We left our favorite home here on the Isla ( since 2009 ) @ #7 last June 29th and returned to our new home @ #15 on October 29th. We have been ever so busy everyday. Of course it does take us much longer to do things these days and we haven’t stopped much.
Erik helped us with the very final pack up at Las Jaibas and drove the RV back to the Isla. I followed in the Jeep. It was a bit unsettling at first as I have not driven a car in over two years because of my eye issues. But just like riding a bike, my driving skills came back in full force. And of course all I had to do was follow our home on wheels.
Almost home. So neat to come around that corner and see three cruise ships in port.
A bit of a tight fit.
We did scrape the bottom as we drove in but we also managed to miss the high overhead wires.
It took a bit of back and forth to find that perfect sweet spot and then we shut off the engine. As you can see we are uphill from the front of the RV. It’s just how this site was built and we will have to deal with it. Certainly does give the this muscles a work out.
Then the basic set up started. Not much to look at with a high wall surrounding us. The big satellite dish that is connected to nothing, sits atop a small cement shed that comes with the site. Very handy for storage.
We had left some fencing in the shed a few weeks earlier and were devastated to discover that each piece of what looked like white rice were nesting baby ants that were in the process of hatching. It was beyond gross. We sent someone to buy us strong bug spray. We also learned that ( fortunately for us ) that these are non biting ants. I never knew they existed. It made us feel better but it was still very yucky.
The priority was a fence to contain our girls and we did get that started. This is modular fencing that we already had 16 pieces ( 24 inches wide buy 24 inches tall ) of and I had ordered more shipped to us from the USA. We now have 48 pieces in total. Very easy to put together and take apart. So far the girls have not been able to get out.
This fencing was put up by the property owners. We had to put large rocks all along the netting so that the twins did not get out. Lots of pieces of rock everywhere. The girls are so very happy to be here. A huge difference from being at Las Jaibas.
Late in the afternoon our palapa builder, Alex stopped in. Because of the aftermath of Hurricane Patricia with the high tides / full moon and the destruction of most beach front restaurants and ramadas, Alex is booked solid for the next few weeks but as a special favor to our landlords ( they just happen to be best of friends ) he agreed to build our palapa right away – putting us in front of others. However there is a shortage of wood and cement at the moment and he needed to check what he could get. So he took measurements and gave us a price the next day.
Just a quick lesson here. I have always used the word palapa ( likely from our many vacations in Hawaii in years past ) but both our landlords and Alex are saying ramada. So I finally asked. Apparently it is an Isla thing. So I am trying to use ramada.
The very next morning Alex showed up – at 6:30AM!!! It was still extremely hot and humid and he asked if he could work earlier in the morning. We certainly were not going to say no. So the post holes were dug.
See all that brush/weeds in front of Colin, up the slope. It was blocking our view of the ocean. There is also a great deal of large rock in that same area that goes deep and can’t be moved. We have what appears to be a large site but we really don’t. In fact we have very little level site with a view. Plus that ramada next door to us on the right blocks our view from inside the RV. Not the perfect site. But unlike the RV Park at Tres Amigos, we have no bugs.
These next few photos were taken on Friday the 31st. It was nice to see that my photos had a date which is making this post easier to write. Everyday we did a bit more. From this angle you can see how the ground slopes downhill – a bit difficult for Colin.
Not a great sunset view but give us a few more months.
The girls are happy and that is important. They were so good under the horrible conditions of the past four months.
Almost every night we see a few very small pangas with one fisherman and a small light.
The next afternoon we made a point of dragging two chairs uphill to just sit and toast us and our new home. Colin even had a few sips of wine.
I saw three sunrises in that first week of November, a first for me. I get up often to use the bano and I was amazed. Sorry about the dirty window but the photo did not have to be perfect. I think we got the window cleaned about 6 -8 days later. It was not a priority.
The good news is that we do not have feral cats here. We have seen two different cats go by ( a large grey and a blonde ) but they stay out of our yard. However we happen to have two resident iguanas that live in the wall. The girls can see them ftom inside the RV and let us know when the iguanas are out sunning. In fact the girls can hear them moving within the wall and even if we can’t see them, the girls tell us that they are there. At least they are not being hysterical about the iguanas as they were the gatos and they know that they can’t reach them.
Once again I had major issues setting up our internet. It took 3 or 4 days and I was on the phone to Totalplay for several hours each day. Long story short they claimed I never returned my equipment from last June which I did while we were in Las Jaibas and that I owed a full month for internet. Once that got sorted out we could move forward. Except someone at headquarters decided that I could not have internet at this location which made no sense as the former tenant had Totalplay. Both my landlords, Juanita and Fernando spent at least 4 hours between them on the phone with Totalplay. What a stupid and unnecessary mess of bureaucracy. They had to guarantee that they would pay if I did not. So finally – well it actually took 3 attempts to come and try and find this address – the technicians showed up.
We put the fibre optic cable in this piece of conduit and Colin tried to bury it but was unable as his right hand is still not working properly. Finally Fernando came and did it and it is safely buried.
On November 4th the material for the palapa began to arrive.
And soon thereafter the posts were cemented into the ground. The posts are buried three feet deep.
The cement was mixed in a barrel on the back in the truck in the photo above this one. Very very heavy to carry and to pour. It was still very hot and extremely humid.
No one wears gloves. The wood comes from the Sierra Madre mountains.
I put up a string of old lights just so it looked pretty. It was November 4th, the full Beaver Supermoon!
From no post to 28 photos in one post 😳 I think I will leave this here for tonight and for certain will continue tomorrow and get you up to date.
What a great catch up and looking forward to the rest of the story!
Set up looks nice!
Holy smokes GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE WHO WAIT 👏🏽👏🏽❤️ all your hard work and frustrations have paid off. We are so very happy for you both, Living your dreams, you’re an inspiration ❤️
Thank you for the update! I think Colin is looking pretty good, much like his old self but I know there is still a long way to go.
Splendid update. It’s looks like it will be absolutely perfect. So nice to see your smiling faces, relaxing! Can hardly wait to see the ramada!
So glad things are getting better!
I had to googled palapa vs. ramada—palapa = palm-frond shade, ramada = solid roof chic.
Your new home looks amazing, but seeing Colin’s improvement is the real highlight. He’s come so far!
Wine + happy faces = the best recipe!
Remember to not overdo it! Cheers!
** Wonder when 5Cs will revert to 4Cs again 🙂
Such a happy smile on Colin’s face!! Heaved a sigh of relief that you both are in a MUCH better Place!! Everything seems to be coming along. the girls fence looks great. The bugs/ants are indeed yucky!! Can’t wait to see final pictures of the Ramada/palapa. those guys are certainly doing good/fast work for you!! and everything looks so good.. Take Care and God Bless..
You are headed for warm, great weather, while here in Redmond, Oregon we finally got a good hard frost last night. the weather is getting so very cold, but no snow yet. We have a local ski resort, Mt Bachelor, about 50 miles from where i live and they like to open Thanksgiving week end and THIS year they only had 2 inches!! of base snow… what a horrid thing for them! We are hoping every day that there will be snow in the mountains… and wake up to clear/blue skies, which would be normally what one would wish for, but…. that does not bring snow, nor mountain opening day either…. wonder what their season will turn out like? People that bought those expensive Winter season passes are getting gypped for sure!!! (and of course we want the snow ONLY up there, not down here!!)
Did the sale of your home in Canada g thru?
Cheers! Wishing you all the best in this last month of the year.
Colin sure looks good, back to his old self. 🙂
You’re looking well too. 😉
Concrete….Young lady..Any-hows, it looks like a swell spot.I hope it’s your final move. I hate moving and your view is quite swell.It’s snowing up here in your old hood.
Stay warm and relax..
David
Everything looks so wonderful, except that ant nest, ewww. You even have your view back. The photo of you and Colin is precious, reminds me of time gone by. Very happy things are on the upswing, and very much looking forward to the photos of the finished palapa.
Love reading your blog