But not just any Doctor’s Office. The Doctor that lived here was such a fixture in the city that if I want to give people directions to our house all I have to say is “We live beside Dr. Escalante’s house”. Present tense. Even though he hasn’t lived there for 20 years. Anyone that was born in San Cristobal de las Casas knows exactly what I’m talking about.
If I were to say that I live in his old office or on street “X”, they’d look at me with glazed eyes. But the fact that no one knows what the streets are called or even their own address (I’m not exaggerating), is not the purpose of this post.
The purpose is that the house has some “unique features” and I’m not talking about ghosts.
Take “The Phone Booth” for instance.
While it’s not exactly a phone booth (although we thought it was for years), that’s what we call it. We think that it was probably a small change room. We’ve recently added shelving so now you wouldn’t think it was anything but a fancy closet with an orange tinted glass window.
Then there’s the kitchen sink.
We figure it was originally intended as a sink for washing hands. If it was used for washing dishes then it is seriously lacking in that department. You can hardly wash more than a few things at the same time and the spout often hits whatever it is you’re rinsing. I regularly have to buy new drinking glasses.
The fact that it was intended as a place to wash your hands (for sanitary purposes) makes me a bit concerned. You see, while there are two taps and they both work, neither is connected to the hot water heater. And it’s not just a case of the two being switched (like the tap in the bathroom). Yes, we wash our dishes in cold water but I’m saving that for another post.
And, in case of a catastrophic event, we’re ready. The 10-foot ceilings and slanted floors will provide a natural slope for water drainage and the height will give that little extra room while treading water. Because we get a lot of tsunami’s and hurricanes at 2,200m.
And then there’s the staircase that leads nowhere…
We scratched our head about this for a long time. We figured it must have led somewhere but couldn’t quite figure it out. Then we realized that it must have led to the bedroom (on the other side of the wall) and the door that connects the two bedrooms (you have to walk through one bedroom to get to the other) must have been added at a later date. Not that either room was ever a bedroom anyways. It doesn’t matter to us because we use the one with the sink as a kitchen and the other one as a bedroom.
There are a lot of other things that make this house “special” but they have nothing to do with the fact that it was a Doctors Office.
Anything Different about your House?
I love the staircase to nowhere – maybe it was used to climb up on a table/bed for patients? I really enjoy seeing photos of your house. It gives me a truer sense of your life there..thanks for sharing!
Dear Rene,
What else do you want to see pictures of? I’m working on a post that involves my shower water. Something for you to look forward to.
Besos, Sarah
Haha! I love the staircase 🙂 It could always be used as a plant stand, I guess 🙂
Dear Soozle,
I’ve been using it as a bookcase and The Kids like to jump off of it!?
Besos, Sarah
That is awesome! I wish I could find a hidden room in my house that was full of gold bars lol. I love your staircase to nowhere. I would have loved playing with my fisher price people on that. We always were making them multilevel homes with encyclopedias.
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Dear Christy,
The staircase is much more of a convenience than a hindrance. Except for that one time that they flew off of it…
Besos, Sarah
Well, seriously, how much fun would that be lol!
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My house used to be a butcher shop back in the day. Thankfully you can’t see any of what was here previously. I do have a nice room made out of concrete in the back though, where they had the cold storage. That’s the only thing of significance or can tie to anything of previous.
Cool little place you got there!
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Dear Freda,
Our house in Canada has a cement storage room too (although it was never a butcher shop). If the walls in your house could talk.
Besos, Sarah
The bricks and bones of a house mean nothing, it is the people in the house that make it a home. So it never really matters what it looks like, it is the family in it that counts.
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Dear Catherine,
Lovely sentiment and 100% true. Thanks for all your support.
Besos, Sarah
I should have added, I am also quite jealous of the life you are leading. I wish we had had the opportunity to live in another country part-time when the kids were young. This is such a beneficial treat for your twins, one they will always remember fondly.
Haha! Love the staircase that leads no where. And that sink would drive me nuts!!!
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Dear Brandy,
Yes, the sink would drive you nuts.
Besos, Sarah
Lol Sarah! That’s the best staircase I’ve ever seen! Thanks for such an enjoyable post and for sharing some photos from your home in Mexico. Can’t wait to read the post about the shower water! You have me interested with that one!
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Dear Sandy,
Funny you should mention the water. I was thinking about the post today, while I was showering and collecting the shower water in a basin. We’ve been without city water for 10 days (still a bit in the tinacos on the roof) so who knows what will happen with my bath water. Never a dull moment around here.
Always lovely to see you, thanks for stopping by.
Besos, Sarah
hahaha…that staircase is definitely something different that would give me a laugh
Being a university student I’ve lived in some weird places myself…definitely brought up some memories for me lol
I can just picture having to fit all my family’s dishes into that kitchen sink Definitely would be a challenge lol
My current house is over 100 years old so I’ve found a lot of strange things as well when renovating…pretty interesting really.
Definitely have a conversation starter with the staircase to nowhere!