Life in Spa Buena Vista

 Was it a sign when we arrived and the house was locked without a key in sight?  Usually the property manager has the house open with the key on the table inside!  We looked around - couldn't find it!  I finally emailed the manager and Glenn called the gardener!  But in the meantime, Glenn had discovered the front slider was open so we could start to unload!

The front door must have a key to unlock from the inside also so later on, we heard from the property manager who said the key was under the huge mat out front - we had looked there but not far enough down - and there it was!  OK - finish the unloading and start the unpacking!

The house looked basically the same - nothing new was done to it which was a little depressing!  This house has wonderful "bones" but it needs a LOT of work done inside and out!  We love it just the same and ignore the peeling paint and all the cosmetic things that could be done to make it look SO much better!

Our good friends had already texted us and invited us to dinner which was so nice as there's nothing to eat when you arrive until you go to the store!  We unpacked for a while and Glenn got a couple of loads out of the storage unit before we headed over for dinner!

It's always great to reconnect with our friends, Del and Linda - Eric and Hillary!  We had a great meal and enjoyed visiting with them!

I missed this view!

It takes a couple of days to get completely unpacked and organized - I always clean out the kitchen cabinets - and I realized that the maid that had cleaned before we came did NOT do a great job at all!  But that's Mexico - you just deal with things....

And then we started realizing we had some issues at the house:  the kitchen sink faucet only dribbled out for the hot water - the 1/2 bath toilet leaked - there was a water leak somewhere in the walls with a weird noise all the time and it was leaking out of the storage tank on top of the house overnight - and there was no hot water (which we didn't determine for a couple of days as the spa water is warm here even for the cold and has to be cooled).

On the personal side, the second night I was here my oh so comfortable Nike flip flops broke (and I hadn't brought a 2nd pair) AND my credit card got hacked in the states!  OK - what's going on here????  My back and leg were really sore (I assumed from the drive) and I was having ear issues (which I knew I probably should have taken care of before we left because sometimes I get a build up of wax inside) and for the first week I had stomach issues (which is kind of normal getting used to Mexico life!)  I was a mess!

But life goes on and we were ON the beach so you just take it all in stride and try to fix the things you can and deal with the other stuff!  My new credit card came in the mail and Jaime picked it up and gave me the number so I could start contacting all the monthly payment people to change it!  We went to San Jose to get groceries with friends and I got some new flip flops!  My stomach issue disappeared after a week and my ears are better but not fixed yet!

As far as the house goes, the hot water heater just needed a new element so Glenn fixed that!  The toilet needed a new seal so Glenn and Gilberto (the gardener) took care of that!  The kitchen faucet needed to be replaced so Gilberto took care of that and now there's a nice new kitchen faucet!  The plumber FINALLY came last week and determined where the water leak is - of course it's behind cement walls in the guest bedroom so we're waiting to hear from the owner and then hopefully that will be fixed and the wall redone!  

A full moon the first part of February - gorgeous!

And there's always a beautiful day in paradise with special coffee!  That's the best!

Life is good - just not always the way you have come to expect it to be!