winter in the tropics

Here it is, mid-February, mid-winter. The breezes have come up in the afternoon, as they always do at this time of year. Enough said about the hardships of winter.

Last evening was the traditional (2nd year) Dia de Amistad party. The centerpiece of this Valentine's Day commemoration is a huge standing rib cooked, packed in salt, in Marie's outdoor oven. This fabulous cooker was built by Fernando a few years ago. To use it, he stuffs it with coconut husks, burns them to a very high heat, then lets them cool a bit before shoving in the roast. Fernando's father was once the town baker; this oven is a replica of what was in the bakery. A few hours later we sat down to a feast of roast meat, roasted veggies, foccacia, salad and garlic mashed potatoes. For dessert we ate Chuy's capirotada, a rich bread pudding with raisins and nuts, and a platter of rum-soaked melon balls. I made a white sangria, Neighbor Nelson made Sangrita for the tequilla drinkers. It was an all-around great evening. One of the guests, a delightful French Canadian gentleman brought roses for all the attendant women; trés charmant, bien sur!


I stuck mine in a bottle of beer to give it a little drink; it was none the worse for wear when I got it home, and it seems to have survived the night in good shape.

You are by now familiar with the iguana problem we have had in the Iguana Arms tile roofs of the back patio. Although they have moved on to other quarters, at least one stayed behind and was living in an East German-style apartment block made up of stacked celosia. Before the Patient closed the tops with bricks, they were open and provided a fine entryway into a cozy room. The Patient finally evicted the fellow today. I think our property is now iguana-free, except for the chap living in the drain pipe, but we never see him so it's almost as if he's not there. Actually, since Fernando tried to pull him out and pulled off a big piece of his tail (PETA ALERT: it will grow back), we haven't seen him either.

These decorative blocks come in a big variety of patterns. They are often used in lieu of windows, with a screen over them to keep out the bugs. We bought these, at Fernando's insistence, to put on top of the wall around the house. He then cemented vidria, broken bottles, around the tops to act as a deterrent for uninvited guests.

(This is looking down through a short stack; you can see what messy tenants they are!)

Jaime came on Saturday morning to look at my projects, especially the new Virgin of Guadalupe altar. Here's the wall she will grace.


This is in the downstairs entry terrazzo. Marie has a little Virgin altar that was a gift that I have admired and I think it will do just perfectly, but enlarged many times.












He will be here on Wednesday to start and, knowing him, probably finish.