TRONCONES, MEXICO (trfnews.i234.me) In this story we take a side trip to Troncones, Mexico. It’s 20 miles north of where we’re staying, Zihuatanejo. Our guide is Grand Forks native Ernie Mrachek. The 1961 graduate of Central High School in Grand Forks now calls Mexico home. Ernie gives us tour of Trocones and comments on all kinds of things regarding life in Mexico, including the retired rock stars, who live next door!
hi everyone I’m Neil Berg in zat Nao Mexico today we’re going to take a side trip up to tronis it’s about 20 miles north of here her guide will be Ernie marachek the Grand fors North Dakota native who’s now called Mexico home for around 20 years we get a closer look at Mexican life and Ernie says he’ll even offer you viewers a deal on one of his rental properties so how’d you end up down here well it was a long story in February of 99 my brother Greg who owned uh an MCI Resort program said let’s go to Mexico in xapa I said okay well here we were xapa February 99 and we met friends made friends and he came back down in June or July of 99 to visit these friends and the guy that was selling time shares Gregory Kent from Calgary Alberta said let’s go to Tron conies he said you like it it’s a nice little village about 20 mi from there so out to Tron conies they went and they stopped at Bob and Suzanne overman’s house and they said oh I really like it here and Bob said well you know that place next door is for sale that started it he called me up and said what do you think about having a place in Mexico I said well and you know how I like Mexico so he said well I’m going to buy it he bought it and I came down to do some work in November of 99 and then in in like October of 2000 he said I got to have a swimming pool by Christmas so I got a hold of Jerry kamacho and his wife Linda Bondi and Linda since passed on said I need a swimming pool and they started it we gave them the dimensions and they got it started and on the 7th of December 2000 I came down to tile the pool we had a week to get it done and got in on a Saturday and couldn’t do nothing on Sunday went to town on Monday and found the tile Monday afternoon came back with all a tile and tied the little pool there’s two pools there Tuesday morning got up TI the big pool Wednesday we grouted it Thursday we plastered it and started the water uh to fill it and Friday we filled it I swam in it and Saturday went home one week time so now anyway you’re managing the rentals right well I’ve got I managed cost Gregorio and and then I manag another property called Casa esom and it’s a a property that’s real close to to the Village of Tron it’s only 500 yard from down town and they’ve got got four Lots there it’s almost 2 acres of land and uh it’s really secluded and and private quiet and and they treat me good it’s owned by three young fellas from Indiana and uh fell about my age from Colorado that was the original owner and and bought these other ones in and I’ve been there I’ve been with them now about 12 years I’m getting to be old time that so and uh did you end up you don’t become a citizen but you what what is it what do you call it I’m not a citizen I’m a permanent resident so I don’t give up my Social Security I don’t give up my I mean the the pension programs that I’ve got up in the states and I can’t vote I I’m a resident I’ve got all the I don’t have to file with immigration I got all the the uh all what’s the word all the conveniences of a person that lives here fulltime I don’t have to leave the country I don’t have to uh go up to the states I don’t have to just as many many conveniences and you get healthare I bought well the company that I work for esid cost es they pay for my health care every year okay and I tell you it’s good health care it’s all your prescrip prescription drugs all your laboratory tests blood x-ray surgery doctor’s visits everything for $400 a year a year and that’s it and I I I renew it every year in December I just renewed it last month and uh it goes up a little bit in price every year but not not that noticeable it’s still right around $400 so if a person was getting a couple Grand a month on Social Security do you think it lived down here like a king absolutely like a king the village where I live of course TR cor it’s a tourist Village and uh I live in the village itself I don’t live on any of the properties and the rent is a little higher than it would be let’s say in in one of the surrounding towns but for $400 a month you can have a very nice house or you can have a real nice apartment and a maid it’ll do your you know your cleaning for you for $400 a month you can live you know a couple can live on another $500 a month for for entertainment food and the and the basic cost you know I I would say for 1, 1200 1,500 you can can live very very comfortable you couldn’t do it up I couldn’t do it in Minnesota if I was back in Minnesota I’d have to work how big is this town or where are we now the the resident population uh is about 350 people the first time I rode this road here it was gravel took 20 minutes to get into town you know it was so wash boardy and and bumpy and rough and animals cows and horses and and at that time they even had pigs in the village and burls got get more and more Americans building places down here yeah even since the last time you were here you’ll see a lot of of new construction since the last time you were here so you got some famous people or famous rich people H there is a couple besides me yeah my next door neighbor at kasas Gregorio I should say our next door neighbor at KAS Gregorio is the drummer for the band super tra oh okay and then further up the road on the way to mahawa is one of the original members of the band Grassroots and he’s in the Hall of Fame he doesn’t like me too well cuz he was really pretty when he was young but I look a lot prettier now that we’re the same age I mean it kind of bothers him when I stand next to him so those people you can build their house down here pretty reasonable compared to the States you can in fact a a very interesting thing about the village nail that there’s not a house in the village itself that has a mortgage on it every house that you see there it’s paid for and if it’s not completely finished it’s because they didn’t have the money to completely finish it oh but there’s not a you can’t buy a house in the village and say I’m going to the bank and get a mortgage because you can’t get one no you need to pay cash for it or buy it from the owner on a contract for deed but no mortgages we now have an APM machine in onon and that was a big thing I don’t know if you saw my I posted it on Facebook it was a real big thing because you couldn’t you know you had to drive into exop to get any money ever I’ve Got Friends at the gas station so before they put the ATM machine in in ton I go out and get 300 pesos for gas and I could tell him write it for 600 pesos and he give me 300 pesos in chain this is new that’s owned by an American they just built that last year the car talking about you kind of got dry dry weather in the winter but rainy rains a lot in the summer that it doesn’t rain a lot Neil it rains mostly at night very s that you get a day that’s rainy here it’s most of the time the rain comes at night and I’m not sure on the the amount of precipitation they get but it’s you know I would say it’s it’s probably about the same as the Red River Valley all all right here we are coming in Tron conies all the little toies speed bumps we’ve now got a water purifying plant here that’s new so all the purified water is is done right here in ton here’s a hardware store where you can buy all your building materials another toing coming up make sure you get a a picture of the ATM sign see it right there 8m and there it sits right here there’s the ATM they charge it 50 pesos to use it they charge more than 50 here get a picture of Reuben he’s a good guy it’s mle Reuben I call him Reuben Rea Ed is in the television and his wife his wife Carmen is Sol do car a key in Mexico leant Oh that a red snapper anyway r it this the little fondas they call them or com kitas chickens oh yes there’s never there’s never a morning goes by that you don’t roosters you don’t hear him so much out on the The Beach Road but you do hear them in the village well he got plenty of places to eat oh all kind of places to eat I’ll take a left first and take a rund down heing I I get my lunch sandwiches there I was I was in there yesterday build building making a new menu oh so I had to tell him that it’s you know how to say French toast you want to do it in English Okay so we’re coming up to your wrenches yeah there’s my sign see all these these palm trees here on the road I planted those from seeds 2 years ago this here is super TR that’s his house the drummer this is class gor this is the famous pool that it took me 4 hours to tile it all right do you have one open you can show folks kind of what it looks like Yeah well yeah we can there’s Renee saluta Renee Rene’s been with me for 17 he’s in his 17th year there four of these I can’t remember well two houses and two bungalows I think this one got the prettiest cushion so we can make look at this so what is there two bedroom yeah this is a two- bedroom on each side is a bedroom they’re not beds AR made so them with the bathroom up on top yeah can’t remember make your own food or if you want to pay you can yeah I can have a I can hire a cook and the Cook gets about $25 a meal okay you know for six seven people you buy the food and she’ll come in and prepare it serve it and clean up afterwards for about $25 bottle water in each house you know every house has their own bottle water these doors open up Neil so that you get the full view so you’re on the beach that is on the beach so you’re going to give folks a deal if they tell you they saw it on I news Well Neil seeing is I’ve known you for going on 10 years now yes I’ll give him a 15 % discount all right 15% off 15% off so on $1,000 a week rental it would be $150 off and be that okay you know and uh go to your website casio.com cusg gregor. yes okay there’s a uh a link to the email there and it’s at reservations at cus gor.com and I get the reserv I get the okay the emails and I check them twice a day okay they just got to tell you they saw it on I news that’s all I have to say we saw it on I news and uh and we saw Neil Berg for GR Forks native Ernie marachek it’s home and at the age of 74 Ernie isn’t slowing down much he and his partner Pala have a seven-year-old son in a place far away from Minnesota where Ernie spent much of his adult life as a tyon stall if you’re looking for a truly laid-back vacation tronc conies might be the place for you it’s nestled between the Sierra Madre Mountains and the Pacific Ocean with Beach views that are nothing short of spectacular in Mexico I’m Neil Berg reporting
Discovering Troncones: A Side Adventure in Mexico
