Yes, the price. The average September day is a 3 shirt day. You wear one until it gets too heavy and you put on another. I had never had to stop typing to dry my keyboard in Alberta. Who knew that fingertips sweated!
That's just the way it is in late summer in Vallarta. While our friends in Northern Alberta are trying to protect their tomato's from frost, we are just trying to stay dry.
Heather and I spend a lot of time on our kitchen patio because of the breeze coming off the ocean or mountains but later in the day as the sun comes around it just is not the place to be. It is then we head downstairs to relax under the palapa.
The Palapa. Who knew that a whole bunch of grass that was not cut into fairways or greens would be so inviting. But it is. It is shady and cool when the sun is beating down. It keeps the rain out when it is in torrential downpour mode. It is a natural roofing material whose price does not go up because maybe half the town needs a new one due to a hail storm like an asphalt shingle.
We have since found out that a Palapa is made from the dried palms that are used in churchs throughout the world on Palm Sunday.
It's beautiful and we think it is one of the most becoming features of our Bed and Breakfast. It is our favourite place to serve our guests breakfast. It was not always like that....
December 20, 2009 - Heather and I are sitting under the palapa enjoying a Corona while surveying the lower floor and deciding what we should do with what. It has been a long day what with doing insurance work in the morning and doing demolition in the back room in the afternoon. There was a small breeze coming off the ocean which was rattling the grass in the palapa and causing a great deal of it to fall on our heads!
[caption id="attachment_398" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="I don't think this will keep the rain out anymore!"]
[/caption]There was no denying the fact that the palapa had to be replaced. Now! It was falling down around us so we vowed the next day we would look into getting it replaced.
Three company's came out to quote on the job with 2 of them being the same price and one being way too high. The last man who came out to quote, Angel, walked into the area where the palapa was and you could tell that as far as he was concerned, he was going to rebuild this palapa. He looked at it and asked if we wanted dimension lumberor rustic. Same price either way. We said rustic. He said, give me $20,000.00 pesos and we will start tomorrow. We replied we will pay you the deposit when you arrive.
[caption id="attachment_399" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Glad it's him and not me!"]
[/caption]Angel (pronounced Anhel) was the a typical Mexican cowboy. Long and lanky he weighed maybe 120 pounds if he was lucky. Looked to be about 60 but who knows.
At 9:00 am the next day the truck pulled up and out jumped about 5 young guys who immediately started tearing down the old palapa. The grass was crumbling in their hands as they moved up the 2 x 4's that were the trusses for the main support system. These guys had no fear, it was something to see. A good many of the 2 x 4's were rotten after being exposed to the elements for a good many years.
[caption id="attachment_400" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Bare feet!"]
[/caption]That day they removed everything and cleaned up the site. Angel came by to pick up the deposit and said he would be back in a day or two with the grass.
[caption id="attachment_401" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Looks just a little different"]
[/caption]2 days later, a Sunday morning, Heather and I were up on the roof enjoying our coffee when a truck full of palapa grass pulled up in the driveway. For the next 45 minutes they dumped the grass on the patio along with some tree trunks which were obviously the rustic supports.
[caption id="attachment_402" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The first truck load of grass with the support poles."]
[/caption]We chatted a few minutes when they were done in Spanish and our take was they would be back in the morning to start.
[caption id="attachment_403" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Angel is sitting on the lower beam"]
[/caption]And back they were. They were preparing the trees for use. The tree bark had been removed but they needed to be ground and cleaned for use. So for two days we listened to the sound of the hand grinder going up and down these logs.
The next day the whole crew arrived and started to build the support system. It was fascinating to watch these skinny guys and the old man toss these logs around. Heather and I would be lucky if we could lift an end of one. They were tossing them around like they were toothpicks.
Once the south side supports were up they started weaving the grass. It was amazing watching them do this. Taking a piece of grass and weaving it over the cross member. The worker would do a whole row and then go along with pruning shears clipping the edges to make sure they were even.
[caption id="attachment_404" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="One side done!"]
[/caption]It is like watching performance art, except it makes sense and you get a reliable product at the end. However, the work takes time. Something neither Heather or I ever realized. It took a lot longer to do than we ever imagined it would.
[caption id="attachment_405" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Almost finished!"]
[/caption]It was about 10 days into construction when Angel told us he had got a job to do a very large palapa for a hotel in Yelapa. A small village only accessible by boat from Puerto Vallarta. The size of the palapa escapes me now but we worked it out based on the amount of grass that he needed that it was worth $30,000.00 us dollars.
And everything had to be transported by boat. We referred to it as the Yelapa Palapa...
[caption id="attachment_406" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Now that's a nice palapa!"]
[/caption]It took just over 3 weeks start to finish for our palapa to be completed. It is beautiful. It provides shade when you want it. It keeps out the rain so you can sit in comfort while it is pouring outside. And most importantly, it has fans installed that help keep you cool when its 35 degrees outside in the shade....
[caption id="attachment_407" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="We have the fans now we just need the Corona!"]
[/caption]
They used to have heavy plastic covers for keyboards to prevent the sweat from dripping between the keys, I remember seeing one in an office somewhere... no idea if they still make them, given the multitude of shapes... maybe what you need is a keyboard without keys... one of those new keyboards that's just buttons on a board.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.asustablet.com/
ReplyDeleteI just might. either that or get a whole new shipment of sweatbands!
ReplyDelete