What's on your hurricane prep. list?

[SUNBABY]

Hurricane list

Hurricane mix (Pat Obriens)
Rum
ice
tall glass
straw

[Kami]

Originally Posted by Tony&Cheri

Kami, remember your plumbing in Mexico...it's electric! If where you live is like most places down here it will operate by an electric pump which either pushes water through the system or by pumping the water to a tinaco or storage tank on the roof which then releases the water by gravity when called for in the system.

These things I will quickly need to learn

[Tony&Cheri]

Originally Posted by Kami

These things I will quickly need to learn

And you will learn them. Don't let it all overwhelm you.You will find plenty of people here in Playa, both in the expat and more importantly, the Mexican communities, who will be glad to help you get the hang of things. Don't be afraid to ask for help.

You'll do fine.

[marissab]

Originally Posted by raquelle261

Do you know what Libby, I'm not sure there whether you are preparing for a hurricane or planning doing someone in and disposing of the body!

That is so funny Raquelle! Remind me not to spend a hurricane at Libby's! I might not make it out alive!

[Dan-0]

Originally Posted by Tony&Cheri

And you will learn them. Don't let it all overwhelm you.You will find plenty of people here in Playa, both in the expat and more importantly, the Mexican communities, who will be glad to help you get the hang of things. Don't be afraid to ask for help.

You'll do fine.

A good book to help you "get the hang of things" is "The People's Guide to Mexico" by Carl Franz. I recommend it. It's a very informative, and entertaining, guide to living or travelling in Mexico. You can get it on Amazon.

[Libby]

Originally Posted by Dan-0

A good book to help you "get the hang of things" is "The People's Guide to Mexico" by Carl Franz. I recommend it. It's a very informative, and entertaining, guide to living or travelling in Mexico. You can get it on Amazon.

Absolutely! I second that recommendation! But you will find that living in the Riviera Maya is easier than the types of places that the author traveled to and lived in. But it does help to give you an understanding of the people and the culture. One funy thing I remember from that book ...

The author mentioned that restaurant menus in Mexico are really just a wishlist of what the owner would LIKE to offer at his restaurant. Traveling through Mexico, we found this to be so true! We finally learned to just ask "Que hay?" -- What is there [to eat]?

Playa being a tourist destination, the restaurants generally have what's on their menu. But in a broader sense, the lesson I've learned is that what people would like to offer you does not always match what they can actually deliver.

[Kami]

Originally Posted by Dan-0

A good book to help you "get the hang of things" is "The People's Guide to Mexico" by Carl Franz. I recommend it. It's a very informative, and entertaining, guide to living or travelling in Mexico. You can get it on Amazon.

I've heard of this book! I'm sold...ordering it now.

[Kami]

Originally Posted by Libby

Absolutely! I second that recommendation! But you will find that living in the Riviera Maya is easier than the types of places that the author traveled to and lived in. But it does help to give you an understanding of the people and the culture. One funy thing I remember from that book ...

The author mentioned that restaurant menus in Mexico are really just a wishlist of what the owner would LIKE to offer at his restaurant. Traveling through Mexico, we found this to be so true! We finally learned to just ask "Que hay?" -- What is there [to eat]?

Playa being a tourist destination, the restaurants generally have what's on their menu. But in a broader sense, the lesson I've learned is that what people would like to offer you does not always match what they can actually deliver.

That's good information to know Libby. I forget about (not really forget...more like choose to think that I will mysteriously somehow already know about ) the quirks for living in Mexico.

[pour favor]

fill your bathtub with water if you have one, great for flushing the toilet.
fill everything you can with water/check your tinaco to make sure it's full
bottled water
money as the bank machines will be down or empty of cash
first aid kit
BBQ with a full tank of gas if you don't have a gas stove in your place
Charge your cell phone and all of your electronics, we had email 2 days after Wilma which was great to let everyone know you are ok.
batteries
flashlights
bleach
mosquito repellent/deet
hand crank radio

I put zip lock baggies on the legs of all my wood furniture in case of flooding, it works really good.

Don't drain your pool as it will still fill with rain water + all of the debris which will then clog your drains and plug it all up.

I could think of more I'm sure but I am wishing it all away this year. Emily and Wilma were enough for me and I am just too busy for all this

[susango]

I'd liked what the two guys from Boston that drove to PDC and arrived last week said on their blog. They said they read that often locals would give directions when asked even if they didn't really know the way because they didn't want to disappoint. I find that and the restaurant menus fascinating!

[susango]

Originally Posted by Tony&Cheri

The only way to know for sure the level of water in your tinaco is to climb up on the roof, unscrew the top and check. Your tinaco has either a floatation ball or an electonic sensor to "call" for water from the pump. To manually fill it you physically manipulate either until it registers with the pump that water is needed. You hold either the flotation ball or sensor suspended in the "water needed "position as water is pumped in. When it reaches the top, drop the sensor/ball back into regular position and screw the top back on. A single tinaco should easily last for a couple days if you are conservative in water use.

This is great info! Thanks!

[Jana]

The electricity was only out for about a day after Emily and Wilma passed.

Originally Posted by Libby

We don't. I don't think many people do. Necessary? Guess it depends on your tolerance level for living without electricity. We moved here 2 weeks after Wilma, so I don't have any real experience with hurricanes yet. Anyone remember how long the electricity was out during Wilma?

[redhairgirl1]

Originally Posted by raquelle261

Do you know what Libby, I'm not sure there whether you are preparing for a hurricane or planning doing someone in and disposing of the body!

That is so funny Rachael!! I can totally picture you saying it too

[Tony&Cheri]

Originally Posted by Jana

The electricity was only out for about a day after Emily and Wilma passed.

If we remember right, power went out either Thursday late or Friday early and was out until Tuesday night in our part of Playa. Other parts of town were without power longer.

[pour favor]

I also remember it being about a week without a shower on 26 con 5th Avenida. It really depends when they replaced your transformer as the power came on in large blocks, you could hear people cheer. Royal Palms is the same block as Luna Blue.

I paid $5000 pesos to a CFE worker from Mexico City to replace the transformer for 26th Ave. Which means they took the transformer from another area as there was no more to be had. We were on the wait list and we needed a shower and I wasn't about to wait 3 more days

[SUNBABY]

Originally Posted by pour favor

I also remember it being about a week without a shower on 26 con 5th Avenida. It really depends when they replaced your transformer as the power came on in large blocks, you could hear people cheer. Royal Palms is the same block as Luna Blue.

I paid $5000 pesos to a CFE worker from Mexico City to replace the transformer for 26th Ave. Which means they took the transformer from another area as there was no more to be had. We were on the wait list and we needed a shower and I wasn't about to wait 3 more days

If ya ever need a shower again and no power...try sneaking to a hotel pool...they usually have a shower...or maybe a dive shop....that has power. Just keep your swimsuit on!