Going Cellular in Mexico (2011 - February 25)

I need to begin this essay by saying that Rick and I are not the most sophisticated people when it comes to being cellularly wired. Our Michigan home is in the woods and due to the hilliness and the beautiful trees (which I wouldn't trade for the world), we would have to stand in odd places (like the window in our bathroom) in order to get cell reception. As a result, we both have very simple track phones that we use for our convenience when we're out and about, but at home we depend on our land line.

And so here we are in San Miguel, with a similar situation. We actually have 2 land line phones - a Vonage line (with an Indiana area code) that we can make and receive calls from the States on, and a Mexican land line that we can make and receive area calls on.

But it's always good to have a cell you can use when you're out and about. Especially if you're directionally challenged and get lost easily (I confess - guilty as charged), or if you want to meet somewhere for lunch when you're both out and about at different places.

We didn't have cell phones here last year - simply because I didn't know how to go about getting one - but this year I decided that I was on a mission to obtain a cell phone.

I knew there was a "TelCel" store at Mega, the supermarket we shop at. But what I didn't know was whether they sold phones that used minutes only - without a contract. What I also didn't know was whether I had enough Spanish language to be able to make my needs known to the clerk who didn't speak English.

I actually succeeded in purchasing the cheapest phone they had (hey, we're only here for 6 weeks, and it's just for my convenience). It cost 199 pesos, which is approximately $16.50. What a deal!!! And so I now had a cell that worked. Mission accomplished!!! It didn't matter so much (at the time) that the sales clerk and I couldn't communicate well enough for me to figure out how many minutes I had.

Hearing about my great deal, Rick went over and got himself an identical phone. Wonderful. Now when we're both out and about (at separate places), we can get in touch with one another. I was impressed when Rick figured out how to download English instructions