So for those who didn't follow Michael's daily postings on FaceBook, here's a recap of our trip to P.V.
We broke the drive down into two days each way with a stop in Guadalajara each way. Our friend's mother (who lives there) had been in San Miguel for a spell, so we were also taking her back and a cat - who meowed constantly for the first hour of the trip before subsiding into occasional vocalizations.
The first night of vacation we spent at Mom's condo in Guadalajara. For dinner we opted for the new mall (anchored by a Liverpool) and dinner at Casa Italianito. Pretty darn good Italian food and a free pizza appetizer to the waiting groups! (I could have made a dinner at the check-in desk....)
The next morning after breakfast we were off to P.V. There are two ways to PV: through the mountains on a good highway (a toll road) or skipping the mountains (and curves) on a lesser road (a local or 'free' road). We chose the mountain highway that passed by Tequila in the distance. Lovely landscape views from the cuota (toll road). You - well, I - wanted to just get off the road (can't be done) and stay there.
After a tedious passage down out of the mountains (road works on-and-off every few kilometers) to the beach, we arrived in Puerto Vallarta and found our way to the condo Michael had reserved for us.
The condo was lovely: recently bought and redecorated for our landlord's parents-in-law (who had yet to stay there), it had been enlarged a bit and updated. The balcony had been made a part of the living area, new fittings and furnishings, et cetera. We really quite enjoyed ourselves there.
Although there were some disappointments (the restaurant for the last night in town was closed for two weeks; our favorite beach restaurant - where we planned on hanging out during beach days - was closed; our last night in town garnered a tremendous storm) we had a great time. The beach was only a three-block walk from the condo - what could be wrong?
It rained nearly every day, but the rain was usually early in the morning or during the night, so nothing stopped us from being beach bums every day. I'm sure we supported the restaurants that featured beach service quite well during our time there! "Joven, tres margaritas más, por favor!"
After four days of sunning, eating, and drinking, we gathered ourselves up and made our way northward, stopping in Guadalajara again. On the way to Guadalajara, another big storm hit us, making driving a bit of a chore through the mountains. We had slowed for an off-the-road accident with an ambulance in attendance when a dark Altima whipped past us and rounded the next curve at speed. As we picked up speed and rounded the next curve, there was the Altima - upside down and spread across most of the lanes of the highway. Even in the hard rain, we managed to miss the other car that had stopped to assist - right in front of the wreck, limiting the space for us to squeeze past, once we managed to stop without hitting them. The rest of the trip was a bit drier and calmer.
After a stop at Mom's condo, the New York-style deli, New York, New York, again provided a tasty breakfast and we were headed home with a stop in Léon to drop our friend's mother off at a cousin's for a birthday celebration.
Arrived back in San Miguel in time to be inundated with horseback riders returning from some of the weekend festivities downtown - and an evening storm that had some of the most powerful lightning and thunder that we'd yet experienced. The thunder set off car alarms and rattled windows throughout town.
But now we're back and it's almost like we never left. Puerto Vallarta is just a memory - and a dream as we plan our next escape to the beach! (Maybe Spring?) We get the dogs back on Tuesday from their vacation at the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm (Maria's Pet B&B). Hope they escaped the force of the storm which we found threatening, ourselves - they don't do well with thunder and lightning....
Monday, September 30, 2013
Friday, September 20, 2013
Nationalization II
We now have a place to stay in Laredo while our car is being nationalized in Nuevo Laredo! Rather than stay at our stand-by La Quinta Inn, we chose La Posada, just a few blocks north of the border. Our facilitator wanted a 2-day window for the paperwork, but I told her that we were only going to book 2 nights at the hotel, total. If something went slowly, we'd add a night. Booking the 3rd night in advance would require us to cancel the entire stay a couple of days in advance to avoid a penalty (we'd be paying for that 3rd night whether we stayed there or not!).
We even suggested that since check-out wasn't until noon, if things ran long, we could stay another half day. But that would mean we'd be driving back to San Miguel in the dark. Driving in Mexico in the dark isn't recommended!
On our initial drive to San Miguel, we stayed in a dump in Zacateros. We were so anxious to get out of there that we loaded up the van and began our trip early in the morning - before the sun came up. Won't do that again! There is no additional lighting on the roads and it was the first time we had driven that route. Scary!
The only other hitch in the get-along is the paperwork that's required. Aside from the question of whether they can list both of us as owners of the van (so common in the U.S.; not in Mexico), there is a question about how we document our address in San Miguel. For our Mexican driver's licenses we had the same situation: present a utility bill (only an owner can change the utilities to another name and must show that they now own the house) with our address on it and present a copy of the landlords IFE card (a government ID - proving voting rights, I think it is). For the driver's licenses, there was an alternative: a letter from the Mayor's office that we were who we said we were (requiring a birth certificate, passport, visa, the utility bill, etc). The Transito office kept the original of the letter, so if they decide to accept on for the car, we'd need a couple of days to procure another. But it's still simpler than telling our landlord he needs to let us copy his IFE card - as he speaks only Spanish and we speak English. Guess we'll have the answer to that once we get home from P.V. - where it's hot, steamy, and rainy for the next week! Did I mention that we're heading to P.V. for a week tomorrow?
Til then....
We even suggested that since check-out wasn't until noon, if things ran long, we could stay another half day. But that would mean we'd be driving back to San Miguel in the dark. Driving in Mexico in the dark isn't recommended!
On our initial drive to San Miguel, we stayed in a dump in Zacateros. We were so anxious to get out of there that we loaded up the van and began our trip early in the morning - before the sun came up. Won't do that again! There is no additional lighting on the roads and it was the first time we had driven that route. Scary!
The only other hitch in the get-along is the paperwork that's required. Aside from the question of whether they can list both of us as owners of the van (so common in the U.S.; not in Mexico), there is a question about how we document our address in San Miguel. For our Mexican driver's licenses we had the same situation: present a utility bill (only an owner can change the utilities to another name and must show that they now own the house) with our address on it and present a copy of the landlords IFE card (a government ID - proving voting rights, I think it is). For the driver's licenses, there was an alternative: a letter from the Mayor's office that we were who we said we were (requiring a birth certificate, passport, visa, the utility bill, etc). The Transito office kept the original of the letter, so if they decide to accept on for the car, we'd need a couple of days to procure another. But it's still simpler than telling our landlord he needs to let us copy his IFE card - as he speaks only Spanish and we speak English. Guess we'll have the answer to that once we get home from P.V. - where it's hot, steamy, and rainy for the next week! Did I mention that we're heading to P.V. for a week tomorrow?
Til then....
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Nationalization
No, not us; our minivan! Although we won't become a Residente Permanente until next fall, the folks who made the transition this year are scrambling and the feeling is catching. Under the new types of immigration status, Permanent residents aren't allowed to drive their US-plated cars under the terms of the TIP we all used to bring them SOB with us.
Seems that Aduana (Customs) takes the 'T' of the TIP (Temporary Import Permit) very seriously. If you're no longer a temporary resident, you need to drive a Mexican-plated vehicle. That leaves a choice between taking your car back to the States and selling it (there are repercussions to that, i.e., registering it in Texas, insuring it, et cetera) then buying something in Mexico, or going without a car. Costco would miss us, as we would miss them - and we're not going to travel there and back via a local bus with our arms full of supplies!
We had originally thought we'd go for the Permanente visa (I know it's not really a visa, but a different immigration status) this year, but decided - with our travel plans this year and next - that it would be simpler to remain a Temporal one last year on that level.
So we were sorta getting prepared to make the change over by nationalizing our minivan. It's old enough that it's not worth too much and while we had saved up some money for the nationalization process, the total wasn't enough to buy the type of vehicle that we would have wanted. And the van, with fold-into-the-floor seats, was just too handy - even if we no longer traveled to dog shows with all the paraphernalia involved.
We had managed to save up enough pesos to afford to nationalize the minivan using a facilitator who promises that both we and the van could stay in San Miguel and the change of status for the vehicle would occur without making the border trip. Sounded iffy and we were trying to verify that someone actually got his local plates for his car when we tried another facilitator who used the time-honored process of a trip to the border, but it was a shortened trip - one day to the border, one day with the broker, and another day to drive back to San Miguel. Presto-bingo!
The catch came when we discovered that the fee (about the same as the first one) was due in dollars, not pesos. Didn't want to lose money re-converting our pesos back to dollars, so have done some borrowing from our savings (and will do some mumbo-jumbo to make it work, paying our rent from the actual pesos while tucking the rent funds back into savings as dollars). On paper it looks like it will work, but it's more complicated than it sounds with loans between accounts and a pay-back schedule to follow to make sure the dollars are there when we need them!
The actual trip to the border will take place in October after we return from Puerto Vallarta. Look for reports of our adventure. The paperwork is another story.... Did you know that it's not common in Mexico to have two names on a car title???
Seems that Aduana (Customs) takes the 'T' of the TIP (Temporary Import Permit) very seriously. If you're no longer a temporary resident, you need to drive a Mexican-plated vehicle. That leaves a choice between taking your car back to the States and selling it (there are repercussions to that, i.e., registering it in Texas, insuring it, et cetera) then buying something in Mexico, or going without a car. Costco would miss us, as we would miss them - and we're not going to travel there and back via a local bus with our arms full of supplies!
We had originally thought we'd go for the Permanente visa (I know it's not really a visa, but a different immigration status) this year, but decided - with our travel plans this year and next - that it would be simpler to remain a Temporal one last year on that level.
So we were sorta getting prepared to make the change over by nationalizing our minivan. It's old enough that it's not worth too much and while we had saved up some money for the nationalization process, the total wasn't enough to buy the type of vehicle that we would have wanted. And the van, with fold-into-the-floor seats, was just too handy - even if we no longer traveled to dog shows with all the paraphernalia involved.
We had managed to save up enough pesos to afford to nationalize the minivan using a facilitator who promises that both we and the van could stay in San Miguel and the change of status for the vehicle would occur without making the border trip. Sounded iffy and we were trying to verify that someone actually got his local plates for his car when we tried another facilitator who used the time-honored process of a trip to the border, but it was a shortened trip - one day to the border, one day with the broker, and another day to drive back to San Miguel. Presto-bingo!
The catch came when we discovered that the fee (about the same as the first one) was due in dollars, not pesos. Didn't want to lose money re-converting our pesos back to dollars, so have done some borrowing from our savings (and will do some mumbo-jumbo to make it work, paying our rent from the actual pesos while tucking the rent funds back into savings as dollars). On paper it looks like it will work, but it's more complicated than it sounds with loans between accounts and a pay-back schedule to follow to make sure the dollars are there when we need them!
The actual trip to the border will take place in October after we return from Puerto Vallarta. Look for reports of our adventure. The paperwork is another story.... Did you know that it's not common in Mexico to have two names on a car title???
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Independence Day 2013
We noticed, walking into centro today, an inordinate number of vehicles proceeding down the main street into the Centro Historico section of town, including a few trucks with Federales in them. Why were there Federales in town? This weekend is the celebration of Mexican Independence Day, that's why.
The town square - as viewed from our table inside Starbucks - was not yet chock-a-block with citizens and tourists, but they will come, they will come.
Our Independence Day is celebrated on September 16th, the day Father Hildlgo gave a speech in Dolores (later renamed Dolores Hildalgo) whose text has been lost to time, but it included El Grito, his charge to the populace to secede from the Spanish Colonial powers. At his side were Ignacio Allende and his brother Juan Allende (both from San Miguel - later renamed San Miguel de Allende in their honor).
The War of Independence took nearly 10 years to accomplish their goals, but the festivities will be confined to the weekend. There will be a crush of visitors to the city, aerial bombs going off, church bells ringing, fireworks, and El Grito will be re-enacted by our dear Mayor from a balcony of the Allende mansion on the corner of the square in front of the Parrochia at midnight (the mansion is a museum now).
I think we'll be at home trying to soothe the dogs - who do not appreciate all the noise!
LATER
It was a soggy Independence Day this year. Rain, rain, rain. Wasn't going to stay up that late to watch on the webcam, but suspect that festivities were wet at best.
Several states in Mexico cancelled their Independence Day festivities because of rain and flooding. We only got the dregs of Ingrid (and perhaps Manuel), but it was enough to keep us home, safe and dry!
The weather even topped off Independence Day with a windly rain storm around 6 pm tonight. Glad we had an early dinner at Hecho en Mexico and were home before it began to pelt down!
The town square - as viewed from our table inside Starbucks - was not yet chock-a-block with citizens and tourists, but they will come, they will come.
Our Independence Day is celebrated on September 16th, the day Father Hildlgo gave a speech in Dolores (later renamed Dolores Hildalgo) whose text has been lost to time, but it included El Grito, his charge to the populace to secede from the Spanish Colonial powers. At his side were Ignacio Allende and his brother Juan Allende (both from San Miguel - later renamed San Miguel de Allende in their honor).
The War of Independence took nearly 10 years to accomplish their goals, but the festivities will be confined to the weekend. There will be a crush of visitors to the city, aerial bombs going off, church bells ringing, fireworks, and El Grito will be re-enacted by our dear Mayor from a balcony of the Allende mansion on the corner of the square in front of the Parrochia at midnight (the mansion is a museum now).
I think we'll be at home trying to soothe the dogs - who do not appreciate all the noise!
LATER
It was a soggy Independence Day this year. Rain, rain, rain. Wasn't going to stay up that late to watch on the webcam, but suspect that festivities were wet at best.
Several states in Mexico cancelled their Independence Day festivities because of rain and flooding. We only got the dregs of Ingrid (and perhaps Manuel), but it was enough to keep us home, safe and dry!
The weather even topped off Independence Day with a windly rain storm around 6 pm tonight. Glad we had an early dinner at Hecho en Mexico and were home before it began to pelt down!
Driver's Licenses
In preparation for nationalizing our minivan (more on that later), we are required to have Mexican driver's licenses. So we set off on that path with the assistance of a good Mexican friend to guide and translate for us. There's nothing quite like hoping to hear a word or two you can recognize and put together what you think they are telling you.
Obtaining a Mexican driver's license is not difficult but does require some hoops to be jumped through:
The second day we first picked up our letters from the Presidencia and presented them as part of our packet for our actual license. We skipped the testing (thank Heavens - rules of the road in Spanish!?!) by turning in our California drivers licenses. (Luckily, we had held on to our old, expired licenses so we didn't have to give up our current California licenses.) We also requested 5-year licenses (the per-year cost goes down on the longer licenses and you don't have to renew them as often).
Once reviewed and approved, we went to the computer operator who entered all our information into their on-line system and took our pictures. Surprise - this time we could smile!
Then they printed out an invoice and we drove off to the office a few blocks away at which we would pay for our licenses. Upon returning with the proof of our payments we were handed our licenses which had been created while we were gone.
Yippee! We were on our way; now we could go ahead with nationalizing our vehicle. And then it became complicated....
Obtaining a Mexican driver's license is not difficult but does require some hoops to be jumped through:
- Take a computerized driving test in Spanish;
- Prove your residence with a utility bill (water, gas, telephone - not cable, et cetera - see below) in your name; [Unlike in the US, a utility won't be turned on unless you are the property owner and can prove it, so renter's pay the bills in their landlord's name.]
- Present the results of a medical test including a basic eye test, height, weight, blood pressure, any health issues, and blood type (performed separately);
- Present your current visa and passport (with copies - everything requires copies in Mexico).
- There is also a fee to be paid determined by the length of your license: 2 years, 3 years, or 5 years.
- Birth Certificate;
- Passport;
- Visa;
- Two photographs of a certain size with certain requirements (size of head in photo, no jewelry, no hair on forehead - or facial hair (there went the beard and mustache!), no eyeglasses, no smiling;
- Proof of residence (a utility bill - for this purpose one in our landlord's name was okay);
- Pay a modest fee (about $4.50) for the letter which would be ready the next day.
The second day we first picked up our letters from the Presidencia and presented them as part of our packet for our actual license. We skipped the testing (thank Heavens - rules of the road in Spanish!?!) by turning in our California drivers licenses. (Luckily, we had held on to our old, expired licenses so we didn't have to give up our current California licenses.) We also requested 5-year licenses (the per-year cost goes down on the longer licenses and you don't have to renew them as often).
Once reviewed and approved, we went to the computer operator who entered all our information into their on-line system and took our pictures. Surprise - this time we could smile!
Then they printed out an invoice and we drove off to the office a few blocks away at which we would pay for our licenses. Upon returning with the proof of our payments we were handed our licenses which had been created while we were gone.
Yippee! We were on our way; now we could go ahead with nationalizing our vehicle. And then it became complicated....
Sunday, September 1, 2013
P.V.
Now that it's September, we're looking forward keenly to our vacation in PV (Puerto Vallarta) later this month. Yes, retirement requires vacations!
Although there was a time (BR - Before Retirement) when we owned a couple of timeshares in PV and visited regularly, we haven't been there except for cruise ship stops in several years.
Okay, Michael was there last year while I was in Indiana helping my sister and brother-in-law rework an 1898 house in our old hometown. But this time I get to go along. We're staying on the economy (a condo rental in Olas Altas - the Romantic Zone - so-called because Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor stayed in that area while filming Night of the Iguana nearby).
I'll post our adventures on the Bahia de Banderas when we return.
BULLETIN, September 17th - 4 more sleeps before we leave for PV; 5 more sleeps before we arrive (a stop over at friends' in Guadalajara!
Although there was a time (BR - Before Retirement) when we owned a couple of timeshares in PV and visited regularly, we haven't been there except for cruise ship stops in several years.
Okay, Michael was there last year while I was in Indiana helping my sister and brother-in-law rework an 1898 house in our old hometown. But this time I get to go along. We're staying on the economy (a condo rental in Olas Altas - the Romantic Zone - so-called because Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor stayed in that area while filming Night of the Iguana nearby).
I'll post our adventures on the Bahia de Banderas when we return.
BULLETIN, September 17th - 4 more sleeps before we leave for PV; 5 more sleeps before we arrive (a stop over at friends' in Guadalajara!
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