The Water Problem in Hermosillo

For all those who don´t know, Hermosillo is smack dab in the middle of the Sonoran desert. Which is the 9th largest desert in the world, by the way. So needless to say, there is definitely a shortage of water here.

So far in 2010, it has rained maybe 4 or 5 times. And when I say rain, really I just mean drizzling, a few drops of water from the sky here and there. But because there is never water here, the streets are not equipped to deal with it and flood super easy. (For all you Charlestonians, think downtown Charleston streets when it rains.)

Also, the entire city is on a water schedule, since there isn´t enough for everyone to have water in their houses 24/7. Each area has a schedule of anywhere from 8-12 hours of water per day. We originally were on a 2pm-10pm schedule. (Yeah, mornings were super fun without water!) Now we have been switched to a 5am-5pm schedule, which seems to be working well. But whether or not we actually have water is a different story. It´s like gambling at a casino. Sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don´t. There have been days when it´s the correct hour for water and we don´t have it and other days when it´s not the correct hour and we do have it. So I have learned to adopt a go-with-the-flow attitude about it, which is hard to believe for all those who know me, since I am a Type A personality to a T!

Another thing I´ve noticed about water and this city is that there aren´t very many pools. Which is absurd when you live in a city that reaches 115-120 degrees daily during the summer. But seriously, in my almost 2 years of being here, I´ve only seen 1 or 2 private pools in a city of 1 million people. Some apartment and condo complexes have pools and there are a few YMCA type places that you can go, but get this....you have to PAY to swim. How crazy is that?!?! Also, the majority of the hotels have pools, but again, you have to be a guest at the hotel or a guest of someone staying there to go to the pool.

Yesterday, my sister-in-law Debbie (Abe´s oldest brother Alan´s wife), decided to get a hotel room for the day. So after church we all went and swam in the pool and it felt wonderful! It was my first time being in a pool since I came here in September 2008! We had a great time with his family. The first picture is of me, Abe´s cousin Endora, and his mom Paty in one of the hotel pools.