The new palapa!

This is our year to add some shade to our very sunny hot patio. We packed away all our patio furniture into the living room, threw a tarp over the pool to keep out cement dust, and they are starting with this bare site. The big downside to this patio is that it faces south (which is great for the pool) but it means the sun pours in those 2 windows, each one belonging to a bedroom, and we have to keep the curtains pulled all day to try to keep out the heat.




Our friend and master builder, Rauol and his Papa, arrived Monday morning to start the palapa. In just one day, they installed all the wooden posts and upright, as well as the chicken wire which will hold up the cement which goes on top.
Amazing to us that so much work can be done in just one day.

This tree centre post and the poles under the cement are made from the zapote tree, also known as the chicle tree. This is the same tree that the sap was extracted from and used to make Chicklets gum, unltil Mr. Wrigley figured out the composition artificially. Put an entire indigenous group of people out of work and brought an end to a whole way of life.




The zapote tree is an extremely hard wood, and is VERY heavy. It is used to make furniture and is a deep red colour at the centre, almost like a west coast cedar.