I’m not going to lie, this week was by far one of the most exciting and busiest weeks we have had. I’m going to recap a few of the highlights and avoid the boring stuff. If you would like to hear more or see a picture that you want to know more about, let me know. I am waiting for you folks to send me some of your stories too because I would love to hear them and possibly include them in this blog. Send me stuff at tellrhondayourstory@gmail.com.
We planned on leaving Lo de Marcos by 9:30 AM to get to Ajijic by 3:00 PM. We were meeting Priscilla at the house to get our keys and papers for our new house. The drive is only about 4 and ½ hours but we stop a bunch along the way. While Larry hooked the trailer up, I did my walk up my hill to see my friends one last time, Berto and Rueben. It was a quick 15 minutes walk with no dilly dallying. I called out, “hola, Hola, Hola Berto.” I didn’t want to go beyond the propiedad privada signs. Eventually as I was walking behind the gate, Reuben walked up and waved. Berto was gone but I said goodbye to him the best I could and offered the card I wrote out to them. I translated it to spanish. I did tell him we would be back in November. He said, “Noviembre”. “ Adios Amigo!”
We arrived at our new house at San Francisco 815 earlier than I expected. We hung out in front of the house for about 45 minutes talking to all the neighbors that were driving by, walking or just stepping outside of their houses to say hello. We were the new kids on the block with a shiny Airstream and we were noticed rather quickly. Eventually I just asked Gary from across the street to give us his set of keys to our house. We could be unloading until Priscilla gets here. That was a great plan! We got enough stuff inside to sleep on the tiny double bed that was left. We also scored a kitchen table. Gypsy was interested but confused because we weren’t in the trailer at night. She could see it under the metal gate but not get to it.
I started making lists on 3 by 5 index cards for everything we needed to get or to do on each level and in each space and room. We have 2 months to get furniture and do a few basic improvements. We are hopeful that Wayne from the Ajijic Hiking group will rent the house this winter. Wayne and his wife Eilane spend half their time in Cincinnati, Ohio and the other half of the year in Ajijic. He sent some friends from the San Antonio area to see what the house looks like. I’ve sent him pictures and videos but it’s barebones empty right now. I like to say it has so much raw potential…...an empty canvas or 2 story red wall.
We spent a few days driving around looking for furniture but this also included hair appointments, massages and many short bike rides into Chapala and Ajijic to break up the days. We were able to find a great new king size bed and the magical thing is that it was delivered and set up by bedtime on Friday. The young men also brought the small bed down to the 1st floor and set it up too. We had a housekeeper come over once to help do a thorough cleaning from top to bottom. I like starting out fresh with our own dirt! Rosario was recommended from Priscilla as she cleans the real estate office. I liked her and now she’ll be coming over once a week to clean. Super happy with help!
We met landscapers who are coming soon to help in the yard. We want to add a patch of grass to the entry. We had one gentleman come by to give us a quote for a Palapa that we are having built on the roof... Larry wants to help. I hope they don’t add to the quote for that. LOL Besides the people we invited over to do work, we had many folks walk by and offer to help do things. We paid this one guy 60 pesos ($3.15 US) to wash the truck. He needed to buy dog food for his dog. Other people offer help with tile, electrician, plumbing or whatever. We have them help when we can. We are still committed to having fun as we work on the house. That’s why we jump on our bikes when we want to fill in the day with some time on the trail.
We have seen a bunch more of the town and surrounding area, we are getting to know where businesses are located for materials that we need for the house. I was able to squeeze in 2 of the Lifted workouts with Holly and her team. Again, I really love the convenience and flexibility of this program. I count all the floors I run up at the house...I carry my phone with me to get stair credit. We found out they have regular Pickleball at the Hotel Monte Carlo only 2 miles toward Chapala. We stopped in one day to see how it all worked. Larry went back the next day to play on the open court with the folks that come each week. Larry and I both tried playing with the Saturday group. They were friendly and helpful, considering we are newbies. Many of the mature athletes are amazingly good. This made me ask Victor the Pickleball Pro (not really) for a lesson next week. He’s a young man that runs the Pickleball court 6 days a week plus does lessons. He was training for Pickleball tournaments and was ready to start when Covid hit and stopped the world. He’s very nice too.
Earlier in the week we found out about a neighborhood get together on Saturday. It was set up by Heidi and Lourdes to meet us and another new homeowner. We walked to the next street over with our next door neighbor Joan. She pointed out houses along the way and who lives there. I was very impressed when we went behind the large yellow wall to a spectacular home. “This is Heidi’s house and she lives alone”. It was beautiful and set on an extra lot. Larry and I met a few folks...but many names will escape me. We met 20 folks at Pickleball in the morning and now we were meeting 15 more new friends. WOW!!! People are nice, friendly and wonderful but it’s a blur in my mind a week later. Ha ha ha...
Heidi found us and told us we could look around as she just remodeled. Later in the evening she gave us a guided tour and told us about her brilliant mathematician husband who has Alzeimers now. She was smart, intriguing and had a sparkle! Loved her! Good stories too.
We met Leanne and Jerry. He was a talker and filled with amazing tales of living on a sailboat, motorcycles and traveling all over South America working with a mining corporation. Fascinating. We were introduced to Lyle and his Mexican wife, Ramona. Lyle has walked the Camino in Europe 6 times and is going back in October….we got an invite! He’s spent as long as 3 months walking and prefers the trails less traveled...he likes the harder ones. So many amazing vibrant folks living their best lives…..plus the majority were at least 15 years senior. I was impressed. We walked home with Leeann and Jerry and saw their home and new addition. What got my attention was the garage full of motorcycles. That guy can’t ride them all at once….that’s where he needs me! Rhonda is always so helpful and accommodating,
Probably the favorite day was Sunday when Chile de Joco came over with his family Miriam, Leonardo and Manuel. We spent most of the time outside to see the wall and his boys are 2 and 5 years old….they had so much energy. Chile gave us a picture for our home that he painted on wood. It’s cool, white on black with a deer and hummingbird. We were very touched and Larry says that Mexician people always bring gifts. We will hang it in a spot where it will get attention. We love it! We talked about the mural ideas I have and when he can start.
We are hoping for next week. He has been super busy with the Cultura Jocotepec and helping with the election. We were blessed with their company for almost 3 hours. I gave the boys some juice and cookies from Larry’s stash. Their parents had coke. It was a great way to end our first week!