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15 April, 2008

Starting Another Edifice

Yesterday marked the start of yet another part of the project - our parking palapa. Florencio and his crew from Progresso arrived early with a truckload of timber from the bush. It's all hardwoods and extremely heavy. Much heavier than anything I ran into in the Northwest.
Backbreaking Labor to Unload All the Timber
A Lot of Work
The last bit to be unloaded was the vertical columns, an extremely heavy and dense wood. When they fell to the ground from the truck, there was no bounce, just a solid "Thunk" as they hit the ground.
Unloading the Last and Heaviest Pieces
There was still quite a bit of the lumber that needed to be skinned, so that's what is going on here. These guys are artists with the machete, which just about everyone down here has at least one - carried on their bicycles, cars, you name it.
Skinning the Lumber
Skinning the Lumber - No Easy Task Either
Lots of Poles To Be Skinned
Mind-Numbing Labor
Florencio ?? is the head builder or "Maestro" as they call lead workers down here. He built the palapa over Jim and Melanie's Trinity House. He's been building palapa structures for around thirty years, so he has probably more experience at it than anyone.
Florencio Explaining the Process
The other project going on is the basement tiling. It's just about done and is really looking good.
Tile Just About Done

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