One year in the jungle
Incredible! I cannot believe it has been 10 months since I last wrote to you.
I had every intention of doing at least monthly updates, but a 7-day-a-week workload and subsequent exhaustion at the end of each day had other plans. The good news is we have a lot of progress to update you on and, as I am finally finding the time and energy to write, I think the intensity of our schedule is lightening up a bit.
A Full Year at Tres Andreas
We will officially have lived at Tres Andreas for a full year as of October 1st. That feels so surreal, and yet very real at the same time.
The inner workings of the hotel.
The first few months were a wild, occasionally overwhelming ride. Neither of us had ever experienced such a dramatic, all-encompassing remaking of our identities. We had to figure out how to:
Master the basics: Learn to understand, speak, read, and write in a new language while figuring out how to get essentials like water, food, fuel, and medical care.
Navigate the system: Handle immigration, manage banking, pay taxes, secure facturas (official tax invoices), and surmount the bureaucratic hurdles of CFE (the notoriously challenging national electrical company).
Build a homestead: Find the supplies, skills, and manpower needed to execute massive repair and remodel work.
Find community: Most importantly, start building meaningful connections within a brand-new community.
I am proud to report that we have made great progress with all of those challenges. In the process, we have fallen even deeper in love with the place we now call home.
From Exterior Rough-In to Interior Finishes
So, what exactly have we have been doing for the past year? In essence, we have completed the rough exterior work on the hotel and auxiliary buildings and have officially transitioned to the interior finish phase.
We replaced the rotten palm logs and crumbling roof tiles with a steel frame and plastiteja panels.
The start of our interior renovations
Here is a look at what we've tackled on the ground so far:
Plumbing & Water: Replumbed all the water and sewer lines, and added water storage tanks, filters, and spigots.
Electrical: Rewired the terraza and bodega/bathroom block, and repaired 600 meters of electricity cables that snake through the jungle.
Structure & Infrastructure: Reinforced and prepped the hotel roof for a solar array, and laid tons and tons of rock for erosion and drainage control.
Living Spaces: Extended the outdoor kitchen, re-roofed the terrazzo, and made uniform and resurfaced four flights of stairs.
Digital Progress
With the help of Laura Nicholls (my IT angel), there has been some great digital progress as well! Our website now features a photo gallery with categories showcasing the lake in all its moods, the stunning jungle flora and fauna that surrounds us, some of the nearby excursions we have taken, and plenty of project pics.
We have also included a Spanish/English translation toggle and, most importantly, we have decided on the reservation booking platform that will be incorporated directly into the website. Poco a poco, I will be adding more content and hopefully more regular updates. My goal is to have the system up and running about three months before opening so we can start taking reservations!
The Big Question: When Will We Open?
Which leads to the question we get from so many people—when will we open? This is a very difficult question for us to answer other than to be honest and say: we do not know.
For one, time seems to run differently here in Mexico; we have come to understand the nuance of “ahorita”intimately! Weather also plays a big role, as does the availability of supplies and the unpredictability of shipping times. We still need to remodel the interior of the hotel rooms, build a mini terrazzo/outdoor kitchen to replace the palapa that we lost in a storm, and construct the casita that will be our home. After all that, if we can manage it, we will have a swimming pool to install.
But the most influential factor in when we will open is also the most exciting one—in the beginning of 2027, we are going to become grandparents for the first time!!!
Quinn and Tasia will be welcoming in their daughter in the beginning of 2027!
We will be prioritizing our family and will take time to see and support our son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter before we officially open for business. We really appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding and promise we will open as soon as possible!
It Takes a Pueblo
Of course, we could not have accomplished all of this physical and digital progress without an amazing collection of people helping us. I am so impressed with Terence’s ability and bravery in putting himself out there in an effort to meet fellow tradesmen and make connections. Because of his hard work, we have the invaluable support of an incredible crew:
The Construction & Field Teams: Carlos and Los Machos, Cristian and Julio, Seven and Los Dorados, Raul and Cesar, Luis, Oscar and Manuel.
The Professional Core: Our corporate accountant, Angel, who keeps us in line and makes sure our taxes are paid, and our attorneys, Alonso and Estefano, who always have our backs covered.
Our Sanity Saver: Diana, who makes us feel less feral by cleaning our clothes and cutting our hair!
But hands down, our Most Valuable Player of the year goes to Jose Horacio, our general groundskeeper. Not only has he helped us keep the jungle at bay and shared his 12+ years of experience working on this property, but he has also introduced us to so many wonderful people and resources. Most poignantly, he has witnessed and supported our transformation on a daily basis.
It truly takes a pueblo, and we are so grateful for the community that we can now call ours.
What’s Next?
Now that the heavy lifting on the exterior is behind us, we are diving headfirst into making the interiors beautiful. There is still a long road ahead, but looking back at this past year reminds us just how far we’ve come.
I’m finally catching my breath, and I can’t wait to share more of the progress with you as it develops over the coming weeks. Thank you all for sticking with us through the silence—the adventure is truly just beginning!
Abrazos,
Terence and Stacey
