Construction work

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You Have to Laugh

Yesterday afternoon we heard police sirens over and over again.  I got up and looked out the door and there was a Transito car outside trying to get people to move their cars.  I could see some heavy equipment down the road, waiting. Of course most of the cars didn’t belong to residents so they stayed there until later in the evening when we saw several get towed away. This morning there was little traffic on the street although some...

Making Progress

We went for a short walk this morning (to earn a scone and a cinnamon roll from Hector’s) and I decided to only take pictures of things that are looking good…so here you go! You can click to the right side of the first picture to page through all eight....

Endless Summer (of construction) in Mazatlan

A couple of readers asked me whether the road construction in Centro was completed yet… so I thought it might be time for yet another update!. The work is proceeding but it is far from complete. The pictures that follow are a loop we walked today – South on Belisario Dominguez, West on Sixto Osuna, North along Olas Altas, and East along Angel Flores with a few pics from cross streets thrown in to the mix. The picture at the...

Mazatlan is under construction

If you follow Countdown to Mexico on Facebook you have seen some of what has been going on around town.  Jumapam has been replacing many old and decayed water pipes in Centro and Paul and I are among those who have endured weeks of dirt and dust while the replacements were underway.  Our block is finally done but the project continues all around Centro.  My guess is it takes about three weeks in each area. But in addition to the...

The reality of renovating in Mexico…

We’ve done five big renovation projects at our house over the years and I have learned a lot along the way. At the top of the page is our finished sala fresca, with its seven new roof beams and new paint. Looks a bit better than it did in my previous post on the project, wouldn’t you say? Are you curious about what it’s like to renovate an older home in Mazatlán? Here are some of my observations, and a...

Hoping for a late rainy season

We are in the middle of a huge construction project at our house. I always get up on the roof before rainy season every year to inspect things and this year I noticed we had gaps too wide for me to caulk on the roof of our sala fresca. (Yes, I have to inspect things, I was a property manager for 25 years, I can’t help it!) When we had a chunk of concrete fall out of the roof it...

A Couple Mazatlán Projects

There are a couple of projects going on in town that should be interesting to watch. Both are underway right now. The first is a street improvement between the Plazuela Machado and Belisario Dominguez on Sixto Osuna. That’s a picture of it at the top of the post. As part of this project there will be a children’s park in the small street the other side of Panama Bakery and some posts that I guess will control traffic. (I sure...

Mazatlán’s oldest church is beautiful again

Mazatlán’s oldest church, Templo de San José suffered the loss of its front wall last summer during one torrential rainstorm where we received 9 inches of rain in one day. It has been undergoing repairs for the last 6 months, I think. Finally, the work is complete and it looks wonderful. Especially for a building in this climate constructed beginning in 1831!...

Mazatlan’s Summer of Dust

A blog reader – Terry – asked for more pictures of the projects here in Centro so what could I do but oblige him? Actually, Paul and I took a walk this afternoon and of course I had to take pictures of everything that was going on. At the top of this post you’ll see a big surprise – new, big, nice, sturdy looking street lights! Who knew? The street in the photo is Angel Flores, and probably the new...

More of Mazatlán’s Big Dig

I have taken a couple of walks over the last day or two trying to give you a better idea of the scope of the Big Dig in Mazatlán!  I will say that there is way less mess this week and I can actually start to comprehend what the vision is. Above is a map of the main part of Centro Historico.  The numbers correspond to numbers on some of the pictures to follow.  The light blueish line is my...

The Big Dig in Mazatlán’s Centro Historico

You all know I love it here.  But there are times when I just shake my head and wonder about how decisions get made. (I’m glad I can shake my head and laugh at the same time!) At the top of this post is the street Heriberto Frias – between Angel Flores and Constitución.  This is the street with Casa Haas, a historic house used for a museum and concerts and ends a block further at the Plazuela Machado.  The...

Restoring El Chalet de Salvadora Chávez

Long ago when the city of Mazatlán was a small city, Calle Principal was the main drag through town. Actually, that’s what Calle Principal means – Main Street. Many of the houses were quite large and imposing. Now the street is called Belisario Domínguez – not the only change on this special old street. Many of the large mansions have been broken up into several houses, some are restored beauties, some have been left to crumble away, and some are...

Now this is really our last project…

Paul and I (and you, if you’ve been reading for a while) have lived through a number of projects on our house here in Mazatlán. And while it has been challenging for me to live with the dust and the pounding and the need to restrict the dogs, every project we’ve done has been very worthwhile. We have never shared pictures of our bathroom-dressing room because it was always a bit strange. The room was way too big and the...

Progress pics

Three years ago when we bought our house, the courtyard was a mess!  Above is a picture so you can see for yourself! We moved in here in September, and by October we were already having the courtyard overhauled.  If you want to see the step by step, visit the Photos page or click here.   The work was finally done around Christmas, and it wasn’t until February 25, 2008 that we actually planted the beds.  The pictures above and...

There’s no place like home…

We love visiting Adam and the family in Mexico City… but we are also happy to get home!  This time I had a severe headache for three days due to the altitude – 7,349 feet above sea level!  And of course  Mazatlán is at sea level!  Finally I visited Dr. Google and found that I should have been taking ibuprofen or tylenol instead of aspirin.  That did the trick!  But then my eyes were burning and my nose was dry...