The Land of Maybe

By Wendy Kasdan (Guest Blogger)

If you haven’t guessed already, I’m a Leaper. I’m also a Scorpio, so I do tend to get pretty intense. Thank god my husband likes my impulsive nature. Once we had decided to plunge into Mexican life I couldn’t wait to get started. My husband’s vacation time was scheduled for the end of August, 3 weeks, and we wanted to spend most of it in our new home. But there was absolutely nothing in our condo. No problem, hon. I’ll fly down in July and spend a week getting the house open. And thus began Wendy’s big adventure.

I’d never flown without my husband, much less to another country where I don’t speak the language. But I felt that my realtor, and Tom and Suzy, with whom I had really only just begun to communicate, would be very helpful. I was already aware that the condo had no electricity and no gas. I found out upon arrival that it also had no water. My realtor, who will hence forth be called Carmen, because after all, that is her name, met me at the airport and took me to Walmart to buy cleaning supplies. It was a very busy day because we also went to Tel Cell for an Amigo phone, and the water and electric companies to open accounts. That little aqua phone was my life line during the week to follow.

(Amigo is a pay as you use minutes plan for cell phones without contracts. Tel Mex is the cellular arm of TelMex phone company)

Upon entering the water company one must obtain a number and wait to be called to a window. This is similar to the DMV at home and if you ever consider moving here you will find that Mexican bureaucracy is very orderly in nature. You get your number and wait an undetermined length of time to be called, even if there is no one else present. On that particular day there were some 50 odd people waiting on the benches with me. I learned how to operate my new little cell phone during the wait period and Carmen and I traded life stories.

The former owners of my condo had skipped out of town and left the bank with bills to pay. I could not reinstate service till these bills were paid, and at the rate things were going with the bank, that could be several lifetimes down the road. My only option was to pay the water and electric companies. They don’t care if you own the place or not. As far as they are concerned I am the Canadian lady listed on the bill. Water is a guaranteed right in Cancun, and if you have no service, and your bills are paid, they must supply you with water within 2 days. Carmen returned from the line telling me that they were sending the Brigade to my home to fix my problem. (You see someone had taken the meter off my system and it needed replacement.)
The electric company proved to be a similar experience, albeit a lesser wait. I was told that the electricity would be turned within 48 hours.

Our next stop was TeleBodega, a huge discount warehouse that sells appliances, furniture, and bedding. I couldn’t resist buying a queen sized bed with the brand name Wendy, as well as a second queen mattress for the guest room. I even got a free blender! One less thing to purchase. Carmen and I had already measured the kitchen, twice, for the dimensions needed for the stove and refrigerator. Now that I think about it, the former owners of my condo probably didn’t skip town. After all, they took all the appliances and even the bathroom mirrors. Try to fit that in your carry on back to Canada! Tom tells me that it is a common practice, here in Cancún, to take all items when leaving a residence. So I count myself lucky because they did leave me some wonderful wooden blinds in the bedrooms, including a beautiful one for the back patio door, four matching ceiling fans, and Pergo wooden flooring.

It had been a very busy day, that first day in Cancún. I eagerly looked forward to my deliveries and utilities upon the morrow. Ha! I did not yet know that I had entered the Land of Maybe.

PS. Our DISH arrived, has been installed and is working. Of course two days later there was a knock on the door and another DISH installer inquired where we would like our modem placed. He looked quite stunned when we told him that the work had already been completed.

(DISH is a satellite TV provider here in Mexico)

Thank you Wendy

A message from CancúnTom

You may notice that in the upper left hand column there are Google ads running. They are there because this is how I pay the fees to the companies involved in hosting this web site. If you click on an ad then I will receive .01 cent credit for each click, from Google. At the one year mark I usually accumulate $100 USD which Google then sends me. My monthly costs for keeping this blog alive are $11.90. So for the year (if I’m not charged for any excess band width) my costs are 11.90 x 12= $142.80. Please…….. if you enjoy this blog do me a favor and click on the ads every time you visit. You are not required to purchase anything…….just the click gets me a few pennies. You never know you might also find some incredible bargain.

Thank you so much…….CancúnTom