Aug / Sep 2024

Overview –

August came and went in the blink of an eye. 

Our daughter Kayla made a major move to a new town on August 6 for her job, which kept us busy helping her organize everything both prior to and after the move (my Post-it note system works great for things like this).   

Then on August 20, our niece Jeni suddenly passed away while visiting her sister in the UK.  That also brought a whirlwind of things to help my sister sort through.  It was a month full of big stresses and so much sadness. 

Then suddenly it was September. 

On September 3 we were suddenly woken at 4:48am by a 4.5 magnitude earthquake.  Then 20 minutes later, a 3.4 aftershock, and 20 minutes after that, a 3.2 aftershock.  This was apparently the strongest recorded earthquake in the history of Los Cabos.  No damage reported and no one was hurt, but the whole neighbourhood was wide awake after that.   In the days following it was reported we had over 200 smaller aftershocks.

September 9 was the three-year anniversary of Hurricane Olaf (Cat 2), the very first hurricane we experienced here.   I remember that night so well.  Our power was off, and it was so hot inside, over 35C (95F).  Also, we had no access to our water as it’s an electric pressurized pump that sends water into our condo.  So, no water to shower, wash our hands or face or flush the toilets.   And no water to drink as our water cooler required power to dispense water.  It was a very long, very loud and very hot night.

September 12 brought the Baja Peninsula’s first storm for the 2024 season.  Tropical Storm Ileana arrived during the night and brought with her almost 12 inches of rain in a 12-hour period.  This resulted in so much flooding and washed-out roads in both San Jose Del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas.  Our power also went off during the storm, but never wanting to repeat what happened during Hurricane Olaf, we now have a rooftop propane powered generator to keep our condo running.  With the generator running, we can run the AC, have the lights on, charge our cell phones, plus have access to all our water.  This generator has now been our saving grace through many storms and general power outages.

Tropical Storm Ileana may have left behind unwanted flooding, but she also left some much welcomed cooler weather.  For a full week, our temperatures dropped from 35C (95F) to 27C (80F) and we didn’t need to turn the AC on.  It was amazing to have all the windows open again and breathe all that fresh air.  After being indoors in the AC for the past three months, this week of cooler weather and fresh air was exactly what we needed.

September 29 marked four years since we left Canada and moved to Cabo.  It’s crazy to think we are starting our fifth year living here already.  And since we have officially been here for four years, Lorne was able to go to the Immigration office (Instituto Nacional de Migración – INM) and officially change his status from ‘Residente Temporal’ to ‘Residente Permanente’.   

Permanent Residency in Mexico offers foreigners all the rights of Mexican citizenship – except the right to vote.  You can enter and leave Mexico as many times as you wish and there are no time limits on how long you must remain in Mexico to keep your residency status.  You also never have to renew Permanent Residency, something we had to do annually with Temporary Residency.   

Even though I arrived in Mexico the same time Lorne did, my change to Permanent Residency will happen this coming February.  My original application for Temporary Residency took longer and was a bit more complicated since I have had three surnames (being married twice) and needed to obtain the complete paper trail to verify how I became who I am now. 

The beginning of August brought daily temperatures of 38C (100F) until the Dog Days of Summer finally ended August 11.  Then our temperatures averaged 35C (95F) during the day, and 26C (79F) at night. 

These temperatures continued into September, until Tropical Storm Ileana left behind daytime temperatures ranging from 26C – 29C (79F – 84F) for a full week.  It was almost like being on vacation…. LOL!   We knew these cooler temperatures wouldn’t last, and sure enough, a week later, the daytime temps started creeping up to 32C (90F), then 35C (95F), then 38C (100F) and on September 27 we hit 40C (104F).  Thankfully the daytime peaks dropped back to a manageable 35C (95F) for the rest of the month.

We are well into Hurricane season now, and so far, have recorded less storms than predicted.

The predictions for our 2024 storm season indicated we should expect 15 named storms, that would include 7 hurricanes (3 being major hurricanes of Cat 3 or higher) and 8 tropical storms.

To date, we have had 11 named storms, which included 4 hurricanes (2 being major hurricanes of Cat 3 or higher) and 7 tropical storms.  Of these 11 storms, only one (Tropical Storm Ileana) has come to our area.  

The most recent 2024 Eastern Pacific storm was on September 24, when Hurricane John (Cat 3), wreaked havoc on the Mexican coastal states of Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Michoacán, causing 22 deaths and brought destruction once again to Acapulco (who is still recovering from being hit by Hurricane Otis – Cat 5 in Oct 2023).

The other 10 storms headed west into the Pacific basin.

Storm season will end November 30, so still two months to go, and we know that anything can happen during this time, especially since our temperatures are heating up again.

Setting Up our Home Office
A Retrospective by Lorne McKendrick

When we first took possession of our condo in December 2019, our intention was to have a vacation property.  One of the first things we set up was high-speed fiber optic internet, because we knew we would always need wifi for our phones, tablets, and streaming media to our television.  When we changed our goals to living here full time, we knew we already had the basic tech requirements in place for a home office.

Since I didn’t book off a lot of vacation time for the move, we knew there would be a bit of a scramble for time to put together a functional workspace to be up and running in time for back-to-work.  We couldn’t pack my desktop computer, monitors, and peripheral accessories with the rest of our household goods for shipment because we knew we wouldn’t be receiving those for a couple of months.  Rather than buying all new equipment in Mexico and taking the time there to configure it all, we opted to spend a small fortune shipping my existing hardware by international courier.  It ended up being the right choice – the equipment safely arrived a couple of days after we got here (after paying another small fortune for customs clearing and import fees) and because it was all pre-configured as I left it, it was simple plug & go.

We couldn’t find a suitable basic desk that we liked at the local office supply store, so we found one on Amazon Mexico that was able to delivery quickly.  My nice office desk chair was coming (in a couple of months) with the rest of our household goods, so we repurposed one of our dining room chairs as my temporary desk chair.

When the back-to-work day came, I was ready with my computer, a new desk, a chair, and an ethernet cable running across the floor.  This office was open for business!

Having worked from a home office in Canada for more than a year prior to the move, I already had a good idea of how to manage my time and resources to successfully work and live under the same roof.  But we quickly discovered that not everything is exactly the same in Mexico as it was in Canada.

Electrical power stability is a bigger issue here.  Back in Canada, power outages in our condo there were pretty rare, and were usually resolved pretty quickly because we were in a large urban neighbourhood.  Here in the El Tezal neighbourhood of Cabo San Lucas if the power goes off it can be anywhere from one hour to 16 hours before CFE (Comisión Federal de Electricidad – the national electrical provider) is able to restore it.

This can be a long time to go without electricity.  Not only from a home office perspective, but also because it can be really hot here and food in an unpowered refrigerator can spoil very quickly.  We decided – since we are living here full-time – that we need a backup generator.

But we found it wasn’t quite enough and was difficult to set up and use mid-hurricane when our storm shutters are closed and we have no access to our patio.

Then there was the smaller power blips.  The power might blink off for just one second, sometimes a couple of times per day.  Not long enough for the rooftop generator to kick in.  For a laptop computer with a built-in battery, this is not an issue.  But for a desktop computer this means an unexpected complete shutdown.    Not at all conducive to working online or engaging in live calls with a customer.  So the next thing to buy to keep the office going was a battery UPS for my desktop computer.  And at the next power blip I was tremendously happy that my desktop computer stayed running.  But that joy was short-lived.

For our fiber optic modem and network switches, a tiny power blip means we need to wait for the network to reset before we can reconnect to the outside world.  Even though my desktop computer was happily not rebooting, from a working online perspective it was still a dropped connection.  Another trip to the store, this time to buy a battery UPS for our modem and network switches.  And we’re back to a happy office again!

We have been fortunate to discover that TELMEX (our fiber optic internet provider) has good power backups of its own.  Any time that we have had a power outage we have still maintained a stable internet connection.

Besides the power, working from Cabo San Lucas also has more other kinds of interruptions than working from Canada.  In Canada we got mail delivered, water flowed from our taps, and natural gas was right there at our stovetop, all without any distraction from the workday.

In Cabo San Lucas there is no postal mail delivery, so anything sent to us is by courier who needs to be greeted at the door.

In CSL our water cistern is fed by city pipes every 2-4 weeks (unpredictable), and if you run out in between city fills you need to call a “Pipa” (water truck) and meet them at your cistern.

Baja California Sur has no natural gas so we use propane from a tank on the roof to power our stove, hot water, clothes dryer, barbecue, and generator.  When our propane tank gets low – or if we need to top-up before an incoming storm so that there is enough fuel for our generator – we need to call one of the two gas companies to come and fill it, and meet them at their truck to pay them.

All of these things typically happen weekdays interrupting the workday.

Overall, are we happy with our decision to move here and set up office in a new environment?
You betcha!! And you can’t beat this everyday lunchtime view from our patio…

In Review

Mexico’s Independence Day
El Grito de Dolores (Cry of Dolores) is celebrated on September 16 as Mexico’s Independence Day, marking the day when in 1810 a Catholic Priest, known as Father Hidalgo, rang the church bells in the town of Dolores and rallied the people to stand against Spanish rule.  This event began the war of independence (lasting 11 years), which eventually led to Mexico’s liberation from Spanish colonial rule. 

Mexican Independence Day traditions begin the night of September 15 and extend through September 16.  Streets and public spaces are adorned with the colours of the Mexican flag– green, white and red.  Families and friends enjoy parties, gatherings, and events in celebration.

Of course, no Mexican celebration is complete without indulging in delicious traditional foods. 

Independence Day is a time of joy and unity for all Mexicans as cheers of “Viva Mexico” are heard everywhere.  The celebration brings the country together to honour their heritage and pay their respect to the heroes who fought for their freedom.

ps…  Don’t forget to check out the latest Snippets!