I apologize for the lack of pics in this post. I was in rather overwhelmed/bewildered mode yesterday. Pictures will come soon enough. 🙂
Debra came right out to greet me warmly with a hug and we went to my apartment to see if anyone was there. She said that it seemed like they were getting it ready for someone, which further convinced me that the arrangement was going to work out as planned and that I was dealing with a Mexican who does things the Mexican way and that I was right to have not stressed out about the arrangements and lack of contact.
I’m really proud of my attitude about that. I was getting a little frustrated at not being able to reach my landlady, but I kept talking myself down and reminding myself that this is likely how business is done here and that it would all come together in the end. I don’t think there was ever a moment where I didn’t believe the apartment would be waiting for me.
Debra and I went back to the RV park and she introduced me to a single lady full-timer named Dale and then took off for a party. Dale took me under her wing, being a newbie to Isla herself, and got me settled in her tiny air conditioned rig with a cold Pacifico!
She shared the story of her arrival in Mexico and on Isla (no one warned her about The Road) and confessed to having been a mess when she finally got here. She said that compared to her, I was the picture of calm about being here!
We later went out and she introduced me to neighbours from MOSSBANK, as in the Mossbank about an hour from Haven! They said they knew where the landlady lives and that the family was having a meal, so why didn’t we all sit down and chat?
They introduced me to a nice French guy who knows about rental places on Isla. He suggested I go check out some apartments his buddy from Quebec (20 minutes from my mother’s place!) manages as they were internet ready and right on the beach. Yup, less than an hour on Isla and I was talking French to good looking guys my own age! This place was looking up!
We took a Mexico bus to drive around. That is, Dale and I sat in the back of a pickup! 🙂
Those apartments were exactly what I would have expected had I rented something sight unseen, kind of grungy and old looking, with a lot of dampness issues. Okay, but not as good as what I knew the promised apartment would be like as it was only three years old. My favourite part of the tour was the comment not to worry, that’s lizard, not mouse, poo all over the counters! Good thing I don’t mind reptiles!
That said, the apartments were architecturally interesting and right on the water, as well as spacious, with much better outdoor space than I knew the planned apartment would have. It was nice to have a point of comparison, but I was sure I’d stick with my original plan. Being on the beach just isn’t important to me. I’ve already had my winter on a beach so for the same rent, I prefer a newer place that I wouldn’t need to be scrubbed before moving into.
So the French guy (need to get his name!) took me to my landlady’s house, where he was told that she was at the apartment! We headed back there.
I’ll pause here to give you my first sense of Isla. I was bewildered as I knew it was a bit of a backwater kind of place, but that it has a large population and some services, so I wasn’t expecting the roads to all be mud tracks and for my neighbours to have horses in their front yard. Wait a minute, I think I just described my hamlet! 🙂
Otherwise, this is going to be life in a fairly big community for me, with neighbours close by and the grocery store within walking distance. Yes, there is a grocery store on Isla. Yay! I thought I was going to have to go back to Mazatlan on the ferry to get food today. Dale says the mercado is small, but has all the basics. She’s taking me there today.
There was activity at the apartment when we all got there! We went in for a tour and was told that they were just finishing a clean up. The place was sparkling and like a hotel, with nice laid out towels and made up beds. I was told everything down to the cutlery was cleaned with Clorox, which Gringa-N-Mexico claims is the preferred cleaning product of Mexico…
They worked really hard to make it ready for me and all the frustration of being out of contact melted away. I had kept telling myself that there was a clean, beautiful, welcoming place waiting for me on Isla and that’s exactly what happened! The apartment was exactly as expected from the pictures, except for the layout, for which I couldn’t get a sense from the pictures. It is long and narrow, just like an RV or mobile house, so that’s easy for me to get used to! 🙂
I was relieved to say the least, and pleased that they had worked so hard to make it so beautiful and welcoming. I knew I could move right in and not feel like I needed to clean anything.
My landlady turned out to be YOUNG, probably younger than me! She made sure I was happy with the place and I said yes. I told her that I had checked out another place that had internet included for 5,500 pesos and reiterated that I need internet.
She agreed to include the internet in the rent (!) and that she would call first thing in the morning to get the service put in. I told her that I wasn’t going to let her get away with that and would be nagging until it got done!
There is cell service on Isla, but it’s not great and I’m not getting it reliably at the apartment, so I’m relying on public wifi until the service comes in. At least, there is public wifi! And I am getting cell service at the apartment this morning, so perhaps it’s a time of day issue.
I also asked if she could check around for a desk and chair. The kitchen table will be fine for working for a bit, but I want to use the second bedroom as my office and really can’t type at a table (too high) for six months!
I was told that the apartment would be ready for me in a couple of hours as they were finishing up. I went back to the RV park with Dale and a nice gentleman came over to drop off my apartment key!!!
After a bit, I decided to go back to the apartment and see if I could park Moya and move in a few things. Dale told me to come back and have supper! I actually hadn’t eaten all day (heat, not nerves) and was starting to feel a bit faint. I had nothing but granola bars, so I gladly agreed when she said that all she was going to do was heat up a can of stew for me as it didn’t make me feel like I was being too huge a burden.
Coming out of my spot at the RV park, I hit something pretty hard and thought that my trip here was going way too well. Of course I had to hit someone’s RV. 🙁
Well, fortune favours the bold as they say and all I hit was a palm tree! It was fine and Moya looked none the worse for wear, although the impact was loud and everyone in the park heard it and I’ll likely forever more be the gal who hit a palm tree her first night here!
I went back to the apartment and it was ready! They had moved in a fridge and some extra counter space for the kitchen. My landlady’s mother took me around the yard, making a point to show me the clothesline and the hammock. 🙂 There is also a washer on the porch!
I paid for this month’s rent and made it clear that next month’s rent won’t be paid till near the middle of the month. Not a problem!
As the landlady headed out, I asked her about drinking water. I am to take the 5-gallon bottle under the sink and put it on the curb with 12 pesos and water will magically appear…
Then, she preempted my question about garbage. It’s collected Tuesday and Thursday mornings, which is easy to remember since garbage at Haven is Tuesday mornings. I was told to put out my bags around 10:00, otherwise the dogs get at them. She was amused when I said it’s the same thing at home. Really, it won’t be hard to get used to this place!
Finally, she started talking about gas and I lost track of what she was saying, another case of understanding the words but not the whole of the meaning. I apologized and asked her to start over. She speaks good English and she still repeated herself in Spanish, which again tells me that I’m obviously doing okay with the language.
As it turns out, heat, cooking, and hot water are just like at Haven, with propane! What she was saying is that the propane is NOT included in the rent and that they will order as much as I’m willing to pay for. I’m going to start with 400 pesos and see how far that takes me. There is a little gas now, but not much. I don’t mind that not being included in the rent as I know it will be cheap and that I won’t go through that much. So I am still going to have to ‘worry’ about propane this winter, ha ha ha. Her husband is going to be the propane lookout and will tell me when I’m getting low. I will then pay him to have the tank filled, so it’s much easier than having to deal with propane with the RV!
I unloaded a few things, then went back to Dale’s. A bowl of stew, a slice of buttered bread, and some conversation later, she took me to the beach so I could see the lights of Mazatlan. The city is SUPER close! It’s about an hour by car, less than ten minutes by panga (ferry)! As for the beach, it’s just minutes away on foot!
I then headed HOME where I ended up doing more unpacking and putting away than I expected, probably because I couldn’t get online. 🙂
Eventually, the only thing I wanted was a cool shower. It’s very sticky here and I feel grimy very quickly. The apartment does not have AC since I would then have to pay for my electricity. There are some VERY good fans in the three main rooms.
I wrote this post in bed. I had a fan going and was very comfortable once I showered. The bed was good! Not as soft as I’d like, but better than my two previous Mexico beds! I brought in my pillows even though I was provided with several.
I fell asleep quickly around 10:30 and was awoken rudely by our resident rooster around 4:00. I managed to get in a cap nap again, but gave up at 7:00. I’m going to need a sleep mask and ear plugs, I think, since the curtains are very thin and a streetlight shines in. But I did get used to sleeping in a bright room in Yukon, so I might get used to it again. Not so sure about the rooster, though!
I haven’t poked around the kitchen much, but it looks like everything I need is there except perhaps a kettle and room to store my food! There is a coffee pot, so I’m just going to heat water with that. That didn’t work well at the hotels because the water wasn’t getting hot enough, but it’s fine here. I could make the coffee in the pot, of course, but I really do prefer the French press. I made sure last night to put out my favourite mug, a bag of coffee, and the box of powdered milk so I would have an easy morning.
It’s 8:20 my first morning on Isla and I’m waiting for Dale to take me around. I thought I was set for breakfast since I have Malt-O-Meal, but the stove needs matches and the matches left by it are damp and useless. I wish I had thought to pack a BBQ lighter! I’ll see if I can find some at the mercado, as well as a broom.
I’m feeling very good this morning, not quite at home, but I think I will get there. I’m glad Dale is going to show me around.
Apartment pics will be next, but no idea when. Could be a few minutes, could be a few hours. I am on Island time now! 🙂
