Saturday, January 06, 2007

When you need to get around, hail a pickup truck

LA MANZANILLA, Jalisco, Mexico - This small town is experiencing an incredible building boom. Tons of gringos (ok, like me) are buying property and then needing local talent to do the construction.

Most houses in Mexico are built almost entirely of cement and these guys are artists with rebar and concrete. When you build countertops in kitchens, you do it with concrete, not wood. And when they are finished off with tile, well, they're beautiful. Floors, walls, ceilings, roofs - all concrete. Yup, eat your heart out lumber companies.

In our travels today in the company of a different realtor - looking at city houses - we saw the gamut of fixer uppers and newly finished spec homes.

But one constant is the workers riding through town in trucks like these on their way to work to build, or back home at the end of the day.

The group in this truck starting shouting "Whiskey, Whiskey!" when I went to snap their photo. When I shouted back, "No, No! Tequila, Tequila!" they all cheered. I toasted their well-being this evening with some of that tequila.

Admiral plays the violin
Admiral Fox jams
with the Canadians

In the area of artistry, Admiral Fox spent some time early this evening jamming with a group of folks from Vancouver who are visiting La Manzanilla and staying in the downstairs apartment from where we all are.

Several play the guitar and tonight they were joined by a fellow from Canada who has been traveling through Central America for years with his wife, playing music and enjoying life.

How he affords it, I don't know, but he is damned good on his viola, though I don't know if it pays for his groceries and his rent.

Most of the Canadian entourage are leaving tomorrow, heading back to the Great White North and not too pleased about it. But they are all a golden brown color and praying for an early spring.

Beach reading
Reading on the beach

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