The New House Begins November 18, 2007
Posted by yucatanlife in Where we live..8 comments
…with an ending. The old house came down today after first clearing the property of the jungle that had overtaken it. Our gardener Angel and his two sons spent one day with machetes and axes taking out the growth that had accumulated. While they were at work a gentleman name Miguel stopped by and told us he had a “Bobcat” and a truck, noticed the work going on and asked if we wanted it hauled away. We negotiated a price and about 30 minutes later he and a worker showed up. It took two days worth of trips because in addition to the plant-life, the far back of the property had also been used by some of the locals as a garbage dump.
Here are some before and after shots:
Here are some of the cleared pictures….
Angel and me…
By beach area standards this is a large lot. Most are 10 X 30 meters, this one is 12X 70. Miguel also informed us that he could demolish and haul away the old house which is beyond saving. Sooooo…more negotiations ensued and that project started today. We thought he’d show up with some piece of heavy equipment, but instead he showed up with 5 other hombres, a sledge hammer, pick-ax and crowbar. It took about 3 1/2 hours. Before they did their thing, Indra had them remove and save the windows for us as they are quite nice and might be used in the new house.
Our architects get back this week from vacation and hopefully they will have the plan ready soon for the new place. There is much left to do, but we are so excited to finally have started the project in earnest.
If you like these post and want to continue getting them, please leave a comment and let me know.
Larry
Day of the Dead November 1, 2007
Posted by yucatanlife in Culture.2 comments
Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead. It sounds ominous, but in Mexico it’s a celebration of life! I walked up to the Grand Plaza yesterday and there were about 90 alters constructed in the Maya tradition of using small sticks and palapa (palm fronds) for the roofs. These were people from villages all over the peninsula honoring their loved ones. The air was filled with the smell of cooking over open fires and festive music. Each of the huts contain what are called “ofrendas” or offerings that, besides containing the four elements of earth, wind, fire and water, also contain the loved ones favorite food and drink. Some even include favorite articles of clothing. This is because it is believed that once a year the departed return to visit and will certainly be thirsty and hungry. Enjoy the pictures!
Of course we know this in the U.S. as Halloween, but the candy here is quite different. It’s made of sugar and I got some examples to show you. The figure carrying the bottle of (booze?) appears to be a nun as it has a rosary painted on it. The familiar jack-o-lantern is represented and there’s my favorite, the decorated skull. One of my co-workers explained that if you take a bite out of the skull you are showing you don’t fear death and that life is sweet. Sounds like a sane proposition to me!
Larry
