Coconuts for Josefina

Tomorrow we take off for a few days of R & R in Guadalajara and Tlaquepaque. This will include staying at our favorite B&B, the Casa de las Flores, owned by a fellow from Davis. We will do some smart shopping in Tonalá, a little suburb of Guadalajara that turns into one giant market on Thursdays and Sundays. If you want ANYTHING for your Mexican (or US) house, and you can carry it away, you'll find it here.

This trip will also include a visit to the bank to pay our annual fees for the house. This is where the coconuts come in. As you may recall we are purchasing the vacant lot next door. We have been at this since December 8th, when we made our first visit to a lawyer who, we were led to believe, knew all about buying and selling property to gringos. I don't know how we could have been so misled, but there it is. We were all set to take care of the new lot's fees when we found out that several more steps that we had not been told about must be completed before we can claim ownership. So tomorrow morning not only are we going but Fernando is coming with us as the mensajero or courier for the lawyer. He is to deliver a stack of papers to the bank to be signed by the bank's lawyer, then returned to our "lawyer" in Tecoman. But before any of that can be done, a sizeable amount of money must be paid to the bank. And before that can be done, we need to get to the bank. All of this must be completed before noon tomorrow, the hour of the appointment for the signing of the final papers. We are in Cuyutlán, about a 3-hour drive away when the roads are clear; at last report, there had been a rockslide and a portion of the 2-lane road is down to one lane with long waits between directions. As for the coconuts, they are allegedly for the bank officer who handles our account. She (Josefina) asked the lawyer here to send up some coconuts with the mensajaro. Fernando will go out and scout some up, toss them in a bag and add them to our luggage.

In any event, tomorrow morning at 7:30 we will take off on what may end up being a complete folly. Or, who knows? We may actually own the lot by the time this little holiday is over! I can't wait for the scene when we walk into that mausoleum of a bank hauling a bag of coconuts. The lobby is always bristling with heavily armed guards. This will give them pause.