First, let me summarize the past two years. After going through a negative experience renting a house in Tequis, I thought of moving to Oaxaca. But a last minute invitation to Santillan by compatriots changed all that and I ended up purchasing a lot that took me a year to pay off, unaware at first that it was ejido land, and unserviced. In case one wonders what the lot cost me, it was $60,000, pesos, or about $5,300 dollars at the exchange rate of that time.
Long story shortened, I got water but am still waiting for electricity. This is taking time… We are at present eight families in the equivalent of a small city block applying to get it. Things in Mexico get done… eventually… And going through any kind of government procedure can get very complicated, hence requiring the patience of an angel quick on wings dealing with a perennially slow-moving sloth. Meanwhile, I got a number of things going in my all-consuming construction project.
I got a cement block fence that keeps sheep, cows, and dogs out. I got a septic tank over which I built a bodega or what amounts to a shed, but made of cement blocks. I got the mamposteo built, the stone and cement base espousing the contours of the house and its various rooms built. That part was quite expensive and very time consuming. Then the walls went up and need only a couple of days to complete the top cadena. And now, I’m kinda stumped!
I’ve been hemming and hawing for the past few days if not weeks about what to pay for next. Getting electric power is priority in my mind but its realization is, at best, a complicated affair in which I have very little say. The major preoccupation is that all but my home are Mexican owned, which should help matters, but by getting involved directly as a foreigner, the perception of my being loaded with $$$ would guarantee a much higher bid for the installation of cables, a transformer, etc. etc. So I don’t show my face. And here the bottom line is that without a guarantee of electric power before next winter, I’ll probably be contemplating selling everything. Hence my being like The Hanged Man in the Tarot deck. Stuck without much room for manoeuvring.
My CO adventure a few weeks back when I desperately needed help and was without a cell phone signal for two hours convinced me that I needed a phone that was secure at all times. So I went to Telmex in San Juan, was told I needed to buy a pole, which I did, then got a regular phone installed in my RV. The pole cost me $1,500 pesos, the installation was another $505. pesos, for a total of about $175 dollars. The line is $187 pesos per month, well under $20 dollars. Telmex even has an international package that works for one area code at only $119 pesos for 50 minutes a month. The total comes to a tad under $25 dollars a month. Not too bad, after all!
We’re all waiting for a quote for the eight households, a cost that we will share in equal parts. It may be pricey so I’m hesitant to spend anything on construction right now until we get an acceptable quote for which I want to be ready. So I’m keeping my quintos as is said here. (Quintos are an old money system before the pesos.)
Plus, I’ll admit to being down in the dumps with the loss of my Queenie. She was not only a very large dog, but an equally large presence in my home and in my heart. So I’m being patient with myself. I have lost many pets during my long life but will admit that it never was easy; neither is it now. I’m all for sharing all with my readers. Frankly and honestly. However, being by nature a positive person refusing to dwell long on mishaps, obstacles, or misadventures, I refrained from posting. Readers have been quick to give me encouragement in the past and I have no doubt that the response would have been the same now. I just felt in a state of limbo, having very little to contribute for the time being.
We should get some news about the electricity saga by the end of next week. Or so I’ve been told… I’ll keep everyone informed.
1 comment:
I'm hoping the cost of the electric hookups will leave you some money toward your other expenses. Please keep us posted.
Take care. Rose
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