The day the walls came tumblin' down

It seems like we've been waiting for the maquina, for weeks, oh yeah...we have! Well, finally on Tuesday the machine came and Vecino asked him to come back in the late afternoon, that must not have been an option, as they came back on Wednesday morning. 

I'd been putting off laundry, thinking the machine would be coming anytime, but I despretly needed to wash sheets, so I'm very glad they couldn't come back for demo til Wednesday, as I'd just washed and hung the laundry to dry. On Wednesday the machine driver came onto our property, and surveyed the situation, I told him we had two mascotas (pets) and would have them in the house for demo.

We closed the door, and the windows except to peek out...

The driver was amazing! He took the machines fork, and twirled this rebar like spaghetti, it sounded horrible, but was awesome to watch.

Because of our dogs, they stopped here for the day, and left the outside walls intact, so our perimeter was secure, Mas a menos (more or less).

The outside walls also meant the machine was more protected over night, they came back and dug in first thing.

When he got close to the shade structure, he took one tine of the fork, like a finger and pulled down the support column.

I think he touched the roof once, but nothing fell that wasnt supposed to. They started loading dump trucks, and the clean up was on. Vecino had to make a temporary kitchen last night, but at least his new house is done, and the worst is over.

This morning as I was securing our area, Monata was making his outdoor kitchen more permanent. While the dump trucks were gone yesterday, Monata's cat brought at least one kitten up to our area, and so I sectioned off that part of the yard from the dogs, geez all I need is a couple of kittens hanging around!

The black plastic is really just an illusion of safety, but will keep street dogs from wondering up on the patio. Monata said he would build a fence, and not to worry. I have some surprises for his new house, and will ask to have some alone time inside to "decorate." 

I've made some new towels for him, and painted some pictures, will take him a houseplant we started from cutting, and maybe some bedding, depending on his set up. So glad we had the GoFundMe money to help him, we gave him $50 before we went to the jungle, and another $50 after to help him finish his new house. We plan to help him with shade for his kitchen, and walls for his bathroom too. So...stay tuned, the adventure continues!

Mike's new passion

I'm not jealous, but let's just say Clay is often first on his mind these days...

We collect clay almost every time we walk, the clay is always there, it's the sand that moves, and we are afraid at times we won't be able to find any, so we bring it home, and he's got a stash. I finally found a nice little shovel the other day, that will make it easier, but we still need some kind of cart.

He had been investigating kilns online, and decided to use our grill and see how that worked as a kiln. He took it out to the beach, used sand as insulation, and built the fire on top. It was so windy, it was difficult to get lit, but after the fishermen gave him some gasoline, it was on!

Plenty of kindling around, one just has to collect it. He kept this fire stoked for several hours.

When the fire died down, he covered with more sand to keep the heat in, and let it cool naturally over night. I'm sure he didn't sleep well that night, wondering how it all turned out.

The first firing had moderate success. The sand actually insulated too well, and the items didn't get as much "cooking" as needed. But that's ok, with every new endeavor one gains insight, and it wasn't back to the drawing board, it was a matter of tweaking. Fast forward several more weeks, and fire #2 took place yesterday.

Dark one is "wet" or "green" just sculpted, and the lighter one is air dried for a couple weeks. This is the state of them when he fires them. 

Used sand on the bottom, as a soft bed, then fire on top, with others nestled right in the flames.

You can see the difference in color, the rays of the sun poking thru the kindling is turning orange, and the new ones just added on top are the dried gray color.

This is more like it! Success!!

The "patina" on the sun and moon above is from the gasoline being used as accelerant. Something to note, and watch for. (or go for, because it's kinda cool) Again, the items down in the bed of sand under the fire did not get cooked enough. He needs gloves, and some tongs, but he's very happy with the progression. He plans on playing with paint, stain and laquer to finish them, and some will be attached to driftwood for wall hangings, while others are shelf decorations. 

From beach mud to art in just a couple weeks, what can't we do?! Stay tuned, the adventure continues!

Road trip? Why not...

We have been invited numerous times to a friends hotel under construction in the jungle, and it was never a good time, well this time it was. With the demolition next door, the lake out front and Mike's shoulder the invitation, including dogs and a ride was perfect timing. I'm glad I didn't ask how far a trip until we got in the car, because if I'd known it was 6 hours, we probably wouldn't have gone! But I'm glad we did.

We headed north thru Bahia and over the bridge headed to Jama. The road was pretty good, except non of the bridges met up with the road, they had all been filled in from where the earthquake jostled them out of place. 

The grande mono in Jama has a new sign

But part of him got broken from the earthquake, I don't think you can climb inside anymore.

In Jama we got breakfast, a really yummy "clean out the fridge" type of "empanadas". It had egg, chicken, some veggies and interesting spices. I liked it, but couldn't understand what Serrano our driver called it.

After Jama we continued on thru Perdenales, more rubble, tent cities and lots of plastic sheeting! Saw a shipping container converted to restrooms, labeled mujer y hombres.

After sometime we ventured inland, and saw less and less earthquake damage, and more green! About half way we stopped for lunch in Concordia and they had the cutest little motto taxis.

Wonderful lunch, fill up the gas tank, and we're off!

Our destination, the little blue dot, literally in the middle of no where! No wonder nobody could ever explain where the hotel was! 

We thoroughly enjoyed the scenery, Serrano is a very good driver, but after we turned onto the dirt road (for the last 2 hrs) it was almost unpleasant. Amazing things we got to see from the road...

Steps carved into the dirt, I certainly wouldn't want to do that after a couple cervezas! We saw a ladder for the first part, then climb up the mud, yikes!

Wildlife, along the way, there was NO adult, anywhere around this kid.

All this to see, and we haven't even arrived yet!!

This will have to be a multiple post series, because there is just so much to share. Next post will be the property surrounding the hotel, and the hotel post will be after the Grand Opening weekend late July. So, stay tuned...The adventure continues!