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gayone

Apr 28, 2004, 12:01 PM

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Questions about books and drinking water

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Marlene: Thank you for responding so quickly to my inquiry about retiring and moving to Mexico. Why doesn't anyone besides this website have any useful information for those of us who still have "adventure" in our souls after we retire? Are we supposed to just shrival up and die after we retire? I think not. We have found that since the kids are gone, we have more freedom to do some of the things that we have always wanted to do. Are there any books we should get and read prior to our leaving, and what about the "water" they claim, that we still cannot drink it. However, if you live in Mexico, doesn't bottled water get expensive? What about the real estate restrictions along the coast (read that somewhere). Looking forward to hearing from you real soon. Thanks, Garnett

(This post was edited by jennifer rose on Apr 28, 2004, 12:13 PM)

Carron

Apr 28, 2004, 2:37 PM

Post #2 of 27 (2531 views)

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Re: [gayone] Questions about books and drinking water

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It's interesting that you think those of us who have retired in Mexico have just shriveled up and died! While many of us do have daily routines, mostly of our own chosing I might add, even a trip to the local mercado to shop for food can be an exciting and sometimes even very foreign adventure. Living in Mexico full time is not always like being on vacation full time. I imagine you will discover that many of us have done lots of traveling around the country before picking a place to live. And we all live in very interesting places, from villages to large metropolises, from the coasts up into the mountains, from Chiapas to Coahuila to Acapulco and the Yucatan.

When you have a home here and perhaps a family also to keep up with on a daily basis, settling down in one place and loving it is pretty easy. Each and every day in the barrio holds the promise of a fiesta to which one just might be invited on the spur of the moment. Also for those on restricted incomes, such as many retirees, incessant moving about can become too expensive. Living and traveling in Mexico is not the wonderful bargain it used to be.

Also Mexico in general moves at a much slower pace than many of us were accustomed to back home. You too will probably ease into that slower life style once you get down here on a permanent basis.

esperanza

Apr 28, 2004, 2:51 PM

Post #3 of 27 (2529 views)

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Re: [Carron] Questions about books and drinking water

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And PS--a 19-liter (more or less 5 gallon) bottle of purified water costs 14 pesos where I live. That's the equivalent of about $1.25US. The water sellers roam our streets every day and deliver exactly what I need to my kitchen columpio (swinging bottle holder). A bottle lasts me a week or a little more.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

Carron

Apr 28, 2004, 3:19 PM

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Re: [esperanza] Questions about books and drinking water

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That is the price we pay here also if we buy off the truck. Some of the little neighborhood drive-through convenience stores sell a bottle for as little as 10 pesos. A bag of ice usually sells for about the same as a bottle of water.

I confess that I frequently make my morning coffee with tap water, on those days when it appears clearer than on others and doesn't have a strange odor wafting up from the sink! And my dogs and cat drink tap water with no noticeable ill effects.

TomG

Apr 28, 2004, 4:47 PM

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Re: [esperanza] Questions about books and drinking water

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I went through the trouble and 150 pesos expense of buying a beautiful glass base; and we went big with the glass water bottle (more deposit). It was harder to find than plastic in Oaxaca, but the neighbor and I found it at the glass store downtown. It was much admired, more hygenic, and pretty enough to put a goldfish in.

We gave it to some very nice people in a pueblo when we left.

thfarrell

Apr 28, 2004, 6:49 PM

Post #6 of 27 (2465 views)

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Re: [Carron] Questions about books and drinking water

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Hi...

It saddens me that folks didn't really address the original poster. True, statements about water and goldfish were made, but the first response seems to me to have got the original post exactly wrong and after that the thread turned into just a chat. Not that I haven't done the same thing, mind you.

> It's interesting that you think those of us who have
> retired in Mexico have just shriveled up and died!

As I read it, this is exactly what the original post did NOT say... almost as if this reply is evidence that the retirees >have< mentally shriveled up.

Hmmmmm.... :-)

tom
---
"Beauty is in the i of the Beholder"
(Julia Mandelbrot)

jennifer rose

Apr 28, 2004, 7:17 PM

Post #7 of 27 (2462 views)

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Re: [gayone] Questions about books and drinking water

Not all of us who live here are retired. In between running the International Jewish Conspiracy and the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy, selling raffle tickets for the parish, and defragging my computers on a regular basis, I manage to work, garden, shop, socialize, and perform the usual and customary tasks of an ordinary life.

Don Adams’ “Head for Mexico” is a fun read – and interesting. While he certainly could use a good editor, “Mexico” Mike Nelson’s “Live Better South of the Border” has its good points. I’d suggest stockpiling of Everything You Always Wanted to Read before your move here. And a copy of Joy of Cooking or some cookbook with substitutions. And a recent copy of the Merck Manual.

Remember that map is not territory. You’re not going to get all you need to know about life in Mexico simply by reading a book.

Bottled water isn’t all that expensive. While you may not have had to purchase or purify drinking water in your homeland, most folks do so here. It’s still cheaper than gasoline or Scotch. Some of us don’t buy bottled water, drinking it straight from the tap if we’re fortunate enough to have a home purification system. Others use filters, and some boil their water. And some do all of the above.

Yes, the Mexican Constitution restricts foreign ownership of real estate in the prohibited zones, which do include the coast. The workaround is to create a bank trust, or fideicomiso, more about which you can read on this site by simply looking around.

TomG

Apr 29, 2004, 7:04 AM

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Bubba

Apr 29, 2004, 9:34 AM

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Re: [TomG] Questions about books and drinking

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A U.S. Government sponsored study showed that the re-use of recyclable water bottles can contaminate the purified water you are buying at the store or off the truck. Water containers/coolers such as the ones you see in offices with the inverted water bottles on top were also fond to be hothouses for bacteria.

I recommend you drink:

Purified water in throw away bottles produced by a reputable company

XX Lager

Purified triple distilled vodka

Herradura Blanco Tequila

Coca Cola when in a jam

And, who says there isn't a vast right wing conspiracy? Just because I'm paranoid does not mean that they are not out to get me!

(This post was edited by Bubba on Apr 29, 2004, 9:35 AM)

Texwheel

Apr 29, 2004, 11:52 AM

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HHERRINGTON

Apr 29, 2004, 12:19 PM

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Texwheel

Apr 29, 2004, 12:32 PM

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bthunder

Apr 29, 2004, 1:10 PM

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Re: [Bubba] Questions about books and drinking

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Booze labels aside for a moment, can one get drinking water delivered in glass containers instead of plastic? Do glass containers harbor little critters after awhile as well? Although heavy, glass jugs are prettier and could be periodically debugged, couldn't they? Are glass jugs available? Then can you get them filled? I wouldn't imagine they are delivered from the back of pickups.

Even though glass would be more trouble to fill and transport, at least one wouldn't be putting so much plastic in the landfills.
Tracie

*******
Caminante, no hay camino.
Se hace camino al andar.
*******

Bubba

Apr 29, 2004, 1:13 PM

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Bubba

Apr 29, 2004, 1:26 PM

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Re: [bthunder] Questions about books and drinking

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bthunder:

I have never seen glass containers in the Lake Chapala area that are delivered or available at the store. In my travels about Mexico, I have yet to see them anywhere. There are stores that will fill your bottles with "purified" water so you could probably buy your own bottles and truck them to the water store for refilling. However, how are you going to sterilize them for re-use?

We use the big bottles delivered by truck for normal water needs but like to buy the much more expensive 1 1/2 liter throw away bottles for drinking water. We started this habit when our local Mexican doctor told me, after I had contracted two bacterial infections, that I should switch water companies. Now, get this. The water she told me to stop drinking is produced locally by friends of hers. She told me that she loved these people but would not drink their water.

The tap water here in Ajijic, Jalisco is probably safe but why take a chance?

johanson

Apr 29, 2004, 1:43 PM

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Re: [Bubba] Questions about books and drinking

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I just drink the water from the tap here in Ajijic. Sure every once in a while I have my storage tanks cleaned, and I also occasionally add chlorine, never bringing the quantity up to more than about 1/2 of one part per million.

I also run my drinking water through first a filter and then ultra-violet light. I'm told that I probably wouldn't have to do all of that, but I do, because I am a paranoid gringo.

In the 7 years that I have been here, have I ever been infected with them little critters? Yep, this year. OR so the doctor told me. I found out during my annual physical. I had no symptoms but he insisted on treating me. Now that he got rid of what ever I had, I still feel fine.

Apr 29, 2004, 8:38 PM

Post #17 of 27 (2242 views)

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Re: [Bubba] Questions about books and drinking

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Quote

"Bubba" writes:
A U.S. Government sponsored study showed that the re-use of recyclable water bottles can contaminate the purified water you are buying at the store or off the truck. Water containers/coolers such as the ones you see in offices with the inverted water bottles on top were also fond to be hothouses for bacteria.....

Dang, a gen-u-wine gubberment sponsored study.....

How long ago was the study performed, who conducted it, and where were the results published?

Apr 29, 2004, 9:23 PM

Post #18 of 27 (2230 views)

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Re: [johanson] Questions about books and drinking

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Quote

johanson writes:
....I also occasionally add chlorine, never bringing the quantity up to more than about 1/2 of one part per million....

Chlorine compounds of various types have two different applications in potable (drinking) water systems.

1. They are continuously added to form low (normally <5 ppm) concentrations post-treatment. In this application the chlorine prevents microbial regrowth in the treated water, provides protection against trace amounts of contamination, and inhibits biofilm (bacterial plaque) growth on water system components.

2. They are added to form relatively high (typically 200 ppm) concentrations throughout a potable water system. In this application, sometimes referred to as "shock" chlorination the chlorinated water is held in the system for several hours, and then discarded, after which the system is flushed with potable water. Shock chlorination is used to disinfect a water system, destroying microbial colonies and bacterial plaque.

Occasionally adding a chlorine compound to raise free chlorine concentrations to 0.5 ppm will achieve neither, and doesn't have a lot of value.

jennifer rose

Apr 30, 2004, 1:48 PM

Post #19 of 27 (2168 views)

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Re: [bthunder] Questions about books and drinking

Shatter one of those glass water bottles on the floor just once (and it will happen, sooner or later), and you’ll bless the advent of the plastic ones.

Like Johansen, I drink water straight from the tap, having a whole-house purification system that was well worth the money. (For more about those, do a search on the fora, because they’ve already been discussed at length.) The purification system not only ensures clean(er) drinking water, but it keeps gunk from your toilet tanks and washing machine.

It’s real easy to let yourself become paranoid about drinking water, but there comes a point where you simply have to take some risks unless you’re destined to spend your days living in a bubble. There are germs and bacteria everywhere – on shopping carts, on door knobs, on eating utensils in restaurants, in swimming pools, and probably even in the rain everyone’s anticipating. I can remember someone asking if his or her dishes should be rinsed in boiling water. One can take these things just too far. Exercise reasonable caution and good judgment, but don’t obsess about it.

janburg

Apr 30, 2004, 3:56 PM

Post #20 of 27 (2144 views)

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I'm not sure if this is the same study referred to, but last year I read that a study was done of the plastic water bottles that we all refilled and froze. The bottles being used by children in grade school were the most contaminated and themost often contaminate was feces. College kid's bottles had bacteria, etc.and a low percentage of feces. As I remember, they suggested only reusing the bottle 2 or 3 times, lnot indefinately. Lately, I've noticed pull dates on the bottles now. By the way, I've also been researching Mexico , Baja Norte in particular. I just learned that a bank trust is about 4000 plus about 3000 in transfer fees. Then I think there is a minimal yearly charge for the bank to manage the trust. Hope that helps. I did not intend to lease the land, but several people who are selling have lived on the land for 15 to 20 years with no problems. I'm not rethinking leasing. Does anyone ever talk about the north Baja?

Marlene

Apr 30, 2004, 5:01 PM

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Re: [janburg] Questions about books and drinking

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Hi Janberg,
It might be best to start a new thread with your info on land trusts so it doesn't get lost in the water thread.

johanson

Apr 30, 2004, 7:50 PM

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Re: [Marlene] Questions about books and drinking

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ET I should have better explained myself. I have three Aljibas positioned several hundred feet from each other and at very different elevations. It is my desire to occasionally have about an 8 to 15 parts per million concentration of Chlorine in the first aljiba, the one that receives the water from the city and abuts public land. We call that super chlorinating or shocking the water. We do not increase the chlorine level to 200 ppm as you suggest. By the time it reaches the tap, I am below 1/2 of a part per million (ppm), which is still much higher than I have ever experienced at the tap in Seattle. There, a tester that shows as low as .2 ppm has never registered chlorine in the water.

Why do I do occasionally super-chlorinate? Because it was recommended to me by those folks we consider experts down here.

Now folks rather than listening to me who simply follows the advice of experts, or ET who is real good at looking things up on the internet, I would talk to professionals. Here lakeside The LCS regularly schedules classes about such subjects. The last one on water quality was given only three weeks ago. Or you could talk to someone like Sam Perey who has been responsible or has advised the city of Chula Vista here lakeside about water quality for perhaps 30 years, You will walk away with much better information than I can pass on to you in two paragraphs or ET has done in his critic of my comments. Oh by the way ET I showed both of these experts what I wrote. They were not as critical as you, only suggesting that I might have gone into a little more detail. I will not make comment about what they said about what you wrote.

I had some reasons to suspect that maybe my water system was not working correctly and did check with these folks. They say that what I am doing is correct and that the water purification system that I am using is more than adequate. They do not recommend that you drink water with chlorine counts as high as 5 ppm as someone could infer from your comments above and do not super chlorinate to levels of 200 ppm. They have yet to find the need for that down here.

Now I am not saying ET is right or wrong. But I do feel confident that after having followed the advice of the experts down here that I have a clean source of drinking water. In fact I probably do too much.

TomG

Apr 30, 2004, 8:09 PM

Post #23 of 27 (2077 views)

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Re: [jennifer rose] Questions about books and drinking

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In Reply To

Like Johansen, I drink water straight from the tap, having a whole-house purification system that was well worth the money. (For more about those, do a search on the fora, because they’ve already been discussed at length.) The purification system not only ensures clean(er) drinking water, but it keeps gunk from your toilet tanks and washing machine.

It’s real easy to let yourself become paranoid about drinking water.....

Goodie for you. Step on down to Oaxaca and belly up to the tap - drink your fill like a man. The locals will be impressed.

Actually, some would call a "whole-house purification system” paranoid; others would call it expensive. Moreover, why be so uptight about gunk in your toilet tanks and washing machine? Everybody needs to have some gunk in his or her life. It’s not a perfect world. Golly, live with it! ...... For heaven’s sake!

(This post was edited by TomG on Apr 30, 2004, 8:11 PM)

bournemouth

Apr 30, 2004, 8:16 PM

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Actually Tom, as one who does the laundry and cleans the toilets, not having lots of gunk in the water makes things much easier. It's easier on the fittings in your toilet, on "ring around the bowl" and easier to get the clothes clean - so don't knock it too much.

janburg

Apr 30, 2004, 8:20 PM

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Re: [Marlene] Questions about books and drinking

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Thanks, I'll do that.

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