Lakeside Again

On Monday, March 5th, I turned over a set of keys to the Casa de Schroeder to Sergio. He and his wife will live there, take care of the pool and plants and do some work on finishing some construction. Norma helped clean up the house in preparation of the change. The next morning, I washed the rig, stored the satellite dish, took a final swim in the pool, took a shower and then was off to drive to Lake Chapala.

One thing that I was not expecting was Norma planned to go with me. It wasn’t until about 5 minutes before we left that I figured out that she was coming too. We got on the road about 10 AM. Everything went well until a little ways north of Ciudad de Guzman, the rig started loosing power every time I stepped on the gas. My top speed was reduced to about 40 MPH and I couldn’t pass a slower truck I was behind. Finally I found a place to pull over and see if I could figure out what the problem was. A Mexican highway patrol officer stopped and asked if I had a “problema”. Si was my answer. At that point I thought maybe I had a clogged fuel filter. The Policia suggested that I turn the rig around and go find a mechanic in Guzman.

I started the truck and turned around toward Guzman and to my surprise everything seemed back to normal with full power again. We continued south until we found a “Returno” and then turned north again. I doubt if the problem was the fuel filter. It must be some intermittent electrical problem where not all cylinders were firing. If any readers with a mechanical bent have an idea what the problem was, I would like to hear it.

We arrived lakeside at San Juan Cosala about 2 PM and I turned down the main street that runs by the town square. Well, it being a Tuesday, it was a market day with tiangis at the square and cars and trucks were parked on both sides of the narrow street. Somehow I managed to squeeze the rig through and parked in front of Jose’s house. Jose owns the lot where I had previously parked. Jose and his wife Ilena were home and I paid Jose a 1,000 pesos for another months rent to park the rig on his lot.

Jose and Ilena both speak English and Spanish so Norma felt comfortable. They offered us pecans and we sat and talked for awhile. I mentioned that I may be looking for a house to buy and Jose told me he knew of a place so Norma, Jose and I took a walk to see it. It turns out that the house is only one lot away from my friends, Brian and Ursula’s house. The place was walled with solid metal doors so we couldn’t see much of the house except for part of the second story over the fence. Norma and I hadn’t eaten a regular meal yet that day so I wanted to try out the only restaurant in San Juan Cosala. Jose offered to show us the way. This was the second time I wanted to try the restaurant but again it was not open. We returned to Jose’s house and Jose and Ilena offered to feed us. We had Chili Rellanos, rice and beans and it hit the spot.

Jose told me he wanted to remove the van that was parked on his lot so I could pull my rig farther into the lot on a higher area. Jose is planning on putting a “T” into the large PVC pipe that leads to the septic tank so I will be able to use that. Jose also needed to build a ramp so I could get the rig up to the higher location. The work was done about sundown and we got parked.

Wednesday and Thursday, I showed Norma around Ajijic and Chapala. Norma had not been to Lake Chapala before. I think she liked what she saw but was probably amazed by all the old gringos in Ajijic. I made myself reacquainted with most of the friends I had made previously. We had the gringo breakfast food at Salvador’s on both days. Salvador’s also serves Mexican food so Norma got something she liked.

On Friday at around 2 PM, Norma left to take the bus to Jocotepec and on to El Molino. Jose had told her that she could connect to the bus to Colima from there. I have since talked to Norma on the phone and she arrived home safely.

I like the new parking spot. I have a good view of the lake and hills south of the lake from the rig’s wrap around rear windows. Norma and I used some bricks on Jose’s lot to make a path leading to the rig’s door. There is a photo following showing the new location.



Saturday I have made a reservation for the St. Patrick’s Day meal of real corned beef (rare in Mexico) and cabbage at Tom’s Bar. The Canadian singer Glen Charles will be playing and singing Irish songs. Tom has a new bartender, a cute young woman (about 22) who has been down here a year visiting her grandmother. She is a rarity where most gringos are over 60.

We may have some rain today. I am hearing thunder and the skies are threatening. Yesterday, I saw lightning south of the lake but it didn’t rain here.

This evening I plan to go back into town to go to the Old Pasado where Ron and Sally are playing tonight. Brian and his friends usually go every Tuesday night as they love to dance. Kas and Maria will be there and I want to see them before they leave for Florida at the end of the week.

Here are some shots of stores in Ajijic.

Changes

Today I went to Manzanillo to pick up my FM3. I picked up Norma and her sister, Rosa a little after 8 AM at Norma’s house in the Valle de Sol colonia. My idea in leaving this early was to get to the immigration offices around 9 AM when they open, thinking I would get a good place in line and not have to wait very long. Well, others seemed to have had this idea and the wait was about an hour and a half. I provided the January bank statement immigration had requested and shortly thereafter got the FM3. The FM3 booklet almost looks like a passport.

I have had a problem with my son, Marc and as a result will be leaving his house, Casa de Schroeder in Armeria. I am a little sad about this turn of events because I will miss out watching the plants grow that Norma and I planted and I enjoyed using the swimming pool. However, I probably would have suffered during the hot summer even with the swimming pool to cool off in. The major problem would have been trying to sleep nights when it is 95 degrees and humid for weeks at a time.

Of course, air conditioning could be installed but then you have to pay to use it. A major reason I was moved to sell my house in Truckee near Lake Tahoe is that I couldn’t afford to keep it warm during the winter. And of the two situations, I would rather pay to keep warm than pay to stay cool. This turn of events has me again in search of the perfect climate, not too cold in the winter or too hot in the summer.

Another thing that I realize after this time in Armeria is that I would not be happy living as the only gringo in a Mexican community. Not that I miss the company of gringos that much but because in areas where they live, there are more services which cater to them. Mainly I miss a variety of foods that are not available here. As I have said before, I’m bored with eating just Mexican food every day.

I am now planning on returning to the Lake Chapala area. The climate is almost perfect and you have access to different kinds of foods. I checked with a friend and I think that the spot I parked my RV in before is available. If so, I will park there for awhile and wait for the sale of my house to be completed. I will check around for a nice place to rent or buy.

My relationship with Norma will now be strained with me living at Lake Chapala and Norma living in Armeria. We have talked about this (with the help of an interpreter) and I think that if I can come up with a nice place to live that she may want to join me.