No Water? No Power? No WiFi? No Problem!

If you read our last post, you might recall that this summer we’re caretaking the same comfortable, artsy Mexican home we house-sat last summer, and taking care of Toopy the roof cat. Last summer was lovely with virtually no home repairs.

Having lived aboard Due West for the past 23 years, we know all too well that things tend to go sideways in multiples—you’ll have smooth sailing for months, and then suddenly everything goes to hell at once. This summer of house-sitting has been no different than a boat: one surprise after another, from moldy walls and leaking roofs to electrical blowouts and WiFi mysteries. But just like on the boat, we tackled each challenge, learned a few lessons along the way, and came out the other side with plenty of stories (and laughs) to share. Here’s hoping the rest of the summer is a little less ‘adventurous’—but then again, where’s the fun in that?

A crazy, early hurricane season this year: June 4, June 14, and June 29

Hurricane Season started with a bang in Mexico this year, with five named storms by mid-June (previously unheard of), and one more by the end of June. Luckily, all those EARLY Storms (4 Tropical and 2 ‘Canes) stayed offshore, and didn’t cause any wind/wave damage. But the water and flooding were another story! Apparently, it was the rainiest June in recorded history (over 80 years). Vallarta and the surrounding areas got between 12-20 inches of rain in June alone. 

The storm on July 3, 2025, dropped 1.2 inches of rain in 30 minutes—it was intense!

🎶 Fixing a Hole where the rain gets in… 

The water invading the house instantly brought that classic Beatles song to mind. One evening, just before dinner, Heidi opened the cupboard above the sink to grab the dinner plates—and a stream of water poured out. WTF?! There wasn’t even a door or window nearby that could explain how so much water got in. When we checked the neighboring cupboard (one we rarely opened), the back of the cupboard was coated in gray, fuzzy mold. Ugh. Clearly, we had a bigger mystery on our hands…

Following the trail, we discovered water dripping steadily down the propane line from the rooftop deck, right onto the tops of the kitchen cupboards. Judging by the delaminated wood and mold inside, this had likely been happening for years. (The owners aren’t around during the rainy season, so they probably had no idea.) We set out the spaghetti pot to catch the steady downpour and did our best to clean up the mess. We emptied all cupboards, cleaned the mold with white vinegar and warm soapy water. Then washed and dried everything before putting it all away.

Later that night, Tikka started crying at the dining room wall—the same way she does when she spots a cockroach or some other unwelcome visitor. We followed her gaze and, sure enough, saw water trickling down that wall too. Yikes! This leak was coming from the spot where the air conditioner vent hose passed through the ceiling up to the rooftop patio. That made two leaks so far… and the forecast promised more rain.

In the back bedroom where we were sleeping, things weren’t much better. We caught a strong whiff of mold—definitely no bueno! A closer look revealed tiny leaks sneaking in through the corners of the windows. We couldn’t see any visible mold, but the smell told us it was lurking somewhere.

Handyman Pancho to the Rescue

Luckily, Brian & Mona, the casa owners, have an excellent handyman named Pancho. We called him the next morning, and he showed up right away—a welcome treat of punctuality in Mexico! He inspected the leaks, left briefly to pick up parts, and returned within the hour. From the rooftop patio, he repaired both problems—mixing concrete to seal a faulty drain that had been allowing water to run down the hoses and into the house.

Toopys secret hide-away behind the propane tank was temporarily upturned for repairs; the leaking drain hole in the back of the bodega was draining into the kitchen and dining area downstairs. Grateful for Pancho’s repairs!

A few days later, Pancho dropped by to check on his repairs (how many handymen do that?!). Everything seemed fine… until that night, when Tikka started crying at the wall again. Sure enough, another leak was running down the same spot from the air conditioner. Oops—spoke too soon! Pancho was back the next day, tools in hand, to tackle round two.

For context, the house is over 30 years old and built in traditional Mexican style. Most homes here are built with concrete slab floors and ceilings, and a framework of concrete and rebar columns at the corners and other load-bearing points. The spaces in between are usually filled with bricks to form the walls, then everything gets a coat of stucco. Electrical wires and plumbing lines are typically chipped out or carved into the walls with saws, laid into conduits, and patched back over with concrete and stucco.

Unfortunately for Toopy, the super-shy upstairs cat, his secret lair was temporarily dismantled for Pancho’s concrete repairs. He usually hangs out behind the propane tank in the bodega—the very spot where all the water was draining! With the tank removed for repairs, Toopy retreated behind the washer and dryer for a couple of days, only venturing out to eat. Thankfully, after a brief bout of feline trauma, he finally reclaimed his spot behind the propane tank and resumed his quiet reign over the rooftop garden patio.

Mexican WiFi No Bueno

For the first month or so at the house, our WiFi situation was horrible—we had little to none. We had to bring our own cellular modem from the boat just to get online. The house has TotalPlay, which was quite fast last year—this year, not so much.  Although Brian tried contacting the company from Canada, it was a no-go. Bills were paid, the account was current, but nothing was coming into the house. Our own calls went unanswered as well, so we decided to visit TotalPlay in person.

We took an Uber to what we thought was the main TotalPlay office. Ironically, it was just around the corner—about four blocks away. The Uber driver probably thought we were crazy…had we looked closer at the address, we could have easily walked there. When we arrived, we were greeted by a long line of people outside… and wondered if everyone was having WiFi issues? Nope. Turns out the Mexican Social Security office was in the same building. 

Upstairs, the TotalPlay office was a strange maze of cubicles—everyone glued to their phones, no front desk, no one to greet us. After wandering around, we finally found a nice woman who spoke English. A few phone calls later, she had a technician scheduled to come to the house almost by the time we walked home. It was just dumb luck that we had stumbled into their call center!

The nice technician and his wife, who was his assistant, quickly identified a bad fiber optic line. The fix was impressive: he climbed the pole across the street, attached a new wire, and tossed it over the other lines into the tree in front of the house. Then he climbed the tree to retrieve the wire and connected it to another line into the house. Take that Comcaste! Within about an hour, we had screaming-fast WiFi again—and we were so grateful for how quickly everyone pulled together to help us resolve the lack of WiFi. Yet another rare expeditious situation in Mexico.

Splish-Splash

Meanwhile, the back courtyard dipping pool had been covered with a plywood top, sealed around the edges. We didn’t use the pool too often last summer, and paid a pool guy to do weekly maintenance. So the owners said if we weren’t going to use it, they would cover it. Initially, that seemed like a great plan. But as the rains continued, water pooled up on the plywood cover, and we became concerned. What if the cover wasn’t watertight? Any water in the pool would be a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes, and we didn’t want to risk that.

One weekend, we decided to investigate. Easier said than done—Brian had done a great job sealing the cover with enough goop to withstand any hurricanes, and when we finally pried it off, some of the wall tiles came away with it. (One more repair job for the list!) But it was a good thing we listened to our intuition, because once the cover was off, we discovered several inches of water at the bottom of the pool. Oh my! 

Kirk got to work draining and scrubbing the pool, then resealed the tiles that had popped loose. He was getting ready to refill it when the skies took care of that for him. Within a couple of days, the five-foot pool was nearly full again—thanks to the rain pouring down the walls and straight into it. (No, we didn’t actually get five feet of rain, although it rained so hard it seemed like it at times!)

Mold Remediation 101

The mold saga continued. The back bedroom still carried a strong musty smell, so we temporarily moved into the front bedroom. It didn’t smell, thank goodness—but being right on the street, it was much noisier. Our goal was to tackle the mold quickly so we could move back to the quieter room with the comfier bed.

We posted an APB on the local PV Facebook group, and thankfully finding Stan Wagner responded. He’s a mold-remediation expert from the US who now oversees expat construction in Vallarta at Puerto Vallarta Owners Reps. Stan showed up with petri dishes to test for mold types and later gave us a full mold remediation report. The good news? No black mold. Most likely, the problem was mold growing inside the concrete walls, which was why we could smell it in the back bedroom, but not see it. And since Heidi is allergic to mold, we had to deal with it.

Stan recommended a few steps: first, we set up a Honeywell dehumidifier in the back bedroom, which initially was pulling an unbelievable nine gallons of water per day out of the air! (It’s now down to about three.) He also suggested a Pip-Max device, which creates microscopic hydrogen peroxide molecules by pulling oxygen across a titanium plate inside, then disperses those molecules to kill airborne mold spores. Finally, we invested in a top-of-the-line AirDoctor air purifier with a HEPA filter to help clear mold, pet dander, and other toxins out of the air.

With Stan’s guidance, the back bedroom is now bone dry and mold-free. Tikka was super-confused by our bedroom shuffle, and now we’re all happily back in the comfy bed. Bonus: both the Pip-Max and the AirDoctor are small enough to come with us to the boat, to keep Due West mold- and dust-free, too.

Off-Grid in Versalles, Vallarta—No Running Water or Electricity!

Just when we finally had the mold, leaks, and pool under control, a new problem cropped up—our water pressure started dwindling. By the next day, we had no water at all! With a 500-gallon tinaco (roof tank) that fills from the city line and then gravity-feeds the house, the municipal water must’ve been off for a while before the tank finally ran dry.

Ironically, the day before, SEAPAL (the municipal water company) had been working on the house next door. We even asked one of the workers if their repairs might affect our water. He assured us it wouldn’t—just that house. Hmm?? (In Mexican culture, there’s often a strong desire to be polite and avoid disappointing others. This can sometimes mean people will tell you what they think you’d like to hear, rather than giving a direct ‘no.’)

In Vallarta (and much of Mexico), municipal water enters each house through a tiny ½-inch pipe at the front, with a meter and valve right there on the street—totally exposed. When the water quit, it never occurred to us to check that valve, since we had never touched it.

After two full days of NO water (thank goodness the dehumidifier was producing enough to flush toilets—and we drink bottled garrafón water), we finally went out front to investigate. Sure enough, the valve was turned OFF. Until that moment, we honestly thought SEAPAL used a tool to turn the valves on/off…not anyone’s quick flick of the wrist!

Lesson learned: check the street valve first. Most likely, the SEAPAL worker flipped it off while working next door and forgot to turn it back on. But since the neighbor on our other side also lost water for a day, we can’t rule out the possibility of some random prankster twisting valves for fun.

Zip, Pop, Bang!

No sooner had the tinaco refilled and we had running water again, than a new adventure began. Kirk was out front washing down the patio to clear away dust and leaves, and decided to hose out the small bodega storage area, too. That space normally holds the garbage cans, a hose, a pressure washer, and an electrical breaker mounted on the wall.

For some unknown reason, the “mouse hole” at the bottom of the wall had live wires in it!

As he sprayed water across the floor, it drained into a mouse-sized hole in the back wall (the same place rainwater drains). And Zip, Pop, BANG! The breaker blew. Inside, Heidi heard the explosion, and the entire house went dark. Knowing Kirk was barefoot with a hose in hand, she freaked out a bit. Thankfully, Kirk was fine—though clearly, live wires were hiding in that little mouse-hole. So Heidi insisted he put on his rubber flip-flops—and not keep standing barefoot in the water.

Pancho to the Rescue, Again! 

It’s like Pancho had a sixth sense—he showed up before we even had a chance to call, supposedly to check on the leaks again, and wow, were we glad to see him! We pointed out the hole with the live wire, warning him not to stick his screwdriver in there. Of course, he did anyway… which promptly blew the breaker again, and made him jump. LOL. Luckily, he didn’t seem too shocked—literally. It turned out the breaker box in the house was undersized, likely because the house was built before air conditioners and modern kitchen appliances were common.

After a chat and OK from Brian, Pancho brought in reinforcements—two electricians—who showed up the very next morning at 10 a.m. sharp (another shocker!). They dove right in. Thankfully, our good friends Boni and John let Heidi camp out at their place for two days with WiFi and A/C, while our house had no power during the day. Each evening, though, Pancho made sure the electricians reconnected the juice so we could keep the fridge, freezer, and bedroom A/C running overnight.

Kirk, with his background in architecture and construction, stepped in as GC and Owner’s Rep to make sure everything not only worked but also had the exterior wire run to blend with the architecture. Kirk also covered all the furniture with sheets, as there was a lot of concrete dust going on.

The crew had to run brand-new wiring from the street connection into the house. With concrete walls, that meant routing conduit around exterior windows, up the carport wall, drilling through the concrete above the front door, then running it across the interior ceiling and down to a new, larger breaker box. Once it was all connected, Pancho patched the stucco and painted everything to blend in. Phew—what a project! We’re so happy it only took two days.

Food, Fruits, & Flowers

Without power, we ate out a few more meals than usual and were serenaded by these lovely musicians over shrimp tacos at a favorite seafood restaurant. Luckily, living in the Versalles neighborhood (a.k.a. the gastronomic neighborhood of Vallarta!), there are tons of places to choose from. We could eat in a different restaurant each week all summer and not hit them all.

Summer is also fruit season, so lots of good treats to eat, like mangos and guanabana (or soursop). Guanabana is full of large seeds, which have to be removed, but the pulp makes delicious agua fresca (fresh fruit water)—just blend with filtered water, so refreshing! Most Mexicans add sugar to their agua frescas, but we think the fruit is sweet enough on its own. The mangos are so plentiful here during peak season, they literally litter the ground. And the plumeria tree at Casa Kines has been flowering with unique variegated blossoms this year, something we’d never seen before, so pretty!

Heidi’s favorite place to chillax, in her hammock (from Playa Santaspec, up in the Sea of Cortez!)

A Much-Deserved Spa Day in Mother Nature

After all the chaos with mold, leaks, and electrical adventures, we desperately needed a break. Our Danish friend—and massage therapist—Henrik had long been raving about a jungle hike and mud bath, and we finally got the chance to join him. We’re keeping the location secret to avoid crowds. But if you visit us, we’ll take you there! 

Suffice it to say, it was a beautiful trek to a series of small waterfalls. Henrik brought along dry clay, which we mixed with water and smeared all over ourselves. Then we lounged on the rocks, letting the clay bake into our skin, before rubbing it off for a full exfoliation. Finally, we plunged into the waterfalls and washed it all away. It was the perfect, invigorating way to recharge after a few intense weeks of house projects.

Cats, Cats, and More Cats…

Besides Tikka and Toopy, we’re also caring for the “Flacas”—Flaca & Blanca, two SKINNY ferrel cat sisters that live in the empty lot next door. Brian & Mona trapped the girls, had them fixed, then released them back to the empty lot—and feed them nightly when they are here. So when we house sit, we take over the nightly water and kibble duties, too. Although they’re super skittish, the Flalcas are such a joy and come running when they hear us open the door, as you can see in this video! 

Toopy is super cute and loves to be petted and brushed. Heidi built Tikka a kitty condo out of Costco boxes, as an addition to her cat-tower, to help her get more exercise, going up and down the stairs.

We love housesitting this house (and especially Toopy!), but it sure dealt us a different set of cards this year—we feel like we have survived a tropical version of This Old House, LOL. But it’s not the cards you’re dealt, it’s the way you play them! Every challenge came with its lessons, laughter, and a great story to tell. 

With much gratitude to Pancho, Stan, Boni, and John on our side, the house is now safe, dry, and fully functional. We can’t help but grin at the craziness we turned into yet another unforgettable adventure in Puerto Vallarta. What’s on tap for us next? We’re off to the US for a few appointments and a family reunion.