el crispito

I went to Ekar de Gas, the place where I've bought every other appliance I have, save the oven, and looked at both irons and ironing boards. I got a nifty T-FAL iron for $800 MXN. This was more than I expected an iron to be, and sure enough, they did have some cheaper ones. However, the one I got is pretty nifty - lots of steam holes, enameled soleplate, vertical steaming - so I am not too upset with that.

Yet the ironing boards, ranging from $180 MXN to $220 MXN, were all kind of rickety and all seemed to be made for someone 5 feet tall or shorter. To get a taller one, they suggested that I try Fábricas de Francia, which is kind of an overpriced department store. It's like Sanborns without the chic (or the restaurant, for that matter).

They had a beautiful Spanish number there, with single-leg feet that curved out of the way of the user and a silicone support for resting the iron. Best of all, it nearly came up high enough that I could actually bend my elbow to use it. The problem was that it was something like $2200 MXN (which is over $200 USD)!

My taxi driver suggested that I hold off on buying it there, because he suspected that he could find one cheaper. Taxi drivers here can nearly always hook you up with anything you need, and sure enough, later that night he called me, from inside Sears, to report on his find of a decent substitute that was wide and tall for only $750 MXN (and that's just below $75 USD). We went back the next day and bought it.

While I am still shocked that the ironing board cost nearly $75 USD, it is a very nice one.

When we first moved here, our friend Joseph told us that ironing boards were expensive. In fact, I seem to recall his saying that if I wanted one, it would set me back about $70 USD. I am not surprised that he hit it more or less on the head with that one, as he is invariably right about such things.

I'm not sure what the conclusion is about ironing board costs in Mexico. It seems that in the US, you'd never pay $70 for an ironing board, but then again, all the ones I've seen in the US are neither as wide nor as tall as the one that cost me that much here. One could buy an ironing board for less than $20 USD here, so there are cheaper options.

Since I saw the same iron that I bought selling for $1260 MXN at Fábricas de Francia, I guess the one thing I can say is that if you can buy something at Ekar de Gas instead, do it. If not, check Sears.