Photo: Coatepec valley with the Acamalin in the background.
Wednesday
At this point our whole life revolved on finding a place to live. The clock was ticking toward the 17th, plus we were also getting fed up with living at Roy’s apartment. We did take the boys out for walks or to get special treats around the city.
We walked to the Jauregui Market and bought Chinese toys. We also took them to get a miniature horse ride at “Los Berros” and rented a bicycle car for the boys to ride at the park. I also walked with them to get “esquites” which quickly became a favorite. Esquites are corn kernels. The corn is cooked (boiled), the kernels are then cut from the cob and kept in hot water. When you buy them, they drain them and serve them in a cup covered with mayonnaise and cheese. You can also get them “natural” for those who prefer the low-cal version. They also sell the corn on the cob skewered with a stick. It is like a giant lollipop made of corn!
Part of the day was devoted to the never ending search for a home, preferably one that was already built. Although we did go by the house that was still being finished, the one in the subdivision called “La Gachupina” (The Spanish Woman). It was being worked on, but still it had no kitchen installed, no toilets installed and the inside doors were just laying on the floor. That did not give us much hope!
On leaving the Gachupina house, we saw a “for Rent” sign a few of streets away, on the street of “Quintana Roo”. It was on a massive stone wall with two big and menacing white metal doors, one for the garage, one for letting people in. Way back, inside the walled property, you could see the balconies of a white Spanish style house. We called the number.
The owner/agent was there to show us the house in 20 minutes, all the way from Xalapa. He told us he had bought it about a year ago from a research branch of one of the Universities, that it had been used as offices for the Ecology department.
The property was pretty big, with enough front yard to park about 20 cars, part of it was landscaped but overgrown, there were two cobbled “tracks” on the lawn so that the cars could drive in. The house was a two story home, all white with big French doors as windows and with tile roof. It was set back from the wall (that was right on the sidewalk) almost 60 feet.
The living spaces were huge, all the floors were tiled with red “Saltillo” tile and there were insets of “Talavera” (blue handmade tile) here and there. The first floor had an enormous living room with three French doors as windows, a formal dining room, a kitchen about 12X16 feet (but it had just a few cabinets and no stove) and a sun-room all surrounded by glass. Then there was the back patio that was just half the size of the front yard, and right by the house, the carport big enough for two cars.
The second floor had three full sized bedrooms, each with their own bathroom and walk-in closet, all of them had French doors that led to balconies. The master bedroom also had a “studio” and a Jacuzzi…. But the best part was the views! On one side you had a great view of the Cerro de las Culebras, on the other side you had a beautiful view of “Cofre de Perote” (one of the most beautiful mountains in Mexico). We were told that you could see the “Pico de Orizaba” (Mexico’s tallest peak, always covered with snow) from the roof top.
We were all very impressed by the house. It had tons of possibilities, not to mention great spaces for the boys to run and more than enough room to have a lot of visitors! There were a few downsides, though. The bathrooms and kitchen were not finished, so the owner would have to finish them. He said he would have them done in a week… There was no stove, so we would have to get one. There were no real windows, everything was doors that were not sealed at all… it gets cold in Coatepec in winter (ok, just in the low 50’s to high 40’s, but still). We would have to figure a way to keep cold and bugs out. And the biggest down-side: its size. There was no way we could even begin to make those rooms semi-filled. But it still was a fascinating house and it gave us an option to fall back on if the Gachupina house was not finished on time.
At this point our whole life revolved on finding a place to live. The clock was ticking toward the 17th, plus we were also getting fed up with living at Roy’s apartment. We did take the boys out for walks or to get special treats around the city.
We walked to the Jauregui Market and bought Chinese toys. We also took them to get a miniature horse ride at “Los Berros” and rented a bicycle car for the boys to ride at the park. I also walked with them to get “esquites” which quickly became a favorite. Esquites are corn kernels. The corn is cooked (boiled), the kernels are then cut from the cob and kept in hot water. When you buy them, they drain them and serve them in a cup covered with mayonnaise and cheese. You can also get them “natural” for those who prefer the low-cal version. They also sell the corn on the cob skewered with a stick. It is like a giant lollipop made of corn!
Part of the day was devoted to the never ending search for a home, preferably one that was already built. Although we did go by the house that was still being finished, the one in the subdivision called “La Gachupina” (The Spanish Woman). It was being worked on, but still it had no kitchen installed, no toilets installed and the inside doors were just laying on the floor. That did not give us much hope!
On leaving the Gachupina house, we saw a “for Rent” sign a few of streets away, on the street of “Quintana Roo”. It was on a massive stone wall with two big and menacing white metal doors, one for the garage, one for letting people in. Way back, inside the walled property, you could see the balconies of a white Spanish style house. We called the number.
The owner/agent was there to show us the house in 20 minutes, all the way from Xalapa. He told us he had bought it about a year ago from a research branch of one of the Universities, that it had been used as offices for the Ecology department.
The property was pretty big, with enough front yard to park about 20 cars, part of it was landscaped but overgrown, there were two cobbled “tracks” on the lawn so that the cars could drive in. The house was a two story home, all white with big French doors as windows and with tile roof. It was set back from the wall (that was right on the sidewalk) almost 60 feet.
The living spaces were huge, all the floors were tiled with red “Saltillo” tile and there were insets of “Talavera” (blue handmade tile) here and there. The first floor had an enormous living room with three French doors as windows, a formal dining room, a kitchen about 12X16 feet (but it had just a few cabinets and no stove) and a sun-room all surrounded by glass. Then there was the back patio that was just half the size of the front yard, and right by the house, the carport big enough for two cars.
The second floor had three full sized bedrooms, each with their own bathroom and walk-in closet, all of them had French doors that led to balconies. The master bedroom also had a “studio” and a Jacuzzi…. But the best part was the views! On one side you had a great view of the Cerro de las Culebras, on the other side you had a beautiful view of “Cofre de Perote” (one of the most beautiful mountains in Mexico). We were told that you could see the “Pico de Orizaba” (Mexico’s tallest peak, always covered with snow) from the roof top.
We were all very impressed by the house. It had tons of possibilities, not to mention great spaces for the boys to run and more than enough room to have a lot of visitors! There were a few downsides, though. The bathrooms and kitchen were not finished, so the owner would have to finish them. He said he would have them done in a week… There was no stove, so we would have to get one. There were no real windows, everything was doors that were not sealed at all… it gets cold in Coatepec in winter (ok, just in the low 50’s to high 40’s, but still). We would have to figure a way to keep cold and bugs out. And the biggest down-side: its size. There was no way we could even begin to make those rooms semi-filled. But it still was a fascinating house and it gave us an option to fall back on if the Gachupina house was not finished on time.
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