Construction Begins

                     We've had two coconut trees removed with the only tools being;

• bare feet to climb, 
• a machete to cut the fronds, 
• an axe to cut into the trunk and later to cut it up into movable chunks
• a rope to pull the top of the tree over once the trunk is cut midway up 

The trunk wood is used for carving masks and bar stools; the green fronds are used for weaving baskets and hats.. 

With the trees gone, our contractors can begin their work on the ground much more safely.. no bonks on the head by a deadly heavy, milk filled coconut!.   

Construction Begins: To replace our cisterns. 
Locally provided water comes into one cement box and is pumped to another closer to the house; then up to the tinacas ( 2 large black plastic containers on our roof).  Then gravity feeds the water to the bathrooms and kitchen.  Needless to say, we buy our water for drinking.. 100 pesos which is about 80 cents for each big bottle... delivery to the door or buy in the village. 
                   

Rock for the Foundation 

Our contractor Don Lauro and 2  family members have begun to build our "bodega" in which we will set up our Water System...softener, ultra violet, pressure tank...with the ultimate goal of having drinking water and softened water for showers...  YEAH!.

Digging the foundation by hand and then 
chipping the rock to fit like a puzzle with 
cement added to hold it all together. 

Cement blocks arrive 

Rebar for the corners... ..looking pretty rudimentary at first glance for sure. If we hadn't witnessed our contractors successfully building homes for friends from BC and Sask. we would be worried.  

Cement is mixed by hand; rarely by machine.

HOW TO POUR A ROOF 

Mix cement on the ground; 

Shovel into bucket; 

Carry bucket on shoulder up the scaffold; 

Hand to worker on roof who pours and trowels the cement.

Use 3 long slim tree trunks inside to support the roof while drying.

 What Am I Doing While all This is Going ON ??????

Yoga 3 mornings a week and Bible Study Group on Thursdays

 Full Body Massage during a "Girls Day Out: at the beach... we are on a side terrace facing the ocean .  

Gord and I  went to the Local Artisans Show in Merida... these lamps are of paper made from the "Mother- in-Law tongue plant. All the displayers come from the local pueblos, Merida and several are women's cooperatives. 

Watching the local fisherman... the way to stay warm on cool mornings is to cover your entire head...looking like mummies...

These guys were here at 4:00 a.m. laying their nets across a wide stretch of sea in front of our beach houses; then tonight at 5:00 returned to gather them all up.. 

Admiring their balance. Both stand the whole time.  One poles along, stopping for both of them to pull up the meters and meters of net while the boat rocks and rolls. .....no life jackets and unfortunately no fish either!

Buenos Noches...24 degrees = perfect sleeping weather. 
Dorothy and Gord 

Celebrations and Work

At the end of the last Blog I told you about the Dias de los muertos ( Day of the dead) or as the Mayans call it, Hanal Pixan...  Here is an alter  a local woman set up to honor her aunt. Altars are usually more simply set up at home on a table covered with a white table cloth.  It is believed that the spirits of the dead return to bring blessings. Their favorite foods and candles and other offerings (ofrendas) are placed on the table along with photos, momentos, belongings. Family members spend time together sharing stories of their loved ones. 

                 What a wonderful way to dedicate time and effort to honoring the lives of those who have died.    

Marigolds and Pan Muerte ( bread for the dead) are part of the celebration; as is the Mukbil Pollo or Pib which our Mayan contractors made for us to sample... It is a tamale stuffed with chicken and a broth of corn, cooked in the ground .  We have been invited next year to watch how it is made and cooked which is quite an honor as this dish is the most characteristic of this celebration.

Halloween happens at the same time. The Free English School children from the village came trick or treating to experience what Halloween is like for children in Canada and the US... We volunteered to be one of 6 families hosting the trick or treaters.  I am the ghost handing out candies with scary music and jack-o-lanterns.  It was a dark, blustery night and they had fun running up our long driveway yelling trick or treat..

  THE EVERYDAY BUSINESS OF LIFE CONTINUES regardless of where we live.. Our state and federal -beach taxes are paid at the green municipal building in Progreso.

Opening our Mexican Bank Account....Unlike lots of other services where waiting in line means standing, standing, and more standing...this bank has chairs...  Hooray!   No service charges either if we keep at least 1000 Mx pesos ( about $85.00) in our bank account each month.) 

And the work never ends.... seashells to shovel

Protectores to be scraped and painted 

   

And of course... siesta time!

We met with our contractor and, with the help of a local interpreter,  have a plan in place for several improvements.  Sharing this part of our adventure with you will be fun and, hopefully as interesting for you as it has been for us to witness.  These hard working people work in flip flops, mix cement by hand, carry huge heavy buckets of stone on their shoulders, and bags of cement on their heads... Rough cement boxes become attractive haciendas. 

We leave you tonight with an introduction to our beach dog..Zeus. He was skittish at first, having lived on the beach and around the local hotel; kicked and yelled at, finding his food where ever he could find it.. He has turned out to be a very good companion making sure we get lots of walks.......!! 

Funky Monkey Market

         

A  local cafe Taco Maya, in the fishing village of Chelem which we are only 5 minutes from, held their annual Octoberfest Funky Monkey Market. 

The cafe operates Thurs. Fri and Sat. from 10:00 - 2:00 by  Englishman Paul and his partner, Carol from Quebec. They serve regular and mexican breakfasts and the best coffee... so if very popular with the expats.         Def'n of expat is someone who is living in a country not of their citizenship...or who hates snow!


Every year they hold this Market, serving Mexican food and German beer! 
 The fish you see above are made from the part of the coconut tree called the inflorescence from which comes the branches the coconuts grow on... .with shells glued on for the gills and mouths..  and painted..


This hombre makes 

Bamboo screens, garage doors, deck furniture.  He will make some bamboo screens for us  to close in some openings in our wall facing the beach access so the air can move through but we have more privacy.  

Local artisans..some Mexican; some not.. 

The local plant guy.... expert in Bromeliads and landscaping ... He will be taking out some of our coconut trees in another few weeks..

 Green gourds are very heavy compared to when they are dried and painted.













Which gourd did we buy? 

Our next experience is the Day of the Dead (" Día de los Muertos) or as our Mayan community calls it, Hanal Pixán.  Originating with the Aztecs it has been celebrated for 3,000 years.


It is  a holy day celebrated on November 1, when the spirits that traverse on the earth are welcomed and remembered fondly. Family members and friends  pray for and speak of all the funny and trivial things. 


Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds  and the favorite foods such as Pan de Muerto ( see below) and Mukbil chicken or Pib  and beverages of the departed and visiting graves with these as gifts.


It is believed that the souls of the dead will visit the altar and consume the offerings. Of course, the food is not really eaten, but its soul or essence is consumed by the spirits. The same food is then consumed by all the family members. 

When the spirits come down and are not happy with the offerings made to them, they return unhappily, without blessing the family. Therefore, many people take the rituals followed in this festival very seriously. A lot of time and money is spent on the decoration and the offerings made, to please the souls of the dead.


más por venir más tarde ( more to come later)

Coconut Harvest

``Monkey Man``` arrives with two others to harvest our coconuts. They drive up the beach road, honking their horn to announce their arrival at the beach.. We go out and wave them in... 

The deal is they get to keep the ``cocos`` which they sell and in return they limpia (clean) the tops of the arbols (trees,) take down dead fronds and rake the ground.

 

Using hands and soles of his feet, he scampers up the tree taking a rope along with his machete... 




















He chooses a bunch, makes the cut with machete swinging, ties them off and lowers the very heavy bunch down to the ground. 

 There are 4 kinds of coconuts at the beach..
verte (green), amarillo (yellow), naranja (orange) and
rojo (red )


 

I was treated to a taste of the coco milk.. the papa used his machete to cut off the top; add a straw and mmmm good..   There are many road side stands where the coco milk is sold as is the pulp..


They will be back every 3 months to harvest again... 


Hasta luego ( See you later) is what we said when they left


Watch for our next blog on the upcoming Funky Market......and some photos of our beach dog... Yes, he has found us and he is a very ..bueno perro...(good dog.)  


Buenas noches
Dorothy and Gord 

Settling Down in Mexico

Hello everyone... thought I would get to this current post sooner but we have been very busy cleaning, repairing, and sorting out the house after 10 years of renters; and the  beach beckons all too often.  And yes, there is laundry to do too!.. My washing machine is tucked into a sheltered corner outside the back door;  and there is sunny windy spot to hang the clothes. A little CLORO and the hot sun results in whiter than white!!! The breeze and humidity take care of the wrinkles.  Any bedding we are not going to use is being taken by a wonderful woman in Progreso  for the local senior`s home there.  

Settling in means buying all that stuff in the pantry you take for granted. We've made our trip to Cosco and Home Depot in Merida for the staples.  Otherwise it is the local market for the fruit and vegetables. The Bodega ( very small Walmart) in Progreso is perfect for the occasional trip to the store and only a 15 minute drive.  We`ve just learned today that there is a `pollo` 
(pronounced poyo) chicken store in Progreso that we just have to try. 

A well deserved cervasa on the terrace. 

Gord has been fixing, fixing, ( thank goodness he is so handy) getting the plumbing, electrical and pool in order, setting up the satellite TV ( Shaw direct ) with a little help from 2 neighbours.  SKY TV serves the local population, is mainly in Spanish with some English stations, but does not cover CFL or NFL so of course we need those stations as well as one for movies when the winter Nortes keep us inside.

I am going to learn how to fish from the shore like this man.... many do it  on  the beach . 

I just about have everything unpacked and every room in the house spotless. We hired a local fellow, Rene,  to clean up the yard...lots of coconuts and palms had fallen in the weeks since our last renters left. El patio se ve maravilloso. ( the yard looks wonderful ) 

                   We are waiting for the coco guys to come to help themselves to the coconuts. 


Last night the panaderia (bakery) van drove up and down the sandy beach road selling baked goods..  They honk a funny horn as they drive along. You meet them at the gate (yes, that gate in the photo above). They open the back door of the van and there is an array of choice.... MMMM  hot dog buns, cookies, donuts to die for...and for such a few pesos...  Of course it would be rude to say no gracias...so one must buy!.

I close this post with two photos taken today.. We have mucho mucho to be agradecido (thankful) for on this eve before Thanksgiving.  Good friends near and far plus the chance to live and learn here.  

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

s.