30 May 2010

We arrived in Mancora this morning after a seventeen hour bus ride at 9:00 a.m. This seems like a lot of hours, and it is, but it is a comfortable ride. The seats lay back 180 degrees so you can sleep much more easily than on an airplane. Each seat also has it's own TV screen where you can choose music, games, or movies. Most of the movies are is Spanish, but will have English subtitles. The bus provides blankets and pillows, plus dinner and breakfast. The cost for the bus is about $50. The cost to fly is about $400 plus the cost of transport from the airport in Piura which usually runs about $80.
Our friend Ferruco met us this morning and took us to Vichayito where we've been staying with Jay. We quickly unloaded and headed out to our property to see the progress there. Jay came out with us.
We were disappointed that things were not further along, but also excited to see what progress had been made. The tile for the floors in the kitchen/living room and the master suite have been laid. Also the tile for the outside terraces is laid. The outside and some of the inside walls have all been painted. The aluminum slides for the windows have been installed and the windows are ready and awaiting transport. The roof has not been finished, which is probably a good thing since we decided the underpart, (ceiling) needed to be painted. The roof is made of OSB lumber and at this point is only varnished. The particles of the OSB, to me, seem unfinished and not appropriate for the kind of house we are building. We are in the process now of deciding what color it should be painted or stained. In the master bath, workers were installing the toilet and the shower fixtures. The sinks still need to go in. The wood floor and the false ceiling are not in yet either. The jacuzzi is supposed to arrive tomorrow. To me, it looks like another month before we get in.
Tomorrow we will sit down with Koki and go over the final stages of the construction. I hope we can lay everything out and end up with a clear plan.
Both Doug and I are happy to be back home. Stormy was so glad to see us.