Saturday, September 04, 2010

Glorious Anniversary of Five Year Plan


We arrived to live in Mexico on September 14, 2005.
We now approach the Glorious Anniversary of our first Five Year Plan.
Last week, we completed our applications for our second FM3 visas.
On Wednesday we went to pick them up. Now they are laminated cards instead of passport like booklets.

OLD
NEW
We celebrated the beginning of our second Glorious Five Year Plan with a nice seafood lunch at La Jaiba.

Yummy!
Five years ago crossed the frontera just before dawn on September 14, 2005, and got to to Morelia a couple of days earlier, and not without some car problems.

We obtained temporary housing over the cold winter of 2005-2006, then house sat for 4 months in the spring of 2006. Then in June 2006, we found our present home waiting for us. It was outwardly unattractive but inside it was a gem. Since then, it has been variously improved by the owners: new roof, paint and rewiring. Our rent has risen only 500 pesos in the 4 years we've been here. Knock knock. Recently, the monthly charge for pueblo piped water rose from $50 to $70 pesos.


The rancho/village in which we live has recently gotten funding and a community effort public works project is under way right now. The hub of the pueblo at the crosswalk has been widened.



We felt the spirit move us, and with a gift of utility shelving from dear, departed friends, we reorganized or garage! ¡Que milagro!

Could be turned into a guestroom or a small store!
A couple of years ago, the rough, upaved cowtrail that was the upward extension of our street was bulldozed and graveled. Last year, seven concrete poles were placed to carry current upward to a projected house site. We don't like the poles, as the spoil the view, but hey! It's not our land.

Pole Land

A new tienda opened at the entrance to the pueblo about 6 months ago. It's a progressive, modern store, allowing the customers to come inside and actually see and perhaps handle the merchandise before buying. The other tiendas here have little windows where you knock, ring, push a bell and you ask for whatever dusty, out of date article you desire. This should quiet and calm (but it won't) the critics of Big Supermarkets who fear that those threaten the small, Mamá y Papá tiendas. We have at least 5 tiendas in our pueblecito. Some are hidden away on side streets, serving the neighborhood.

The 3 kilometers of paved road in from the main highway has had its potholes patched a couple of times. Keep up the good work. We like being able to drive in and out without swerving to avoid potholes.

This is a good place for us, and we hope to enjoy at least another 5 years here.

10 comments:

Tancho said...

when is the pool and sauna going in?
You can't stop progress, obviously, so you might as well be ahead of the game.
A Subway sandwich shop and a cineplex next century....

Don Cuevas said...

Tancho, I prefer a Jacuzzi tub more than a sauna. Then there's the smokehouse and wood fired stone oven.

Saludos
Don Cuevas

Calypso said...

Congrats on the 5 years!

Michael Dickson said...

Happy anniversary! Next step: citizenship!

Don Cuevas said...

Felipe; nice thought, but there are certain other steps to pass before that would become possible. It's not so easy t become a citizen now as it was in your heyday.

Saludos,
Don Cuevas

Michael Dickson said...

Actually, it appears there was indeed a period of about four or five years in which getting citizenship was not much more than a question of asking, in the early 2000s. No tests, no nada. I lucked up. And now I am one ignorant Mexican citizen. And they´re stuck with me.

Not having to mess with visas, getting to vote, not having to be careful about what I say in public, etc., is really nice. Fun, actually.

Steve Cotton said...

Congraulations on the 5 years. I need to get south to get the clock running again. Of course, I will cheat on the past six months. That is, until Felipe calls me on it.

Anonymous said...

It seems like just yesterday that you and Susan crossed the border. Congratulations on outlasting the average for Gringos who move to Mexico, full-time. Saludos from Chicago. Bill

Don Cuevas said...

Thank you, Bill.
Nice to get your comment here.

Saludos,
Don Cuevas

Michael Dickson said...

And what is the average that Gringos survive down here?