What a whirlwind of a week it has been! After finally settling
on the Volvo, we showed it our landlords, the Kuilans, and they recommended we
have it checked out by their trusty mechanic just down the road. While Ethan
took care of that, I was headed to a lab safety training session at Centro Medico, aka the medical center.
We have driven several times from our house to the medical center, so I was not
worried I would get lost. I even gave myself 45 minutes to get there! But
somehow, I managed to miss the exit! I was so mad at myself. Fortunately, I was
able to get turned around and back on the highway and was only a few minutes
late arriving. Sometimes when you are forced to figure something out, you learn
better, so I'm starting to feel more confident about driving around San Juan despite the
heavy traffic and lack of signage on the highways. They do have signs for exits
and speed limits and whatnot, but sometimes they are either blocked by giant
trees or there is no sign before the exit to let
you know it is coming up! And before you know it, you've missed the exit and
you have to turn around… and there is almost NEVER an easy way to turn around!
Anyway, I made it to the training session, and although all
of it was in Spanish, I managed to figure out what was going on. It was only
general lab safety anyway, so it was nothing new for me. After the training
session, I headed back home and heard some disappointing news. The mechanic
told Ethan that the coolant and oil were mixing in the engine of the Volvo and
would need a head gasket replacement. So Ethan called the dealer and told him
there was a problem and he just said, no worries, just bring it back. We weren't sure if that meant he would just give us our check back or if we had to trade it for another car or what. I was so distraught
because we had spent so much time looking for this car, AND I had just
filled it up with PREMIUM gasoline!!! Grrr… but Ethan was right, better off
spending $40 on the gas than $1500+ on a new head gasket and who knows what
else might be wrong with it… :-/
So, to take our minds off the car situation, we went to see some
houses and apartments with Toni. We checked out some nice homes in Guaynabo, a
well-respected suburb of San Juan. Most of the homes were in gated communities
with parks and tennis courts, and some of them even had a pool! We really liked
it there, but the homes were just a bit over our budget. We decided to consider
2 bedrooms instead of only 3 bedrooms since there seemed to be more space than
we thought for our bikes and tools. They showed us a smaller 2 bedroom
apartment, but it was just too small, then Toni thought of this cute apartment
that we might like in Condado. Condado is another nice area, mostly filled with
fancy hotels and restaurants right next to the beach. I never thought Ethan would
want to live there because it would be too noisy and crowded. But we went to
see it anyway. It was a 2 bedroom 1 bath apartment but the bedrooms were
spacious and there was also extra space in the laundry room and part of the 2nd
bedroom had lots of extra space for an office area. I was excited to see it.
How fun would it be to live just three blocks from the beach!?!? As soon as I
saw it, I fell in love with it. The front entrance is shared by only one other
tenant, and it is adorned with beautiful tropical plants and charming patio
furniture, perfect for relaxing and enjoying the fresh air. We walked up a
flight of stairs to the front door and went inside. It was so cute! The first thing
I noticed was the beautiful blue tile on the kitchen counters… que bonita! We wandered through the dining area and the living room which were adjacent to the kitchen. Just beyond the
living room was the master bedroom… with tons of space! That connected to
the newly remodeled bathroom which then led into the spare room… which seemed
enormous! On the other end of the spare room was a nice area perfect for two desks
where we could situate our offices. Off to the side of that space was the laundry
room which had plenty of room for our bikes and tools. That then led back into the
kitchen. It was the perfect place. And I couldn't believe we were so close to
the beach! We decided to take it as soon as the current tenants moved out - mid-January… just in time for our things
to arrive! Plus, the current tenant was moving back to the states and wasn't planning on taking any of the furniture… so it could all stay with the apartment!
This deal was getting better and better by the minute! Now we wouldn't have to spend all our money
buying new furniture. I was so glad we found this place… I can’t wait for
all our guests to see our new home! It's about 10 minutes west from the airport and 5 minutes east of Old San Juan, depending on traffic of course! Here is a picture on google maps of the location:
After the house hunting, we had to take the Volvo back. L I really wanted to keep it but knew it
would be a big hassle for us in the long run. But we were so incredibly lucky
that the dealer took it back, no questions asked, and gave us our check back.
Whew! But now, we still have to find a car…
So far, we've been lucky with some things but unlucky with other
things… Now, onward with the car hunting!
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