Search for water

I think I’m almost out of water and I don’t want to start my trip farther into the interior of México without water so I ask the two womyn working  at the coffee shop if there’s a water plant close by. Neither of them speak english and my Spanish did not improve while Alma traveled with me.

They tell me there is no water plant in Durango but there is a municipal water company that supplies all the water. It is only about 5 or 6 blocks away.

They draw me a map and I get there in moments, the same time an armored truck is pulling up with a guard carrying a machine gun. The building is painted blue and has lines inside like a bank so I’m thinking I have the wrong place.

I walk down the street a couple of feet and ask a guy working in a parking lot where the water company is at. He points to the blue building and I say but there are men with guns there. He says it is because there is so much money there.

So I go back and inside there is a womon sitting at an “informacion” desk. I ask her for water for my truck, which is parked right in front. She looks at it and says, no they only service buildings and homes.

Finally, I am taken into another office where one of the guy tells me where to go. It is also only 6 or 6 blocks away. When I pull up to the little building with the agua sign, the locking garage door is pulled down and closed.

But there are two young men working next door. I ask them about the water & they say yes, that’s the water place & point to a man pulling up in a truck and say that’s him.

He is selling filtered water that he filters right there. He shows me the big filters and the 3 faucets that he fills 20 liter bottles with. He says he cannot fill my tanks because he doesn’t have a llaves, which is the one I can connect my hose to.

I notice he has an extension on the faucet that makes the threaded part smaller. He takes the extension off and there is the end that will fit. I hand him my little attachment thing that Shazam made me get - THANK YOU AGAIN - that screws in both ends but pops on and off at the middle.

Unfortunately, the screws on the one that attaches to his faucet is stripped - grrrrrr. He directs me to another place about another 10 blocks away. I drive off, looking for this new place.

Finally I find it and it is just a dispenser in the wall with an old womon out front sweeping the sidewalk and street of course. I attempt to talk with her. She speaks quickly and has a hard time understanding me. She is abrupt and motioning down the street. Then she asks me where is my esposo - I tell no necesito - and she breaks out into a huge, toothless grin.

Then she slows down and tells me to go to the white building and ask in there. I find that building too, it is some kind of public service building. A womon in uniform directs me a couple blocks away to another water filtering place.

At this place, a young womon is sweeping. She tries to help me and shows me all of her connections - none will work with my hose.

I decide to go back to the hardware store and replace my plastic connector thing and return to the first guy. I find my way back to the hardware store, purchase the replacement and find the water filtering place.

The man takes the part and screws it into his faucet - and then we realize it won't work because it is the end that needs to be screwed into my hose! grrrrr.

So off again to the hardware store. This time, I take his attachment (that goes from the right size for my hose to a smaller size). I decide to get an attachment that will go from the small size to the correct size for my hose, just in case I run into this situation again.

When I get back with the parts, he hooks his end up, I hook up my end, and off we go! The tanks are full, it is still early, and I head out of Durango.

As I leave, I feel a little sad and wonder am I really a city womon totally? I really loved finding my way around this big city, figuring out how to meet my needs in a strange place, talking with everyone, and the hustle and bustle of so many folks living in close proximity.

But off I go to explore more of Mexico!