Last updated Monday May 26, 2008
This page shows our casa the way it was when we bought it.
The centerpiece of the house is the patio area with a pool. We will be spending most of our time out here in the cool shade. Both master bedrooms, the dining room, the kitchen, the guest bathroom, the upstairs apartment and the garage all open directly to the patio. The only rooms in the house that are not off the patio are the living room and the studio.
There is an iron gate in the front coming off the street. Then there is another iron gate across the entrance to the house. There are actually three front doors, all of them double doors. The middle one goes straight into the hallway. The doors on the left go into the living room and the doors on the right into the studio.
The "front lawn" is concrete but we do have two nice green bushes. Marvin and Nancy confer while Roy takes photos and contemplates all the scraping and painting of ironwork that is needed.
This ceramic tile scene is over the center front door. I'll have to scrape the paint off of it from the sloppy painter that worked on the house.
The living room and dining room are separated by a wide hallway that runs the width of the house. They are connected with large archways that give it an open feeling while still separating the rooms. We are going to pick a paint scheme and keep it consistent throughout the house instead of the coat of many colors it wears now.
The living room has windows that open to the street. They are like shutters that fold open with glass in the middle. There is a vent up high on the wall to promote air flow without needing a fan.
There is a hallway that runs all the way across the house parallel with the street. The previous owner decided to make the house grander by punching up the ceiling of the hall a few feet. New vents on either end let the hot air out. The ceiling and walls need the final smooth coat of concrete and then paint.
I suggested painting the ceiling like the Sistine Chapel but I got vetoed on that one.
The kitchen was divided into three rooms, two that can be closed up inside the house and the other that is always exposed to the outside through this iron gate. Standing at the serving window in the outside part of the kitchen you can see through the inside kitchen into the dining room and living room. The three rooms are now combined into one larger kitchen and adding more counter space. See our Construction page for the progress. The iron gate is now gone, replaced by a serving window for passing dishes out to the patio by the pool.
One thing very rare in Mexico is a driveway and garage. Usually you get room to park one car, and maybe squeeze two in. This house has a broad driveway that could fit two across and two deep, and then a garage that is deep enough for two cars plus a work area in the back.
In addition to the large two bedroom house we have a single bedroom apartment on the second floor.
The apartment has its own bathroom and tiny kitchen that opens out onto the roof where there is a laundry area with a sink.
The bedroom is fairly large and has a huge closet with beautiful cedar doors.
On our last visit the fichus trees along the sidewalk had grown 2 feet taller and had blocked the sidewalk. We spent a lot of time trimming and cleaning up weeds that had grown along the curb. It was Mexican independence day so we flew our flag. Notice also the election poster on the utility pole. They were plastered all over town.
Even though the plants around the pool have not been cared for they still are beautiful.
Here is a fisheye lens look at Calle Aquiles Serdan, the street in front of our house. To the left, beyond the pink house, is the Mercy Hospital. Across the street is a pair of little stores that sell cold drinks and snacks. Beyond the stores is the park and then through the park is the beach. To the right Calle Aquiles Serdan bends away from the beach and heads downtown.