Friday 9 April 2010

Wow...today was a busy day all around! Bruce, Koki, Ferruco, Jay and Doug went fishing. They met the captain of their boat at 6 am on the pier at Los Organos. Apparantly, there were some problems with the boat, and the captain wanted to postpone until tomorrow, but Koki said...We're here to fish. It sounds like they arranged another boat and were off within a half hour of their scheduled departure. They fished off the coast between Los Organos and Mancora. In all, they caught about 20 fish and had a great time. Koki was the only one who didn't catch any fish, and the guys really teased him about it. It sounded like this was only the second or possibly third time Koki had ever fished.

Peggy called me this morning and asked to join me for the morning run of food and water. It worked out well as she also had some laundry to drop off and needed to change dollars to soles. Just as we finished up delivering food and water to the camp kitchen, the guys were back from fishing. We met them at a restaurant in Los Organos where they were enjoying a few beers. We ordered a plate of ceviche and two of chicharon so Peggy and Bruce could try out some local specialties. As we sat, Bruce began to slump and then tipped over backwards in his chair. It turned out the leg of his chair had colapsed. In the process, he never spilled a drop of his beer and was no worse for the incident.

Not too much later, my chair began to colapse as well. As I started to go down, Koki tried to catch me and the legs on his chair colapsed as well. I was laughing so hard, it brought tears to my eyes!

Once back at the property, we all relaxed into a peaceful afternoon. Bruce was soon asleep in one of the hammocks. Doug soon occuppied the other hammock and drifted off as well. Peggy checked her e-mail and then went for a 2km walk along the beach. Koki laid down in the house and was soon sleeping. I picked up my Sudoku puzzles and sat out on the edge of the patio and watched the workers. We all did our thing; we all relaxed.

There was a lot that happened as far as the construction went as well. I think we had a crew of fifteen or sixteen today. Most of them focused their attention on the kitchen/dining room area. The masons finished the brick wall on the side of the kitchen, and applied the final smooth finish to three of the four walls of the kitchen. The terrace which connects the dining room and the master suite is beginning to take shape as well. Workers were setting the forms, leveling and laying it out. The carpenters continued working on the roof for the master suite. There are some joints in the cross beams between the trusses in the kitchen building which we were not happy with; the joints weren't very clean and compromised the strength of the cross beams. We'd pointed them out and expressed our dissatisfaction. I was happy to see there were no such joints in the master suite roof structure.

This picture shows Bruce and

8 April 2010

Never got a chance to blog last night. Bruce, the cabinet maker and his wife, Peggy, arrived with Luis. Bruce and Peggy arrived in Peru last Tuesday and have been traveling with Luis north from Lima visiting archeological sites since. They arrived yesterday afternoon in El Nuro and we've been catching up with them and Luis since. Luis left this morning to return to Lima. Bruce and Peggy are staying in a hotel in Vichayito (with 24 hour electricity and hot water). Koki also arrived yesterday with a truck of supplies.

Luis, Koki, Doug and I sat down this morning and talked about the frustrations we've felt over the delay of construction. Many things have contributed to this; the difficulty of getting reliable workers to travel to El Nuro and stay throughout the heat, the difficulty of obtaining materials and transporting to a remote location, and, honestly, some ineffective planning. We both enjoy and like Koki tremendously, but he lacks proficiency in planning ahead and preparing for the next stage. We've been reminding him of the arrival of the cabinet maker for weeks. He has known that things needed to be ready for him to install the cabinets at this time. But the big push seems to have come a bit late. Right now we have 15 workers on the site and they are doing everything they can to get ready. It's just that if we had had 15 workers last week, then things would have been ready for the instalation of the cabinets.

The carpenter has put the roof structure up for the kitchen and began on the master suite today. We haven't been impressed with his work so far, but have been assured that all will be fine in the end. The ridge beam for the kitchen is not perfectly straight and there are some joints in the support beams that leave a lot to be desired. We've been assured this will work out.... we shall see.

The trusses for the master suite seem to have gone up much more smoothly. The overhang beams here are being attached with a finger joint. It hasn't been easy to get everything aligned. Right now they are only doing the roof structure over the kitchen and the master bath so those cabinets can be installed. However, the walls need to be finished and the floor still needs to be poured before any cabinets can be put in.


This picture shows the workers finishing the walls at the back of the kitchen. These are the only walls that will have upper cabinets. All of the other ones are lower cabinets that will be installed below the level of the windows. These walls will be nicely finished today. However, along the sides of the kitchen, not all of the brick walls have been built until today. And, again, these walls need to be finished before the floor can be poured.....and the floors must be poured before the cabinets can go in.

Seems like a vicious circle sometimes.

Meanwhile, other workers have been preparing for the pouring of the dining room floor which cantelevers out over the piano/bar. My guess is that they will want to do this pour at the same time as the kitchen floor. That will be another major pour; probably deserving Chicha (the fermented corn liquor Peruvians are so fond of), but tradition restricts the bestowing of Chicha to the pouring of roofs in the air. Does this qualify? Not exactly a roof, but the effort sure equals that of a roof.

Bruce and Peggy were here all day. They didn't seem to mind, although I can only imagine how difficult it must be to hang out someplace all day. Bruce and Doug spent some time down with the construction workers. Later in the day, we walked down the beach to a cave located just south of us. For me, it was a very pleasant day. Never having met Peggy, I was unsure what to expect; but I felt comfortable and enjoyed her company immensely. Stormy had a great time chasing the crabs on the beach and running to and fro. Doug and Bruce threw rocks for her to retrieve; which she did but didn't always want to relinquish them for a second throw.

Doug, Bruce, and Koki are all going fishing tomorrow. Our fisherman friend, Perico, has arranged for a fishing boat to take them and some other friends out fishing for half a day. It will be interesting to hear of their experiences..... this is not a charter boat, but a local boat. They should have a truly Peruvian experience tomorrow.

Tuesday 6 April 2010

Early this morning about 7:00 am more workers arrived at the property. This brought the total up to 11.

The carpenters continued to work on the roof structure over the kitchen. The covering for this structure, OSB, is supposed to arrive tomorrow. However, we did hear late this afternoon that the truck from Piura carrying it didn't work on Wednesdays...so we shall see. These carpenters have worked long days; they are the last ones working in the evening and have worked until it was too dark to see.

As the structure has gone up, another worker has followed varnishing the wood. The overhangs have been jointed into the trusses. The carpenters are the first ones to have scaffolding!

Other workers worked on finishing the interior walls and beams. These beams are in the master bathroom. The walls already have the preliminary layer of cement mud on them and are awaiting the final smooth finish.

The plumber laid the pipe for the master bath sinks and water pipes to the toilet and shower. He also laid the pipe for the plumbing in the bungalows. One thing we will probably change, however, is where the shower head is located. Right now, the plumber has it going across the stall, toward the open door, rather than along the length of the stall. There are so many things you just take for granted; how we think isn't necessarily how they think.

Other workers today continued to excavate the ground between the kitchen and the master suite. There will be two bathrooms located in this space; one coming off of the piano room and one accessible from outside for the pool. They have encountered huge rocks and have patiently battered away. They've had to use rock drills and sledge hammers to break up the rocks. Each and everyone has then been hauled off by wheelbarrow. It has taken them weeks to excavate this area; all by hand.

Also today, the cement finisher maestro threw the first coating of cement onto the walls of the kitchen. Literally. The first coat on the bricks is a layer of cement that is thrown on... a rough layer to hold the next layer which is smooth and eventually painted for the finished wall.

Other workers worked on forming the floor for the dining room/ceiling for the piano room. Rebar still needs to be tied and laid out for the beams and the floor, but a lot of progress has been made in getting this done.

So much... is it enough? The cabinet maker will actually arrive tomorrow, a day ahead of schedule. Even given an extra day, we don't see how they can have the floor poured and ready for the cabinets. However, on the bright side, it seems like they have made huge strides in the last week.

Koki should arrive on Thursday. We plan on sitting down with him and planning out the remainder of the project so we have a time line. Originally Koki told us the construction would take three months. We thought four months more realistic. Even so, we've reached the four month mark and aren't

halfway. We've asked for a contract from the beginning, but never got one. We're now at a point where we want to see the end. We want to be reassured this will not be a never-ending process.

5th of April 2010

This morning Doug went to Piura with Ferruco. Ferruco was going to Sullana to do some paperwork on his van, and Piura is only another 30 minutes on. Doug needed to get some tools for the cabinet maker; pancake air compressor, nail gun, etc. As it turned out, there were no nail guns available, so the trip wasn't as successful as he would have liked. Doug called Koki and told him to bring these tools from Chiclayo when he comes tomorrow. We still can't believe any cabinets will be installed within this next week. But if Bruce doesn't do it while he is here, someone will have to.

I moved our stuff out of Jay's and back up to El Nuro. It took me two trips but I was done by noon. Hopefully we will not have to move out again until we actually move into our home. We definitely appreciate Jay's willingness to put us up at short notice and for short periods of time. I think flexibility should be a virtue too!

Out at the property today, the materials arrived for the roof and for the water tower. The carpenter and two other workers arrived at 4 am this morning. As
you can see, they have placed two trusses over the pantry and storage area today. Late this afternoon and evening, they added the ridge beam. We spent quite some time this afternoon sitting on the wall at Georg's watching them cut out the notch on the truss for the ridge beam. This was done in the air, on tip-toes and on planks laid across the tops of the walls.

Other workers were working on building the framework for the dining room floor/piano room ceiling. Rebar needs to be shaped and set into place as do the bricks. Actually pouring the cement probably won't happen for another couple of days.

Juana, Sanchez's wife and the cook for the workers, told me today there would be 11 workers tomorrow and 14 on Wednesday. I don't know how she manages to cook for that many in the make-shift kitchen she has in the camp, but she does a great job. The workers have had few complaints and she always seems to manage. I think I will offer to help this week, but don't really know what help I will be. Although I might learn a thing or two!

Sunsets here are often incredibly beautiful. I've started a file in my picture folder specifically for them. One thing we have found so interesting is how much the location of the setting sun has moved over time. At the solstice in March, the sun was setting about half way between the shore and the termination of the desalination plant. Tonight it was right over the termination of the plant. When we first arrived in September, the sun set considerably farther north. Being only 5 degrees off of the equator, I didn't expect that much of a shift.

It has rained a bit in the last couple of days. It hasn't been enough to make the roads impassable, thank goodness.. I am amazed though at how little rain it takes to make the road slimy and slick! Ruts and tire tracks sink in and create a quagmire as the soil is primarily clay.

The wind has picked up again..hopefully another sign of changing weather. The temperatures are still in the 80's, but the humidity seems to be dropping and with the breeze, things are relatively comfortable. Honestly, I don't think "high" season is the time to come visit; even though it is winter time in the states. Summer here is HOT and HUMID. Granted, you are at the beach and can always cool off in the ocean, but the really nice warm weather comes at other times of the year.

Easter

Easter sunday. It's a big religious holiday here; actually the whole week is celebrated; Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Ash Wednesday......The town church was packed to overflowing this morning for Easter mass.

We thought tonight would be a big night in the town square as well, so we planned to eat chicken at the restaurant alongside the square and watch the happenings. As it turned out, there wasn't much happening. Maybe people were getting ready to head back to work and school tomorrow.

The town square itself takes up a "city" block and is a wide open space. Numerous benches line the square. On one side is a large stage where bands and other events play. Normally, a cathedral or church stands on one side of the square and government offices another. There is a second square in Los Organos where the church and mayoral offices are located, but it isn't the center of town. This square is lined with shops, groceries, restaurants, etc. and the market is only a couple blocks off. It is where the locals gather on a summer's eve.

03 April 2010

We took our usual run this morning and checked on the construction. Chino, one of the maestros, was preparing the brick walls in the master suite for the finishing coat of concrete. Hopefully, he had enough time today to do the same in the kitchen as well. Other workers were working on forming the concrete beams from the dining room out over the living room. Two others were excavating where the dowstairs bathrooms for the living room and the pool area will go.
Georg and his family and some friends were at the house in El Nuro, so we stopped by to say hello. They had a houseful! Three families, a total of 6 adults and 9 kids. Whew... they should be leaving in the next day or so as school and work commitments will take them back to Lima.
Georg commented on the location of our water tanks and told he felt they interfered with him view from their bedroom. The frustrating thing was that Georg, Doug and Koki chose that location as the original one certainly would have been in his view. Georg didn't think they were going to be so tall; even though our tower will be lower than his. Oh well, the fun of constructing and having neighbors; everyone wanting to preserve their piece of paradise.
We then drove back to Los Organos and visited the refrigeration shop only to find out that the fan would work well as long it wasn't too hot. Once the motor heated up to a certain point, it would click off. Not much use to us during the hot weather! We drove on into Mancora where there is a furniture store. We bought another fan, this one with a 6 month guarantee in writing.
Back to Jay's for a quiet afternoon of reading, napping and relaxation. I seared some tuna tonight; the tuna is always so good when it is so fresh.
Happy Easter to all tomorrow.

02 April 2010

This is the view from my kitchen. Currently. I think the view will improve with time; actually not since the kitchen will be behind a wall....so maybe, to be more accurate, this is the view from my dining room. Currently.

The weather today was much more comfortable than the last week. Even though the temperature was only a couple degrees cooler, we had a breeze off the ocean and the humidity was relatively low. I spent some time up in the hammock on the roof of Jay's building; enjoying a good book and the freshness.

Caroline, Jay's girlfriend, went out to the property with us this morning. She hasn't seen the construction for about six weeks. She was amazed at how much progress had been made. When you see the project every day, it all seems so slow. It was nice to have her perspective and to be reminded that much had indeed been done. I still doubt things will be ready for the cabinet guy when he arrives, but we will just have to deal with it.

The saga of the fan continues. We took the fan back to the refrigerator repairman in Los Organos today. He wasn't there, but his "shop" was open. One of the old regulars across the street told me he should be back soon and not to worry; he would watch our fan for us. I left the fan on his doorstep and went into the market to finish shopping for the workers. Even after that, the owner of the shop hadn't returned. So we decided to go ahead and deliver water and groceries to our property and we'd stop by on the way back. As we pulled up, the owner was enjoying the breeze from our fan as he worked on another project. As I approached, he began asking me what the problem was....it appeared that the fan was in perfect working order. And at that moment in time, it quit. Hoorah! Oh, there is a problem after all. He promised to work on it and said we could pick it up later in the day. We opted for tomorrow, rather than another trip to town. Hopefully he will be able to figure out what's going on with it.
Tonight we had dinner with Jay and Caroline. I fixed a Tandoori chicken recipe with the spice Daniella had left me. It came out really well and we shared a great dinner. If you are interested, here is the recipe:

Tandoori Chicken
2lbs. chicken
1t, salt
1 lemon, juiced
1 1/4 C. yogurt
1/2 onion finely chopped
1 clove garlic
1 t. grated ginger root
2 t. garam masala
1 t. cayenne pepper
2 t. finely chopped cilantro

1. Skin chicken, cut lengthwise slits in meat, place in shallow dish and sprinkle with salt and lemon juice. Set aside for 20 minutes.
2. Combine in medium bowl yogurt, onion, garlic, ginger, garam masal, cayenne pepper. Spread yogurt mix over chicken; cover and refrigerate for 6 to 24 hours; the longer the better.
3. Grill over med heat.

I served this with steamed green beans mixed with pieces of pineapple sauted in butter with a bit of brown sugar. I added some bacon bits to the green beans. Caroline had some maple syrup so we grill pineapple rings with brown sugar and then put some maple syrup over the top for desert.