Patio and Bodega

After many visits and lots of heavy duty negotiations over several weeks, we hired Tomas to build a patio and a store house (bodega) for us. Work began early this week after we gave Tomas money to buy and rent materials. Tomas and his brother, Guadelupe, finished off half of the patio the other evening at 9:00 PM "under the lights". It seemed to take longer for us to decide on a diamond pattern than it did for them to implement our plan. This is not to say that "working" is a continuous process. The fellows work awhile, take off for awhile, come back and work awhile more. The process continues all day.

With half of the patio finished, we're excited to plant some of the starter nursery Ed has grown.

Yesterday, the guys were mixing concrete to pour the bodega's roof. Tomas hired a couple of day laborers who arrived on their bicycles. They helped to carry buckets of concrete from the street where they had mixed it, and then handed them up for Tomas to pour and level. Mixing concrete in the street makes sense. If enough people do it, the street will be paved!

This is Tomas on top of the bodega, pouring a bucket of concrete. The roof took some time, as setting forms of the rented wood took a good part of a day. Then, cutting, bending and tying the rebar in place took some hours. After that, the rush was on to mix concrete and pour! Our understanding is that this is the "rough" pour and that a smooth finish will be applied next.

The back wall will get a rough texture so plants can grow up it and we don't have to paint! The front of the bodega will get a smooth finsh, like the house. Maybe we'll paint a mural!

Everything is supposed to be done by Wednesday, the day before Adrienne and family arrive. Again, it's Cozumel, so we're giving odds and taking bets!