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| Sunrise looking over Banderas Bay |
My
husband and I have just returned from another trip to Mexico. Having made the
decision to move to a Latin American country within two to three years we’ve
made several trips trying to decide exactly where. After visiting Puerto
Vallarta in April, we were pretty sure that was where we wanted to be but all
of the locals told us to come in August because it is absolutely unbearably hot
and humid then. So our August trip was to see if we could handle the heat and
humidity and begin to look at what homes are like in the area.
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| Our wonderful radio (courtesy of Europcar) |
We
rented a condo and tried to live as much as possible as the expats who have
already moved there. After arriving we had to run the gauntlet of hiring a car.
It’s never an easy task and this time was no different. Since we arrived late
in the afternoon, our choice was limited – as in only one car. Steve checked
over all of the dents and scratches and took photos of every scratch before we
set off to find the condo -- only to realize that the radio had no knobs! OK,
we’d just go back the next morning and exchange the car. This didn’t happen
because by the time Steve got there, there were no more cars. So we listed to
Mariachi music for the whole two weeks.
The
condo rental manager had left a key with security along with a note saying that
she couldn’t meet us but would come by early the next morning. We found our nice little condo but the area
where we’d spend most of our time, the main lounge, dining area and kitchen, was
at ground level with an all glass front and one of the large blinds covering
half of the glass was missing. We also
realized that the extra security lock on the door didn’t work and the lock on
the 2nd level balcony didn’t work either. These prompted a call to the condo manager
with a very unreliable connection on a Mexican phone that had been left for us.
We were promised a visit early mañana to sort everything out so we went to the
local Mexican Supermercado. We’d been there several times in April so we were
familiar with the layout of the store and our shopping was done fairly quickly.
Back
at the condo, as it got dark, we felt as if we were in a goldfish bowl because
of the missing shade. This wasn’t so much of a problem because we’d been up
since 2.30am to catch an early flight so we had an early night.
The
next morning, the manager’s husband came by “early” (somewhere between 10.30
and 12.00) to sort out our missing locks and blind. We were actually very
pleasantly surprised that it happened so quickly and efficiently!
The
start to our stay had me thinking about what a major decision moving to a new
country really is. We’ve both done it – I’ve done it twice and when I moved
back to the US after living in the UK, I still suffered culture shock. This
time will be more difficult because of the language and cultural differences.
Even little things like foods that you automatically take for granted won’t be
available. Major things such as medical emergencies will prove really difficult
if we can’t understand what the doctor is telling us. Fortunately, there’s
quite a large expat community in Puerto Vallarta so finding doctors who speak
English might not be such a problem.
However, I did have to go to the farmacia to ask for some cream for my
hands and I wanted to do it in Spanish. I had practiced with Steve so was all
set. The only problem was, the woman answered me in Spanish and so quickly, I
didn’t have a clue what she said. But she showed me the cream and I purchased
it and the whole transaction was done in Spanish!
Our
big challenge on this trip was to settle on an area that we liked and actually
look at some condos because we want to spend at least a year there before
deciding whether or not that will be a permanent home. We found our first real
estate company quite by accident. We were looking for a restaurant and the real
estate company with the same name was next door. We were very lucky because the
manager spoke very good English. After describing what we were looking for, she
told us that the rental agent was out but would be back on Monday. After
calling on Monday lunchtime to confirm that the rental agent would be there, we
stopped in the office at the appointed time. The rental agent wasn’t there and
couldn’t be reached on her cell phone. Finally, the manager arrived back from
lunch (around 4.30pm) and she personally took us to view three condos. We asked
that information be emailed to us but we’ve seen nothing yet. Maybe she meant "la semana que viene" (next week). See the time scales definitions below.
We
stumbled upon our next real estate agent again by accident. We were looking at
areas and found a building that we liked and there just happened to be a
business card outside the security gate. When we called, the woman answered in
a very Canadian-sounding voice and she immediately set up an appointment for a
couple of hours later. When we arrived, she was already there and buzzed us
through the security gate. After showing us the condo, she asked for our
contact details and by the time we were back at our condo, she had emailed us asking
for our feedback. A couple of days later, she’d arranged for us to see another
condo and again was there ahead of time. As before, she’d emailed us
immediately so by the time we got back to the condo, we had an email asking for
our feedback plus we had full descriptions and dimensions of both properties.
The experience with the two real estate agents couldn’t have been more polar
opposites.
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| Is this our future view? |
We
managed the hot, humid and rainy weather with no problems. It was just like
being back in Maryland except at home we don’t have the ocean or palm trees
outside our door. Our next test will be a visit during peak tourist time.
Although we don’t want to live in the tourist area of Puerto Vallarta, we’ll be
close enough that when the PV beaches are full of gringos from the resorts, the
locals will flock to a beach just outside our terrace doors.
We
came back excited and enthused. Yes, we know there will be “cons” and we’ll
have huge challenges, but if we remain flexible and are willing to adapt and
force ourselves to learn Spanish, we will find it easier and more enjoyable.
Every day will mean that we are constantly learning and we’ll take more notice of
our surroundings. Here in the US, we can almost operate on auto-pilot and make
it through the day with our eyes closed. In a new country with a new unique
culture and language to learn and new people to meet, we’ll have the
opportunity to challenge and change our lives.
Mexican
Time Schedule
“ahora”
– definition ‘now’ but actually means ‘in a while’
“ahorita”
– definition ‘right now’ but actually means ‘in a while’
“mañana”
– definition ‘morning’ or ‘tomorrow’ – when used as tomorrow actually means
some day other than that
“cinco
minutos” – definition ‘5 minutes’ but actually means 5 Mexican minutes
“momentito”
– definition ‘in a moment’ but actually means 5 Mexican minutes
We
learn fast!
