The Story of What Happened At Our House

living.boondockingmexico@yahoo.com

We never mentioned anything to Croft and Norma about the minor incident at our house the week they spent with us at the resort in Montemorelos.  I thought it was better just to blow it off and not let it affect me.  It did a little I guess, there were a couple of moments when I was a bit quiet.

As you know the resort we stayed at is only about 45 minutes from our house.   I took the liberty stopping by the house to check on the cats once and then again Juan and I came to pick up some odds and ends.  That's when we had the unforunate incident.  Not really a big deal, but really a very big deal.

If I remember correctly, it had been raining and we all were pretty much just hanging around our rvs.  Juan and I hopped in the SUV and took off for the house.  He had some clothes he wanted and I think some kitchen stuff.   It was pretty wet out at the time and I got out to open the gate.   As I opened it, I noticed a beer can in the grass alongside of the driveway.   We thought the worker who helps take care of the grass had a beer or the neighbors had a party and one of the kids threw the can over the gate.

We got out of the truck and went into the house.  We had the blinds on the poolside closed to keep the heat out and it was dark in the house because of the cloud cover.   I opened the blinds and the next thing I saw was that the yard had been trashed.   Patio furniture everywhere, the cushions soaked from the rain, literally up to 100 beer cans littered the yard, the grill had been used and left covered with food and grease, and trash everywhere.   We were shocked.  Trying to think what had happened, my worst nightmare is some locals found out we were gone and scaled the wall and had a pool party.  We checked the perimeter, any places in the fence that might have been opened, footprints on the walls, and found nothing.  I did notice that one of the locks on the gate had not been put back on and tossed to the side.

Going through our minds, we went through a list of possibilities.  I had come up with some family members, gate crashers, etc.  Afterall, it was Spring break and we hadn't invited anyone out to swim or stay as we had made the decision to see Croft and Norma before they headed back to Canada.

We took photos, gathered our things and headed back to Montemorelos.   Never said a word about it but it grated on my mind for a couple of days.   In the end, our illustrious gardner and trusted watchman had thrown a big party with "some of the guys".   We found out later once we got home and found the place clean, that he had been the culprit.   He was very apologetic, said he would understand if we let him go and on and on.   I wanted so bad to tell him to never come back but I wasn't about to cut off my nose to spite my face.

The big question now is, and we will never know, did he use our place on previous occasions knowing we would be gone for a period of time?  I always like to call in advance to let him know we are returning so he has time to get things ready in case he slacks off knowing we will be gone (based on previous experience).  Then, did he rent out our place?  How many times?  I am sure the answer to these questions is a big fat "yes".

We will continue with him for the summer while we are gone.   We are considering installing cameras as a first measure, something we have talked about forever and have never done.  Second, we have a small room in the corner of the quinta in front, it has electric, a window, plastered walls and tiled floor.  It would require the addition of a small bathroom, hooking up the drainage and water would not be a big issue.  We could then hire someone who lives here full time (called a mozo), cleans the house and keeps the grounds maintained.  This person would receive a weekly salary with benefits, could come and go on days off and while we are gone as long as he lives here fulltime.

Of course we all know my solution to this dilemma.