Things Are Shaping Up

living.boondockingmexico@yahoo.com

 

 

My birthday dinner out on Friday night in Santiago

 

A nice walk around the plaza after dinner.

 

 

One thing I need to do is get back into the blog.  I've been so lazy since getting back home and it's not like I'm posting the most exciting things.  The weather here is at its peak.  The temps rarely drop below 38C, baking hot.   In Spanish we call this the canicula, or the hottest part of summer and some believe it lasts about 40 days.  So we have about two more weeks, let's see if this holds true.

 

We are also suffering from an oil spill.  Many of you coming from Reynosa to Saltillo have passed the Pemex refinery located northeast of Monterrey just coming off the autopista.  A river runs nearby.  It a small spill compared to world oil spills but has affected about 400 families who depend on the river for irrigation of crops and watering livestock.  Their water supplies have been cut off and wells shut down. 

 

The cleanup is taking place but the local news media has turned it into a zoo.  All systems are in place.  The oil was contained to a small part of the river, the families are receiving help from Pemex and the community.  We have collected foodstuffs, drinking water, and legal help is now available for the families.  Funny how we are.  Now the problem is so bad the world is going to collapse, Pemex has done nothing, reporters are have now turned to their personal opinions.  I believe the situation is being handled properly but it is the "big news" to distract us from what is really going on around town.

 

It's taken a few weeks but we have the house and yard in good shape.  It's hard to depend on someone to do things if you're not here to tell them what to do.   The pool didn't get the attention it needed.  Even though we had told the gardener we would deposit his salary and any additional money he needed for supplies he never told us when we called.  We had stocked the shed with chemicals, tools, etc.  but it didn't work to well.   Our water here is very heavy with deposits as it come from the well.  Coming home, I had to add 50 liters of acid.  The walls of the pool were rough, algae had been embedded in the deposits making it impossible to clean.  That's all fixed now and the pool is back to where it should be.  Next year we may just drain it and deal with any cracks that may occur.

 

Did I say next year?  You bet.  We will probably spend the summer in San Miguel de Allende.  Gosh, I feel like an old fart rver.  "There's too much to see right here in the "good ole U.S. of Mexico".  Not far off I guess and we want to start working on our rv trip to South America.  Not sure how we're going to approach that yet.  It might be cheaper to rent an rv in Chile and just tour one country at a time.  Chile has a lot to offer and has excellent infrastructure.