Pax Gaea Human Rights World Post

House Hunting In Patzcuaro

We were disappointed when we reached Morelia that the two realty companies that we had made contact with prior to leaving Wilmington seemed not to be too interested in trying to find rental accommodations for us once we arrived here. We were fortunate, however, that Eduardo had put us in contact Saida and Jose Maho who live in Patzcuaro and may have a line on property. We contacted Saida at 10:30 on Saturday and, true to his word, Eduardo had spoken to her. She was going to look around to see what she had available and we would get back up with her in the late afternoon.

We headed into Patzcuaro after a great late breakfast and tried to get some banking and Internet issues resolved. I’ve apparently assigned a password for broadband that I don’t remember so, until we resolve this issue, I’ll have to burn my entries onto CD and go on-line at Meg@net, a local Internet Café.

We talked to Saida later in the afternoon, and she put us on the track of a cabin she thought would run around $300 a month. We followed up on that lead to what can best be described as a camping community of small two story apartments. While there were two bedrooms, a bathroom, a living space and a small kitchen with two burners and a breathtaking view of the lake, the price, unfortunately was hiked by $200 a month. While I must confess it had an inspirational view, with no telephone, Internet or an oven to cook in, plus the automatic price increase by almost 66%, what I call the Land Rover tax, it was just too primitive to justify the cost.

We headed back into Patzcuaro and I decided to do some random turns down streets near the lake. While we did find rentals, some even with a bit of charm and character that were affordable, none came furnished, requiring us to buy all the furniture we’d need, not an acceptable choice. We did run into two American ladies who had been in a rental for about a week and they did clue us into a few American expatriates who have real estate connections in town. We’ll have to wait until Monday to follow up on those leads, as it is now Sunday. We’ll continue to investigate on our own today and see what we can line up for the first of the week.

As I’ve mentioned, the Hacienda Mariposa where we are staying is one of the most beautiful inns I’ve ever visited, and it seems to be a Mecca for visiting Americans. This morning we met a fellow with a Rhodesian Ridgeback who moved to Ixtapa from Minnesota and opened up an inn, and a young couple from Pennsylvania who are both metalsmiths here to investigate the local craft. As much as I love the Hacienda Mariposas, I believe that, as finding a house may take a few more days than anticipated, I may have to find less pricey accommodations. Before heading back to the Hacienda for dinner, we checked out the Villa Gardenias, another dog friendly hotel, which is much more in line with my budget. When we returned to the Hacienda, I talked to Rene about our rental hunt and he said he’d make a few calls for me to see what he could line up. I hope he as is as helpful and understanding when I break it to him about heading the Villa Gardenias. Meanwhile we spent the evening pouring through two beautiful portrait books about Michoacan and Paranguayas, which detail the state and the Indian influence on the food and culture of the region. Rene’s friend, Adalberto Rios Szalay, had written and photographed much of the contents while staying at the Hacienda Mariposas. There is no doubting its inspirational qualities. That I can confess.

We’re off to breakfast and a day of house hunting. Ciao.

posted by Dave Carroll @ 8/13/2006 06:46:00 PM