quieter than my old place (with the exception of an occasional grenade!).

I did use pretty much the same color scheme (when you have a winning combination, why change?)  I did add blue and the yellow and green are far brighter and more brilliant. You will also notice that I did incorporate some of the furniture I had brought down from storage. I also had a few pieces from my previous apartments.   The two straw chairs I used at the breakfast counter at the old apartment went outside on the balcony.  I added the two bar stools and also more equipauli (pig skin furniture).  I needed someplace to read (when I have time) and with the lamp table, it made the perfect reading spot.  I ordered the chairs and table a month before I left for the States and they assured me that I would have it in 10 days.  I knew I wouldn't get it that fast, so I waited over two weeks and went back.  It would be delivered the next Monday.  No, and when I returned from my trip, it was still not ready.  After a total of six trips I was finally told why they were not ready.   They could not get a piece of leather large enough to do the high backs that I wanted.  Why they did not tell me that two and a half months earlier, I do not know. They offered to return my money.  So I decided to go to Bucerios (the only other place I knew of where they made the furniture) and start all over again.  They said that they "could" do the high back chairs, but they would cost over 3,000 pesos each! (I paid 750 pesos for the usual ones).  I was not asking for something totally out of reason, for I had seen them with  the high backs.  But they did have two old padded ones.  The arms and seat were padded and they were quite comfortable, so I bought them on the spot.  In Mexico you reach a point were the fight is just not worth it, so you settle for less than what you wanted.  That is just the way it is here.

The royal blue sofa to complete my living room area, still alludes me.  I guess I will have to have it made. 
I also had to buy a dresser for the bedroom (as this apartment has no drawers anywhere).  I was very excited when I found the mirror at the consignment store around the corner to put above it. .  Of course I used the same drapes and colors to match the bedspread.  The guest room had to start from scratch.  Since it is half the size of my room,  It is very sparsely furnished, except for the elaborately carved desk I bought from a friend of mine.  The mirror was there, I just added the frame.  I decided to name it the "Monk's room" and put a cross over the bed.

My favorite space is my cabana upstairs.  The plants all seem to love it and I have added even more.  It will take a year, but I think I can make the bougainvillea crawl across the whole railing.  I really love the blue and white pot that matches my ceramic light fixtures.  I bought a tiny bougainvillaea for it, but it will grow too.   The tall dead stick will be a gorgeous Hawaiian halcyon with two foot red and yellow flowers.  My friend had a forest of them in one pot and divided it and gave me two bulbs.   I had the canvas drops made to hide the laundry area.    There was only one light on the deck and it was on the wall opposite my cabana.  In order to turn it on, you had to cross the deck in the dark and find the switch behind the washer.  This would not do, so I told my electrician to add two lights in the cabana with a switch inside the door.  I came back one day and it was all done.  There was a switch in a little electric box on the wall and the electric cord connecting the lights on the brick wall was covered with a plastic strip.  It all looked very professional.  Then I looked over the ledge.  There was lamp wire coming  out of a hole near the washer runs along the wall then over the roof.  The wire even has two slices wrapped in tape.  Mexico!!

My prize is the kitchen.  Yes, it is small, but I like being surrounded by the three counters.  Everything is within reach.    I have even started to cook in it.  Since there were no drawers and no overhead cabinets, I bought a beautiful carved chest with four drawers and put it under the staircase.  I still did not have enough room so I added shelving under the counter and then just set some pots above the chest.  I like  the look.  I also added the three rustic shelves and painted them to match my color scheme.  Since there was only one small light in the ceiling I added more lights.   You could operate in that room now.

All in all, I think it is a very attractive apartment and I am very happy here.  Let's hope I can stay here for a long time as I have spent a fortune furnishing and decorating it.  You should visit me sometime.

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THE CAT AND THE COFFEE CAKE

Sadly parents use their children to peddle stuff on the streets.  They try to sell everything from Chiclets gum (yes they do that here too) to peanuts and trinkets, to home baked breads or tamales.  Many are too young to be in school, but it is not uncommon for parents to pull their kids out of school to peddle goods.  The poverty here is heart breaking and the parents know that it is harder for tourists to resist a little kid.

The kids are all cute here with their large brown eyes and ready smiles,  and some are really good at pulling on your heart strings.  Normally I ignore them but sometimes I will give them 5 or 10 pesos just to get them to go away.  There is one kid in his teens who has been selling his mother's coffee cake for many years.  When his mother became too ill to bake, he tried other products but it did not work out.  So he learned how to bake the coffee cake himself.  My favorite is the carrot cake.  They are about 8 inch long ovals and delicious with coffee in the morning.  He now knows me and my preference for the carrot and will seek me out.  Sometimes he also works the beach as well, trekking up and own the beach with his basket of bread.

One day I had purchased the bread while at the beach, and usually place it on top of the coffee pot.  When the coffee brews in the morning it warms the bread.  But before going to bed I tore off a couple of pieces and ate them with a glass of milk.  I retied the plastic baggy but I think I left it on the counter.  The following morning it was gone!  I looked everywhere for it.   NO! it was nowhere.  Since I have almost no drawers there isn't a lot of places to put stuff.  I spent all day trying to figure out what happened to it.  I know I brought it home from the beach for I had a piece before going to bed.  The half finished glass of milk was in the frig.  Was someone trying to "gas light" me or what??

Then I remembered the cat.  Although I have not encountered him again, I find dirty little paw prints under the open window so I know he has been here.  But that did not make any sense.  There wasn't even a crumb left and the whole plastic bag was gone.  Could he have jumped through the window with the bag in his teeth.  If he was that interested in the cake, what was in it??  I could not come up with another explanation as impossible as it all seemed.

Yesterday I bought another carrot cake while I was at the beach.  I left the bag tied up and placed it on the coffee pot.  Remembering what happened the last time, I intended to close that window before going to bed.  There is such a nice sweet breeze coming down from the mountains and through that window that I leave it open a lot.  But that night I had been to dinner with Nancy (my old neighbor from the Little House of Horrors).  After three margaritas and a few beers, I forgot to close the window.  The following morning as I staggered toward the coffee pot I noticed something on the floor.  Sure enough it was the half eaten bag of bread.  He had ripped through the bag but only managed to eat a little and with the ripped bag, I guess he could not get it out the window.  If he is that fascinated with it, is it made of fish oil or what?

Now, I am assuming it was a cat.  The thought of some other kind of creature crawling thought the window and roaming around the house is just too distressing to think about.  What is your opinion?


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CAUGHT AT CUSTOMS !

LAX certainly has the worst customs that I had ever experienced.  There are always very long lines and you are met by the rudest people you have even encountered.   By contrast Customs in Mexico is a breeze.  Normally short lines and you can whiz right through.  As you exit you approach a guard with a machine.  It has a large red button.  You are asked to push it, a red or green light will appear.  Green light and you are free to pass.  Red light and they want to go through all your baggage.  It is supposed to be a random choice and most of the time you will get the green light.  Is there someone in some hidden booth with a camera that actually chooses the red or green light?  I do not know, but I think that would be too technologically advanced for Mexico.

I was returning from a brief trip to Orange County to see doctors, friends, and take care of a little business.  I had also purchased a lot of stuff that you either cannot buy in Mexico or it is double the price.  So I had two suitcases.  I have gotten used to the Mexican cigarettes, but still prefer the milder American ones (even thought they are more expensive).  When I first moved here two years ago, I arrived with six bags and suitcases and brought three cartons of cigarettes.  That was my first "red light" experience.  After being caught once, I had two cartons, but then scattered another carton separately through the two suitcases.

First you have to hoist your bags up onto a portable picnic table.  No they will not help.  As old and feeble as I look they still stand there while you struggle to raise your bags up to table height.   One bag even had a red sticker on it stating that it was heavy.  No help.  I was sure they would figure out that I had more than 40 packages of cigarettes and I knew the procedure.  They take you in a little room and fill out some sort of paper work (IN SEVEN COPIES!)  Don't ask why seven copies, it is Mexico!  They  take the extra cigarettes you sign the paper and leave.

The customs agent began to paw through the stuff in my luggage.   I must admit it must have looked like I had raided a pharmacy.  Some things you can buy in Mexico but they are double the price so I had loaded up with mostly vitamins and cold stuff at Costco.  As you know they are not only large bottles, but often two are attached.  There were just a few prescription drugs as I don't need many.  He gave me a very strange look as be picked up and inspected each one.  Then he came upon the Japanese summer tea.   Years ago discovered it, so I have my friend in Japan send it to my P.O. Box so I can bring them back to Mexico.  I drink copious amount of iced tea.  This tea can be made in a few minutes in cold water and it is not only healthy, but no caffeine.  It is not really tea, but made from toasted wheat barley.  I had three large bags of it.  He wanted to know what it was (the label is in Japanese)  I tired to explain that it was not really tea (which was my first mistake) and opened one package to show him the little tea bags.  He looked curiously at it, then sniffed it.  Then he noticed the three tubes of tooth paste from Japan that my friend also sent.  Of course there is nothing on it but Japanese characters.  He wanted to know what it was, and then why I would import tooth paste.  Well it is gritty and you can't find gritty here.  He gave me that look again and went back to the tea bags.

Did he really think that I was smuggling marijuana to Mexico?  Why would anyone, and if someone did, why would Mexico care?  At this point I was escorted to the little interrogation room.  He left me alone with my luggage (locking the door behind him) .  Was there some kind of peep hole where they could watch to see ifI started to sweat?  I was annoyed, but fortunately I do not sweat.  My suitcases also contained two goose down pillows and two sets of satin-like sheets (the linens here are awful).  Maybe they thought I was going to open a brothel.  No, they really would not care about that.

 Then two men arrived with a dog!  Good Grief !  But luckily the dog did not like my summer tea or my tooth paste..  I offered to brew some up for them so they could taste it.  This idea did not help either.  Surely they wouldn't send my tea out for a drug test.  I would never get it back. After what seemed like hours to me, they decided to let it all pass.  Being old and feeble looking probably did help as well.  Had I been a teenager,  I would probably still be there.  And, they never did count the packages of cigarettes. So maybe if you really do want to smuggle something into Mexico, carry a couple of bags of Japanese tea.  NO !  You really do not want to go through the ordeal.   Oh, one more tip.   Once you pass customs run across that large room to the exit.  That corridor and room is overflowing with salesmen trying to sell you tours, time shares, and other scams. They are extremely aggressive, just ignore them.  You can buy your ticket for the cab there, but I just prefer to get away from there and buy  it outside.  It is set at $24.00 or 250 pesos (which is much cheaper).  There is only one cab company that is allowed to pick up passengers in the airport.  Or, you can drag your luggage up an enormous staircase and cross a bridge to the other side of the highway.  There you can get a cab for 125 pesos (half the price)     Welcome to Mexico and yes, I still love it here.



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NIGHT VISITOR

Trash collection is one of the most disgusting aspects of living in Puerto Vallarta.  There are very few trash receptacles (no Dempsey Dumpers) .  Every block has one designated corner where trash is left.  Most people are good about leaving the trash in plastic bags, but not always sealed.  Some people just drop trash and garbage at the corner.  Luckily my designated corner is at the other end of the block.  It really stinks, probably because of the fish restaurant below me.  To make matter worse scavengers (human and otherwise) dig through the trash to see what they can find of value, leaving an even greater mess.

One night before going to bed, I had carefully tied up a plastic bag of trash and left it at the top of the stairs intending to carry it down in the morning.  I had eaten "take out" ribs from my favorite bar and that morning had finished off the bacon with my breakfast.  The next morning I noticed little pieces of plastic scattered about the floor.   Then I noticed a hole had been torn in the bag.  RATS ! I thought.  The night had been very hot so I had left the window in the guest bedroom open in order to catch any breath of fresh air we had that night (I do not like to leave the A/C on all night long).  I was hoping that the critter had entered through the window and had not been living here all the time.  I have never found any little "droppings" indicating the presence of rodents, nor had I ever seen one (dead or alive) since I moved here two years ago.  This had puzzled me because of the trash at every cornier and the fact that we live in the middle of a dense jungle.

I headed for Guadalajara Pharmacy as they carry a little of everything. They did not have the  poison pellets I was looking for.  They had the old fashioned spring traps, but I have always been afraid of them.  What if the trap caught the rat, but did not kill him?  The other choice was a pan of glue that presumably the rat would walk over and get stuck.  But he would still be alive!  I could not handle that.  I was told that I could buy the poison I wanted at Walmart.  I had already started a Walmart list (I can't do anything without a list). and decided to make that trip the following day.

That night I got up in the middle of the night (old people do this a lot) and as I headed toward the kitchen for a milk and some cookies. Suddenly a black beast leaped off the counter.  First the critter ran up the stairs to the deck door and finding it locked, headed down two flights to the front door.  It too was closed (obviously he had been here before and knew the layout of the house).  .  By this time I realized it was a large black cat.  About the same instant he must have recovered his wits and remembered that he entered through the bedroom window and leaped out.

I was happy to learn that my "night visitor" was feline instead of some rodent.  I was also happy that I was did not purchase any kind of rat trap.  Can you imagine the caterwauling if he had gotten his paw caught in one?  He also would not have been able to get through the bars in the window with the trap attached to his paw.  It would have been awful.  This may also explain the lack of rodents here.  Too many hungry felines roaming about.  I went back to Guadalajara Pharmacy but this time to buy cat food (yes I am a sucker for stray pets).  That night I put the food under the open window.

It was still there the following morning.  Perhaps I scared him more than he sacred me.  Or, perhaps he prefers garbage to processed cat food.  I decided to put  some on the roof.  If he was clever enough to get in the window, he should be able to figure out how to get on the roof.  It too remained uneaten.  Of course if it had been gone, I would have never known what might that eaten it.  Will I ever see "kitty" again?  Stay tuned!  Obviously, there is no photo of kitty.

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MORNING INTERRUPTED, BAD NEW FOR P.V.

It was a lovely cool morning.  I was up early and having my first coffee and cigarette on my balcony.  I was thinking how quiet and peaceful it was here.  No buses, no bus drivers shouting at each other, no drunks, and very few cars at that hour.  I was very happy and at peace and suddenly there was a huge boom.  It sounded like a cannon blast.  Which is quite possible here as every church has a cannon for special occasions (more noise!).  Then huge billows of very black smoke started coming up just a half block away.  More smaller explosions, and it looked like it was coming from the Pharmacy Guadalajara.  The black smoke went on for at least half an hour and I could see flames shooting up that were burning the cables and wires (another reason they should be underground).

I took a few photos, but did not go down to actually photograph the blaze, thinking it was just a store on fire. Little explosions followed like fire crackers.  Then the federalis arrived.  They blocked off the street from cars and pedestrians (probably to prevent anyone from taking pictures).   You may be able to see that one of them is wearing a black terrorist mask.  Some wear those so not to be identified by the "bad guys"  (Mexico is a strange place).   I was going to make my breakfast when I discovered that there were no eggs.  Had the explosion happened an hour later I would have been at the Pharmacy Guadalajara buying milk and eggs.  I decided to go to my favorite coffee shop and have breakfast there.  You can always get the latest news and gossip there (lots of gossip here).

It was then that I found out that V. Carranza was also closed to traffic.  It is the street that comes out from the tunnel and Insurgentes (where the "accident" happened) was also closed which is the end of Highway 200.  This caused an enormous traffic jam with a lot of buses and traffic going down my street.  On the way I passed Clarisse (who helped me with the last of the move).     She had been a half block away and was a witness to the whole event.

She heard the explosion and saw the buring SUV run into a taxi in front of the pharmacy.  She ran over to help (Yes, she is the kind of person who runs toward an explosion, not away from it)  She found a man lying in the parking lot.  He was the taxi driver who happened to have stepped out of his taxi.  He was okay, but very shaken.  She took him inside.  Then all the ammunition in the SUV started exploding.  She then decided the place was not save and dragged the taxi driver out, just as his taxi blew up.  Gasoline was burning all over the street.  They say a car was following the SUV through the tunnel and when they caught up with it threw two grenades at it, and sped off.

The local papers will never tell us what really happened (if they even know).    Rumors are rampant.  The next day the papers said that the driver of the SUV was the Commissioner of Security (obviously not very good at it).  Two bystanders who were across the street were injured by flying shrapnel and of course the driver was killed (not nearly as bad as Colorado a few months ago).  They found the car that threw the grenade within a few blocks from here, but will never know who drove the car or exactly why he killed the commissioner. 

Yes, yes, I know exactly what you are thinking.  Bad things do happen here.  But I still say that the most dangerous thing I will ever do is to drive on the L.A. freeways.  Besides where can you get this kind of excitement?   How many of you have lived a half block from and exploding SUV full of ammunition??  Also included is a photo of what the sunrise looks like from my deck so you can see what a lovely peaceful morning it started out to be and why I still love it here.

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WORK WORK WORK

You could not tell from the previous photos just how much work had to be done to make it liveable (well, for me).  It was my idea to replace the tile, sink and faucet.  It was also my idea to add the roof to the deck and paint.  What I did not know is that the bathroom fan did not work, the lighting was woefully inadequate in the kitchen.  I knew the water pressure was not good, but since there was no shower head, I did not know that the shower was only a trickle.  On the deck there is almost no pressure.  I was told by Saul (the maintenance man who has done most of the work for me)  that the pressure valve was stolen three years ago and everyone complains, but the owner would not pay for it.  The gas tank was empty, when I had it filled we discovered that the gas pipes for the dryer, stove, and hot water not only had no turn offs, but no caps.  The gas had to be shut off.  Oh, and the toilet did not properly flush.

For over a month I worked here from 9:00 until 6:00 every single day.  I stopped my Spanish lessons and have not been to the gym in a month.  I do still play bridge every Thursday afternoon (no way to get out of the tournament).  I did find a very good helper and actually let him do some of the painting.  He is almost as careful as I am.  He is a very hard worker (no lifting or floors) but he started arriving late and leaving early.    I told him I would switch to paying him for half a day and that corrected that flaw.  Painting also requires patching all the holes left in the walls and smoothing out where they run wiring.  They just chisel out a trench in the concrete wall for wiring.  There was also no lighting when you got to the deck.  I had him add two lights with a switch at the top of the stairs.  It all looks very professional until you peak around the wall and discover that it is really just lamp cord running around the building.  It is the way things are done here.

I used the same tile man who does a good job and at a very fair in price.  Did I tell you that the hand made tiles cost 43 cents a piece?  The tile man underestimated the number and I was two boxes short.  They had to make them, so that delayed the finish for a week.  Also he discovered that there was a fake plaster board wall above the stove (who knows why).  It had to be ripped out and a concrete wall was added.  When they slap the mud at the wall it spatters all over the room.  Of course I had already finished painting.  I made sure that I bought a double sink the same size as the single sink that was there  When the old sink was pulled out we discovered that under the flat part of the sink was four inches of concrete and re-bar.  It all had to be chiseled out.  I  bought some special tiles of fruit in green yellow and orange (my colors again).  He installed the row too high so when I added the shelving it partially hides the tiles.  No kitchen has over counter cabinets so you have to improvise.  I bought a Mexican chest for the bedroom but decided to place in the kitchen under the staircase.  It works perfectly and even had 4 drawers.  There is not one drawer in the kitchen.

The biggest shocker came when the washer and dryer arrived.  I knew the front door was narrow, so I was sure not to buy anything that would not go through it.  Well, actually the bed frame had to be hoisted up to the first floor.  Then we discovered that the door to the deck did not open enough for either appliance.  It is blocked by a brick overhang on the balcony railing.  Both had to be hoisted up two floors.  My balcony hangs over the sidewalk so that meant they would be raised above the street and any cars on it. (you can see the cars under the hoisted dryer in the photo).

The day the two guys arrived to hoist the appliances up, there were two cars parked directly under where they were going to pull them up.  I asked everyone on the street who owned the cars, but no one knew or cared.  I watched from across the street and knew that if one fell, I would have to leave Mexico.  I can not even imagine the damage that would occur.  But of course it went off without a hitch.  When my equipauli (pig skin) table arrived, it too would not go up the staircase.  Having seen two guy raise a heavy dryer up, I knew the table would be a piece of cake so the maintenance man and myself did it.  Apparently this is quite a common occurrence in Mexico.

The new place is much smaller so trying to place everything was a problem too.  Every little Mexican treasure I bought was for a specific place.  Now, many will wind up on the roof top garden (that is what I call it now).  All this has taken me a month to complete and I have spent a fortune.  The rent is much less than what I was paying so, if I can stay there for several years, it will balance out.  I think I will like it, especially the roof top garden (I must buy more pots and plants).  Did I mention that the church bell tower is across the street?  Having lived a block away, I knew about the ringing of the bells (22 to 26 times) but had no idea what a difference being just a few yards away would make.  The noise is truly deafening, but it is mainly just on Sunday, and special occasions (which Mexico has a lot of)  and I do get up early.

I think I have mentioned before how often the Mexicans try to rip off foreigners and this move was no exception.  Prices automatically go up, when they see white skin, so I thought it was important to tell you a good story.   I had priced mattresses in several stores and found they ran from 5,000 to 7,000 pesos.  I was told about a sort of mattress outlet store.  After trying out several I settled on one for 3,500 pesos and thought I got it for a good price (especially since delivery the same day was included).  When I went to pay for it the girl said,  "Oh, cash!  you get a 500 pesos discount"  I would never have known, so there are some nice honest Mexicans here.

Now I am actually living in the new apartment.  It will take a while to get everything in order and put away and I still have to buy living room furniture.  I would like a royal blue sofa on one wall and two chairs and a lamp table on the other.  I also hope to buy a bedroom chest at an estate sale next week.  All this will take a while to complete, but at the moment I need rest.  Even after 8 or 9 hours sleep I awake exhausted.  I really think I am now too old to every move again.  Let's hope I like it here and the landlady lets me stay.  I was telling my cousin how difficult this move was for me and she said that when she moved from her home to a retirement home: she hired a company that came in looked how she had everything, packed it up, moved and when she arrived that night everything had been put away exactly the same.  I told her that "if" such a company existed in Mexico they would STEAL everything. 


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