Shopping Adventures in Mexico

Before Papi arrived I had the fantastic opportunity to "set up house". This included the purchase of a new stove, refrigerator, sofa (which we have not owned one since leaving the states) & a bed (yes I know we own a bed but now we have 2 bedrooms). Of course Papi & I had looked & priced the kitchen appliances so I knew what he wanted & in what price range.

So off I go, Yee Haw! Chedraui (pronounced Ched-ra-we) is a like an upscale Walmart. They have everything from groceries (including a fantastic selection of wines & cheeses), to hardware, housewares, appliances & furniture. I found the stove & refrigerator I wanted and with my Spanish dictionary in hand approached a store clerk to help me. He had no problem understanding what I wanted. "Neccesito esta y esta" (pointing works well too). Now the hard part, I need it delivered today. "Neccesito es entragar hoy" (not the best grammer but he got the gist). I gave him the address & cross street, made the purchase & nervously left the store. Low & behold, as promised a truck pulled up at 1pm and in came the new stove & refrigerator!! BUENO!!

Now here is the other end of the spectrum. A week or so later I go shopping for a sofa & bed. A store in the same Mall (YES we have a MALL!!!) named Coppel has a fairly large selection of furniture. I looked through there and thought I found what I wanted but just to be sure I had seen all that was available I asked a friend here (Rosa) to take me to where she would shop for a sofa & bed. Turns out we went to the same places. The advantage is that she could communicate the details for me. We find a clerk, show her what I want, she tells us it can be delivered in 2-3 days. (Note: I can't give you the Spanish because they said way to much for my comprehension) OK not as good as the first purchase but ok. When I went to pay for it, the clerk punches it in to the computer and then says, "oh, .., this can not be delivered for 10-14 days. Rosa says, that's no good, we will arrange someone to come in a truck & pick it up. (This is on a friday) Clerk says, OK - Tuesday, it will be in the store Tuesday, but call first and make sure it arrived from the main warehouse. Bueno!

On Saturday I ran into one of the restaurant owners & his wife that we have become friends with and I explain (in my broken Spanish way) that I have bought a sofa & bed at Coppels and need a truck to pick it up on Tuesday. Jose says, "Sure, I can help you with that".  Papi came for a visit on Sunday and his Spanish is much better than mine, so we stop in at Lauva and he speaks to Jose's wife Teresita to explain that I will come to the restaurant Tuesday morning and if she would make the call to Coppels to be sure the stuff is in fact at the store it would be very helpful. (the only thing harder than communicating in Spanish in person is communicating over the phone - no sign language assistance).

Tuesday comes, I go to the restaurant & Jose is there also, so I show him the receipt with the invoice number & phone number - he calls, no answer. Jose, Teresita & I have breakfast together and try a few more times, ....no answer. OK,.......... maybe the people in that dept don't start work until later so they agreed to call again later and I would come back around 4pm (Jose finishes work at 5 and the store is open til 9). I return at 4 and Teresita explains that they have called all day and no answer, DANG, this is not going as planned. So, I go see Rosa and explain whats going on. She says she needs to go near there to pick up her daughter, that I should come with her and we will stop in at Coppels and find out what the problem is. At Coppels the clerk can not explain why nobody answered the phone but after looking in the computer says that it is there and we can pick it up tomorrow (Wednesday) at 5pm. Bueno!!

Papi arrived on Wednesday morning (for good - YAY), so this is even better, he will be with us when we pick it up (it's a manly job). So we went to Lauva and when Jose finished work we went to Coppels to pick up the furniture. Now remember, the day before we were also set to do this but I was told to call & make sure the furniture was there, so called & called & called all day, but nobody ever answered the phone so finally Rosa took me to Coppels and they looked it up in the computer & said, "Oh yeah, its here" so arrangements were made to pick it up at 5pm Wednesday.
 

So we get there, I hand them the receipt, they look it up in the computer & nod (yes its here) the guy goes into the store room, after a while he returns and looks it up again in the computer, gets another guy to verify, goes back to the store room (you see where this is going right??) Finally I see them pulling the mattress out & then they tell us the sofa isn't there - it SHOULD be there, but its not. we load the bed in the truck and then Jose TOTALLY rips the guy a new one (all in Spanish but there was no mistake about what he was saying LOL). It went like this:
"You tell her to call, she calls,  I call, all day we call, no answer, you NEVER answer the phone, how can you do business if you never answer your phone. You tell your customer something is ready and its not. How do you stay in business, if I did that I would starve. NOW you say it 'might' be here on Monday, and we should call. You never answer your phone and you said it was here today and its not, how are we to believe you" 

This went on a good 10 minutes. So Papi & I will probably GO there on Monday (because they never answer their phone) and if they say its there we will ask to SEE IT, then we will call Jose to come pick it up. I didnt have any issues at Chedrauri, I paid for the stove & fridge in the morning, it was delivered in the afternoon. Don't think I will be doing any more shopping at Coppels, BUT, .................. its all part of the adventure and we are blessed with  

GOOD friends here in Mexico.

The Turns & Twist of the Journey

Alas, I return to my blog for another riveting adventure in the lives of Papi & I. From my last post you should gather that we had made the decision to move from Belize to Mexico. The small fishing village we have spent a great deal of time in (Calderitas) has turned out to be the place we shall now call "home"

It's only 11 miles as the crow flies from Corozal, Belize, but is a world away, from the aspect of environment, cost and culture. We were concerned we would not be able to find a suitable abode as there is not much turn over here in the way of rentals. Calderitas is filled with long standing families (many of which are related), but score we did. Through friends we met here Papi learned of a place that would be vacant in the time frame we were looking at (March). It's a two story 3 bedroom, 3 bath home sitting on about a half acre of land with a small lot to the rear that is up for sale by the same owner.

In February, Papi arranged to have a fence put up and burglar doors put on the front, back & upstairs patio doors. The owner didn't think those were necessary as nobody has ever "messed" with their property, but we know from experience that an ounce of protection goes a long way. We really don't have much but foreign nationals (I like that term better than gringo) are always considered to be "rich".

We started the "permanent residency" visa process as soon as we had a signed rental contract, which is part of the new immigration laws in Mexico. You must have permission to live in Mexico before you can move household goods and you must apply from your country of residency. So down to Belize City we go to the Mexican Embassy with the documents we were told were required.

• Passport face page & residency stamp
• Bank statements showing income
• proof of pension
• passport size photos
• rental agreement contract

Simple enough. Now, you must also understand that Belize City is a 2 hour drive (we have no car) or a 3 hour bus ride. The Embassy is only open for this type of thing Mon-Fri from 9am-Noon. The first trip down we took the express bus that left Corozal at 5:30am. It was much more comfortable than the  "School Buses" than run throughout the day, but it is a very early wake up call to catch it. We arrived in Belize City and took a taxi to the Embassy, arriving at 7:30am, so we walked over to a nearby Hotel-Casino for coffee & tea.

When the Embassy was about to open we headed that way. We filled out the application and turned in our documentation. We were very impressed with the technology they were using. A far cry from our experience seeking permanent residency in Belize,  they scanned our application in to their computer attached a digital photo & took our finger prints, all of which became part of this electronic file that would be sent to Mexico City for interpol check & further processing. This new set of laws is so new they were not completely sure what step was next other than we would be interviewed by the Consulate, but not that day as he had been called out on "an emergency". So back to Corozal after a nice breakfast.

A week later another trip to BC, but this time we borrowed a friends car, turned in more requested documentation. We brought the inventory print out in the format their website said it had to be in, but when we got there they handed us "their form" and we had to hand write it all over, no problem. Finishing that we approached the window only to be informed the Consulate was called out on another "emergency", but that I would not be needed for the last step as long as Papi had my passport with him so back to Corozal we go. 

We had planned a luncheon with friends that day to say farewell at the Purple Toucan Restaurant and we arrived late (after our trip to BC), but in plenty of time to enjoy food, drink & fellowship. A good time was had by all. As I do everytime I leave a place or job I wrote my rendition of "Thanks for the Memories" (remember Bob Hope). It went like this:

• Thanks for the memories, four years ago we came, but we will not remain, we're off to Calderitas where things are much more tame, Hope I can learn Espanol. 
• This journey we've been traveling, has led us here & there, to many a different lair, To the average folk the moving might cause them to pull their hair, not this vagabond pair 
• Refrain: Here's to the Toucan and its following, we've shared many a good time with you. When we're gone don't be blue, we will raise a glass to you, when the Thunderbolt docks, cuz then it's 5 O'Clock. 
• So Thanks for the memories, each one of you that's here, let's raise a glass of cheer, I'm sure we'll see you once again, you are so very dear, we Thank you, soooooooooo much.

Our 2 dogs (Khan & Annie) and our cat (Simon) went to the vet for their worming and health certificates and as the end of the 10 days was approaching (having NO appt with the Consulate yet) we decided  to move me & the dogs to Calderitas. The Corozal house was all but packed and it was just one day after another sitting around waiting. Our very wonderful friends Pam & Billy Waldon agreed to transport us in their vehicle over the border and a very fine friend in Mexico Marvin agreed to pick us up on the Mexico side. All went very smoothly & the animals are very happy & comfortable in their new domain.

The list of good friends is long and we are very thankful for their kindnesses. Prior to this Gail Johnson & Libby Fitzgerald both brought me and "large suitcases containing things we would need in Calderitas" to the house and we made several trips on the bus to get as much over here as would law allow, but it's amazing how much more you can get over in a private vehicle.

I now have a new hammock, stove & refrigerator. I am quite comfortable but miss my wonderful husband!! Stay tuned for updates on the "Moving to Mexico Experience"