The Seven Year Hitch

La Casa, July, 2006

We have just marked the seventh anniversary of our arrival at el Rancho. When we first saw the house that was to become our home, we were immediately attracted to it. True, it wasn't as nice looking then; a one story, flat roofed, unpainted building on a big lot. But we knew right away that we wanted to live here.


The ugly duckling exterior belied the attractive interior. Two bedrooms, a bath (complete with bathtub), a garage with an overhead door, lots of windows, and most attractive of all, an ample kitchen that called to me to cook in it.

Mi Cocina

Since we moved here, our landlords put on a traditional, red tiled roof and painted the exterior. (It already needs to be repainted.) Early this year, they rebuilt the outer walls, defense against would-be, opportunistic predators.

The improved house in summer

We also like that there are no stairs or changes of levels in the house. We also enjoy relative tranquility. Most of the traffic that passes consists of a few farm vehicles and small herds of cattle.

We were quickly accepted into the community, which consists of a handful of closely knit families. We used to participate more in local fiestas, but we have in the last few years pulled back some. It's just too exhausting to go to every fiesta. We also limited our fiesta going to those within a radius of a few kilometers. We don't want to drive at night if at all possible.




Overall, living in this small, pastoral community has been a very satisfactory experience. Every time that we turn off the main highway and travel the last three kilometers to the village, we feel that we are headed homeward.

Splendid backdrop mountain scenery

We're eager to sign up for another seven year hitch.