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This is officially the worst time of year to be in northern Mexico.
I just got back from a quick run to the VW dealer and a stop at Costco, and the car's digital thermometer read a staggering 43°C (109.7°F). It is pretty dang hot out there.
You might be wondering why on earth we are sticking around in this baking heat when we could be relaxing in San Miguel de Allende. Today's high in SMA was a beautiful 28°C (82.4°F), dropping to a crisp 13°C (55°F) tonight. Trust me, we want to be there! But we have a mountain of projects and life events that absolutely must get done before our departure date on August 4th.
We currently have two albañiles (construction workers) at the house doing repair work. Honestly, I can’t believe they pushed through the heat today. They arrived at 9:00 AM, stopped for a couple of morning tacos at 10:00, and just kept hammering away.
Later, I ran out to Santiago for supplies. When I returned, they were taking a break, so I asked if they could shift their schedule—maybe work from 7:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Most areas of our yard are beautifully shaded and cool in the early morning.
Their response? Nope. They just don’t roll like that!
Right now, they are patching cracks on the interior side of the front street wall and on the back wall that abuts our rear neighbor. They also tore down the old remaining chainlink fence from our side neighbor's border. It was completely hidden behind a row of ficus trees and had become a massive trap for dead leaves over the years. Our gardener should be thrilled; he can finally clear that area out. Next up on their list: caulking around the base of the house, painting the front well, and tackling a few other lingering details.
We had a wonderful visit last weekend with guests who were our neighbors over 40 years ago. They were the ones who warmly embraced us when we first moved into the neighborhood. We were all so young then—none of us even had kids yet!
Fast forward to today: their oldest is now 40, and she actually came along with her parents. We enjoyed a fantastic breakfast in Santiago and spent the afternoon catching up at the house. They live about 65 km away now, so we don't see each other often enough, but it was a beautiful day, and we hope to do it again soon.
Next weekend will look entirely different. We will be serving as official witnesses for an exhumation.
Juan’s brother-in-law passed away seven years ago (his wife, Juan's sister, had passed away several years before him). We are going to cremate his remains to make room in the family plot and put the cremated remains in the church niche where his mother and one of his nieces rest. The niece was tragically hit by a car in Dallas several years ago—a truly heartbreaking event.
In Mexico, embalming is typically only for three days and there are no concrete crypts, so the law permits exhumation after seven years. Even so, you never quite know what you will find. It depends heavily on water intrusion, humidity, and changing weather conditions over the years. It will be a very small, quiet group of us witnessing the process.
On August 1st, we are hosting a reunion party for the ex-members of our folkloric dance group. This gathering used to be a lively pool party for the kids. Well, those kids are all grown up now and have kids of their own! We aren't entirely sure how many people will show up, but it's nice to get the house in order for it.
Right after that, we are officially escaping to San Miguel de Allende. We will be spending several weeks there until our roof terrace is fully tiled. Absolutely NO exceptions this time!
In the middle of all this coordination, we are waiting for a response from RVShare (the private RV rental site). The rig I chose is very close in length and weight to the trailer we eventually want to buy. I really hope the rental goes through so we can test the waters before making a massive purchase.
For the towing setup, I’ve decided on a Curt Bluetooth brake controller. It plugs directly into the vehicle's 7-pin connector, the trailer plugs into the unit, and you use your phone app to calibrate it. The VW Atlas seems to really like the Curt brand.
I've read quite a bit about it; while some users report minor glitches, the unit securely holds your last programmed setting if you lose the Bluetooth signal. A lot of people shy away from the Bluetooth version because they hate dealing with app tech, opting instead for the old-fashioned, dash-mounted controllers that plug straight into the VW connector under the dash. But for this trip, I'm leaning toward the wireless route.
One good thing this week is the sentencing of El Mayo. Life in prison and he has accepted that. Now they've got to extradite the governors that are accused of acting alongside of them. The president insists that the U.S. has no proof.
The president also has denied help to the madres buscadores who are looking for bodies buried throughout the country. At one point, the secretary of the interior said that the opposition parties were secretly aiding the madres buscadores in forming marches and demonstrations by paying for transportation, meals, and housing.
She should know all about that. The Morena party is well-known for acarreados (moving masses of people via private transport for demonstrations). However, for the massive groups in Mexico City, they provide the free transport, tortas, a Frutsy, and 500 pesos, although they publicly admit it. People will sell their soul for so little.
That's it for now but if the forecast above is real, we will have a nice rain on Friday. Keep cool wherever you are.
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