Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Beach Time is Great now that Semana Santa is Over🌅

 Our Favorite Time of Year in Mexico

Dancer Dressed in Indigenous Costume
     The beach in Puerto Vallarta is more peaceful and less crowded now that many vacationers have returned home after their Easter holidays. As "pata saladas" (salty feet), those of us who live in this beautiful city full-time, we enjoy the low season the most. The weather is still wonderful and the city is still fun!
Women Dancing in Costume
     The entertainers include drummers and dancers dressed in costumes to imitate indigenous people. We tip them even though their garments and dances may not be authentic. They work hard to make a simple living.
Men in Costume Playing Drums and Flutes
     These musicians were especially talented so we paid them for one song, as did the people at the tables on each side of us. We asked for a happy, Mexican song, so they chose "Guantanamera" and did a very happy rendition of it.
Watch Guantanamera Video Above   
     Sophie settled down on the cool, damp sand under our table at La Palapa restaurant and enjoyed watching the birds, waves, and people. She's learning to be a well-behaved Mexican Chihuahua at only six months old.
Sophie in her "Big Girl" Harness
     While waiting for sunset, we decided to share an order of churros with a dollop of vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. Yum!
     Sunsets at La Palapa restaurant are always wonderful, changing by the second. The true beauty has to be seen in person as photos don't do them justice.
Sunset Behind the Fishing Boats
     Sitting at an ocean-front table, the sound of the waves is so soothing. What a wonderful retirement life we have here in Puerto Vallarta!
Waves Crashing near our Table

     Thank you for reading my books and blog articles. I hope you enjoy following our retirement in Mexico. Check out my Retirement Before the Age of 59 book and others in the Healthy Living and Traveling in Mexico series. You might also like my In Sickness and In Health novels about retired life in Mexico.

     Follow me on FacebookBookBubGoodReads and Twitter!  I invite you to Sign UP for my Healthy Living and Traveling in Mexico monthly newsletter.

     I wish you healthy and happy travels!

Tuesday, April 19, 2022

SOME TROUBLE IN PARADISE: Unexpected Problems Living in a Condo!

 What Is Going On?!

Water Damage on the Master Bedroom Ceiling!
     Let me take you back to the early days in our condo, days when we went from thrilled to be moving to Puerto Vallarta to what have we done?!

     It started the day before the closing on the purchase of our condo unit. We were so excited to do the final walk-through with the realtors—both our realtor and the sellers’ agent. The following day we would sign all of the official documents and receive the keys to our unit. We could move in that very afternoon. What a great birthday gift for me!

     We walked into the two-bedroom, two-bath apartment that would be our new home. In our minds, we already lived there. This was just a formality to approve the final condition of the property. Everything looked and smelled clean and fresh. Well, almost everything.
     When I wandered into the master bedroom, my eyes scanned everything from the gray and tan eighteen-inch ceramic floor tile to the beautiful dark woodwork, from the furniture and wall art to the ceiling. I’m a retired pharmacist and so, naturally, I’m detail-oriented and trained to notice flaws. I caught sight of a narrow, dark spot, maybe three inches long, at the juncture of the wall and ceiling near the minisplit air conditioner. Moisture? Mold?

     I asked the sellers’ realtor what that spot was and he dismissed it with a wave of his hand and said, “Oh, just a little mildew. You have plenty of paint in the laundry room to touch that up.” He walked out of the room as though it wasn’t worth another moment’s notice.

     Was I going to make a fuss about something that indicated water damage? If I did, the whole deal might be delayed, possibly even canceled. We could lose the option to buy the condo unit we had waited patiently to take possession of. I showed Jon the spot. We both shrugged and I thought, Whatever it is, we can deal with it later. Jon’s a retired building contractor—he can fix anything.

     About a month after we moved in, we were lying in bed propped against the headboard with pillows, contentedly reading on our Kindles. It was August, right in the middle of the rainy season when the heat and humidity are at their peak in this tropical area. We had the air conditioner running to cool and dehumidify the air in the master bedroom and all was cozy.

     It was the first summer that we had remained in the area and we’d been warned that it could be miserably hot, but we were pleasantly comfortable with three mini-splits in the 1200-square-foot apartment. We usually only ran one at a time, cooling whichever room we were using.

     I glanced up at the dark “mildew” spot on the ceiling and felt a twinge of fear. Had it grown in size? I pointed to it and said, “Babe, I think that spot is bigger.”

     He didn’t think so, or didn’t want to believe it at the time. I took a photo of it including the corner of the air conditioner for perspective. I would continue to photograph that spot for several weeks as it turned from a little mildew to a definite area of moisture on the drywall.

     One morning we woke up to find moisture had run down the seam between two sheets of drywall leaving a nasty water stain. The drywall tape had pulled loose and a six-inch strip was hanging down. Jon quickly turned off the air conditioner unit and said, “We’d better not use that unit until we have an air conditioning company check out this minisplit. We’ll just use the living room minisplit to cool the bedroom at night.”

     That day, I was in the laundry room filling the washing machine with dirty towels when I heard water running overhead. By that time, I was paranoid about possible water leaks. I looked up and saw a river of water flowing from the ceiling, down the wall, and puddling on the floor. I hadn’t turned the washing machine on yet, so it wasn’t coming from one of our water pipes. Not another water issue in our apartment!

     My next thought was... to read more, watch for my soon-to-be-released book Living in Mexico MORE LESSONS LEARNED. It'll be Chapter 17!

     Have you read Healthy Living in Mexico #3? Now might be a good time to check it out! Download it on Amazon at Living in Mexico LESSONS LEARNED. And please leave a brief review on Amazon to help others find it, too.

     Thank you for reading and reviewing my books. Follow me on my Healthy Living and Traveling in Mexico Facebook page.

Terry L Turrell, Author

Monday, April 11, 2022

Time for Travel in México ֍ A FREE Book

 We Live in Paradise!
Where Will We Go For Vacation?

We’re ready to get back to traveling in México. But where will we go for vacation? We live in paradise--Puerto Vallarta! What Mexican town will we enjoy for a ten-day adventure?

There are quite a few places we missed on our six-month RV trip around this beautiful country. That was our Healthy Living and Traveling in México adventure, an unforgettable journey that I wrote about in my first book.

I’ll tell you all about our latest travel experience next month. Here’s a hint—it’s another Pueblo Mágico! We’ve lived in one of 132 Magical Towns in México, Sayulita, and visited seven others. This will be the eighth Pueblo Mágico we’ve explored! Each one is special in its own unique way.

April 11 is Parkinson’s Awareness Day🌷
FREE eBook for 5 Days Only
Pickle Jar Test: A Novel
To help bring awareness and understanding of Parkinson's disease.

Follow Jake and Lindsay's ordeal with Parkinson's disease beginning with hints of bizarre symptoms. What can they do to slow the disease’s progression besides start medication treatment? Will they be able to continue living in México?


Available on Amazon worldwide—Download at
https://www.amazon.com/Pickle-Jar-Test.../dp/B088QS36Q2/
United Kingdom: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B088QS36Q2/
Mexico: https://www.amazon.com.mx/Pickle-Jar-Test-Sickness-English-ebook/dp/B088QS36Q2/
Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/Pickle-Jar-Test.../dp/B088QS36Q2/
India: https://www.amazon.in/Pickle-Jar-Test.../dp/B088QS36Q2/

Thank you for reading my books and blog articles. If you enjoy them, please leave a review on Amazon. I invite you to follow me on BookBub at Terry L Turrell Author, to be notified when my new book, Living in Mexico More Lessons Learned: Healthy Living in Mexico #5 is released.

I wish you happy and healthy travels.
Terry