Chuy is removing the outer bark of the pole.
Bundles of palm leaves for the palapa!
We are rebuilding our palapa. Or rather, we are having our palapa rebuilt. That’s more like it. I’m not doing the work. Greg’s not doing the work, unless you count the fact that he is an integral part of designing the new one. I suppose I should give him that credit; he is way more involved in the rebuild than I am. I feed the workers my homemade cookies and breads, and I make them protein shakes and keep them in ice water. Now isn’t that worth something? 🙂
Heavy duty forms for the new concrete posts.
It’s noisy out there–grinders are not a pleasant sound. It is the sound of progress though, so I’m good with it. I just turn up my iPod and drown them out. John Mayer is singing to me, inviting me to move with the music. I have my iPod set to shuffle my tunes, so I get a good mix. Next up: Sia. She is so cool. The way she puts her message together is uniquely intriguing, and her voice is perfection. Find her on YouTube, you won’t be sorry. But I digress.
The new palapa is going to have bigger, stronger posts. They will have diagonal bracing and beefier anchors. Go ahead wind. Blow. We’re going to be ready!!!
Ricardo and his guys dug down and tied into the existing footing. It’s beefier than ever now.
Actually, the whole neighborhood is abuzz with construction. Our neighbors behind us are building a new house. Theirs is one of those POUNDED EARTH structures. OMG! It is going to be so beautiful. What a process; it is just exactly what it says it is–pounded earth–giving it an organic look that fits right in and is so gorgeous. They add a little bit of color to sand and concrete and then literally pound it within the forms.
Pounded sand & concrete with a bit of color added…So beautiful.
The forms hold the mixture together during the pounding process. It’s all done with sweat equity…no machine.
Materials from the earth!
Our new neighbors are going to have a most gorgeous home. We have had the good fortune to meet and get to know them a little. It is going to be so sweet to have them here.
Look at the colors that blend right into the scenery.
The people who have a house next door have a lot of work to do now too. All their palapas blew apart, leaving the skeletons. Not the kind you find on Halloween, but skeletons just the same.
The skeleton is there, waiting for new palmas. Looks like they need a new TV Dish too!
A bad hair day?
The days turn into weeks and there will be new buildings and new windows going in, new palapas everywhere around here. The trees are growing new shoots and life moves on in its own way. We are learning to move on in new ways too. Resilience is the word of the day.
You just can’t keep a good tree down I guess.
Banana trees are working hard to come back too!
Barrel Cactus in Bloom
Hurricane Odile broke it apart, but it’s coming back like gang busters!
Cookie, anyone?
Yum! Right out of the oven.
Susie, so sweet of you to mention us in your post, thanks for the good vibes 🙂
Those cookies look yummy — will build something for cookies 🙂
Your future neighbor Dave
Dear Susie, You are making me feel closer to the process just by reading your blog. I can smell the cookies, feel the heat, and only imagine the amount of effort that is being poured into each day there in Baja to get things to right again. Thanks for the neighborly visit–looking forward to the real thing! Janet