Wednesday, May 07, 2008

sizzlin' in melaque



I have learned long ago that if you want to make God laugh, just tell him your plans. (I have shamelessly stolen that line from Anne LaMott -- who just as shamelessly stole it from someone else.) But, if events trundle down the path of the future as I now see it and them, I will be living in Mexico around the beginning of June of next year.


I hope to fly down to Barra de Navidad to look at the house I have mentioned earlier that is still on the market. I will also look at a house in Melaque that will be available during the summer and early fall.


I have posted a picture or two of the possible rental, but I thought I would post a few more and gather the opinions of you my dear readers on this quest. (Yes. Yes. I know. I need to make my own decisions. But I love getting comments.)


The photograph at the top of this post provides a good exterior view of the house. The woman, who owns the place, has taken great care in remodeling. Here is a shot of the bathroom.




And one of the living room. Note the wraparound deck.




And a great view from the office area. I can just imagine getting up in the morning and sitting down to this view while I start my daily blog. (My current view is nice. But it is a $100,000 view. This is a million dollar view.)





And the kitchen. The owner says that she has upgraded the stove since this photograph.




And then there is the bedroom. The main living areas are on the second story. Having stayed in lower stories during Mexican summers, I can appreciate second story living -- and its attendant breezes. (I love "attendant" in this context. I can imagine maidens and fans.)




When the owner sent this picture to me, she used grand understatement by referring to it as a shot of her back yard. Quite a nice yard.




I need to start making plans for my flight to Melaque. I will keep you posted. But it looks as if I have the first stop of my journey to Mexico in sight.

18 comments:

Hollito said...

Uuuggghhh...what a view! What a house! You leave me here drooling on my keyboard. :-)
Very nice house - however, I know there are lots and lots of other nice houses, and a decision like this will shure need a lot of comparing and thinking about.
Did you ever have a look at Zihuatanejo? Nice little town, too.

Steve Cotton said...

Hollito -- You are correct that there are many places to live in Mexico. Melaque has the great advantage if having easy airport access for my family and friends to visit me. But it is just a start. I may end up living in a number of places before I settle down permanently.

Babs said...

Melaque is a great first start and the house looks "perfecto". As you say, the great advantage is there is a place for family and friends to fly into that is "relatively" near and you have access to a city for groceries and things, if you want.
I just sent off the deposit check yesterday for two weeks in Barra - Jan 5-19,2009. Couldn't find anything in Melaque.......Maybe we'll connect!

Steve Cotton said...

Babs -- If we do not run into one another in January, we certainly should at the blogger meeting.

Anonymous said...

Now that's what I'm talking about amigo! Very Cool.

Juan Calypso

Anonymous said...

steve,

that house is beautiful and what a spectacular view! i love the bathroom too! so are you going to melaque in the near future to check it out? i'm glad to see that you may be living (or at least checking out) a number of places before settling down. there are so many beautiful places in mexico, might as well check out as many as possible before the big decision of where to stay for good.

take care,
teresa

Islaholic Trixie said...

Steve...What a beautiful home to start your life in Mexico in!! Can't beat the view.

Steve Cotton said...

It certainly looks like a great house to me. I will keep you posted on my impressions. I may even stay there during my next trip south -- probably June or July. And, if it does not work out, there are other houses -- other towns.

Brenda Maas said...

Love the bathroom and tub. Views are great and the house looks great also.
I suppose the deciding factor will be whether the maidens with the fans come with the rental. lol

Theresa in Mèrida said...

Very pretty. I am going to be a wet blanket and tell the stuff to look for in a house in Merida, some of which won't apply at the beach.
Where does the sun hit the house and where does the breeze come from? Ventilation is so very important. Is the house cool during the heat of day? What is located near the house, beware the Sala de Fiesta, nothing like having a "party palace" blaring the same tunes over and over again every Saturday night (remember they may be the same tunes to you, but every Saturday new party goers are requesting them). Go there on weekdays, evenings and weekends at different times of day. If it's on the beach, what happens during la temporada? In Progreso, Holy Week,Easter week, July and August are when all the Mexican who can head to the beach and party. How far are you from things that you need? How is the transportation system?
Then also check the plumping, the wiring and if you want a telephone and internet make sure it's really available not just possible. We rented a house where the owner said that a phone line would be no problem, we just needed to make a contract with Telmex, Telmex said no problem but first the 4000 pesos deliquent phone bill had to be paid. Unpaid bills belong to the predio not the person!
Nice house.
regards,
Theresa

Steve Cotton said...

Theresa -- Thank you for the great tips. When I head to Melaque in June or July, I will be staying at the house. Ventilation is one of the most important aspects for me. If I learned any lessons from Andee, it was that one. I should learn a lot by staying there briefly. And, of course, I will learn more from commehts like yours.

Islagringo said...

I was in Melaque last June. Weather gorgeous, people friendly, food great. Water swimmable. I was told the hordes come in July. It was almost deserted in June. The local grocery store was a joke though if I had to depend upon it. I'll be talking more about it in my blog, but I think you will like it there.

Steve Cotton said...

Wayne -- I have never had to purchase food while in Barra or Melaque. But I was a bit frustrated in La Manzanilla by the lack of grocery supplies. The only grocery stores there are mom and pop places -- with very limited selection. It is one of the new challenges I keep talking about -- and Michael Dickson keeps reminding me are far from quaint. We will see if I like the Pacific coast as much as you like the Gulf.

Islagringo said...

Steve, I agree with Michael. When you are trying to stock your larder or just get something for a good meal, the choices are from quaint then. Oh, I do NOT live on the Gulf. I live on the Caribbean. Which is similar to the Pacific but quieter waves!

sparks_mex said...

Nice house or apartment (don't know which) ... and terrible bathroom. Welcome to Melaque

aka ... sparks

Steve Cotton said...

Sparks -- Great to hear from you. The Great Water Dispute (today's post) should sound very familiar to you. I was going to send you a note that I was going to use it as a post.

sparks_mex said...

No need to check with me about posts on TomZap - I hope

You move is a year away - I thought sooner. Well the town will be here and most likely I will.

sparks

Steve Cotton said...

I will be coming down in June or July for a short stay -- if I can find a flight down that will not take me a full day of travel time.