Construction work, etc

Construction work
Bucerias has a problem with city water. At times, demand exceeds supply so there is little or no water to the customers. As a result, everyone has aljibes (cisterns) and/or tinacos (roof-top water tanks). Our house has both, but the cistern is small so occasionally there is a shortage of water.
We decided to have a larger cistern installed. We got a bid from a Bucerias contractor and also talked to Rafa, the man who has been doing work on Luis’s bodega project. Since Luis was at a good point for the workers to go elsewhere, we hired Rafa.
The first thing to be done was to shop for materials. This entailed visits to several plumbing stores. The cistern, pump and pressure tank were selected. Next on the agenda was to dig the huge hole for the cistern. The plans were to dig the hole by hand. But as they got to the site, Harold and Cesar (one of the workers) saw a backhoe for hire. They went to see about it and found that the hole could be dug in about 2 hours so the man and machine were hired. 2 hours later there was a very big hole in the yard at a cost of 700 pesos, or less than $70 US. In the process of digging the hole the main water line to the house got broken. Luckily, the city water was not running at the time so the repairs were done before the yard flooded.
We had to go back to the plumbing supply to pay for the parts. The supply house allowed us to pay by check, which was good. It only took 2 tries to fill the check out correctly. You must do everything absolutely correctly. Speaking of that, we needed cash for the project so we got our bank account number from Joann and Patricia and headed to the bank. Well, without our checkbook there was going to be a 115-peso charge to get cash out. On the next trip to Bucerias we got the checkbook and returned to the bank. To get cash out, you write a check to yourself. Mexican banks seem to have a way to charge you for everything!
In addition to the cistern, the workers are installing a new roof coating. The roof is concrete so has to be treated for waterproofing.
So far, the project has been going well. The cistern is in the ground and filled with water. They have started backfilling around the cistern. The hole needs to be filled up, the plumbing and pressure pump installed and the whole thing tested. The roof work is also well underway. We have been to the worksite every day to check on the progress and pay the bills. Many times it seems like there would be a more efficient way to do the job, but the work is moving along. Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion.

Juanito’s
When Kathy was here last month she brought us a bunch of Lance Armstrong Foundation “Livestrong” bracelets. The ones sold here in PV are pirated copies and are also expensive. Brenda wanted some, so we dropped off a bag for her. Another All Vallarta board member, Renee, wanted some as well. We had a plan to get together one day, which had to be postponed by our construction project. We decided to meet for breakfast and go to Juanito’s in Ixtapa.
We picked Renee p at the Villa del Palmar complex and headed to Ixtapa. At first it seemed she didn’t know where the place was, but lo and behold we found it. Juanito, the owner of the restaurant, used to work at Memo’s Pancake House in PV. The menu at Juanito’s is similar. The restaurant itself looks small from the outside. It has a very pretty garden location. You can tell the family is fond of gardening by all the orchids, cactus and other plants in the yard. We enjoyed a nice relaxing breakfast on the cool patio. Thanks, Renee, for showing us this cool little place.

You look familiar
People often comment on how vendors, hotel clerks and waiters remember them from ear to year. It is amazing that they can remember you a year or more later. Harold was on the street in town one day when he heard someone calling “Senor, senor”. He didn’t recognize the voice so didn’t respond. Pretty soon he heard the guy say “Senor Harold”, so he stopped to talk. The guy calling him was the OPC (off-premise contact) timeshare guy who works at the Alamo counter. It has been at least 2 years since he sent us on a tour. Not only did he remember Harold’s name, he said, “your last name is Sokolove, right?” Harold was very amazed!