Over the past three weeks, we’ve been fortunate to have had visitors from both sides of our family come to see our project take shape. While entertaining has impeded my blogging process a bit (OK, a lot!), thankfully our construction team has continued to be productive.
If I’ve been successful in posting the two pictures below, you can see that our walls are now completely up. We can walk from room to room debating what piece of furniture will go where, and comparing the views from each of the four bedrooms. We served the first bottle of wine in our “open air” restaurant to my parents while they were here, and we had fun imagining our future life as we watched the sun set into the ocean.
We are now looking forward to the Roof Raising phase of construction, which will begin next week. As I’ve described earlier, we’ve designed our buildings in a Balinese style, which is characterized by high (5 meter), steep (70 degree) roofs with exposed rattan and rafters, held up with tree trunk~sized pillars. In preparation, we've put an improvised saw mill into operation to slice our teak trees into carefully measured posts and beams. We are now the proud owners of an industrial strength sander, which will (supposedly) pay for itself within a couple of weeks. If all else fails with the restaurant and guesthouse, the carpentry business might offer a good a fall~back option!
In order to get an authentic Balinese look (and because some materials are simply not available here), we have been working with two Asian importers to provide the supplies we need. We’ve ordered all the rattan for the roof, sandstone for our gate and water feature, custom wall sculptures, and carved doors directly from Bali. We’re crossing our fingers that the rattan shipment will arrive on schedule, since any delay could bring construction to a halt. We’re cutting things a little close here, but we think the rattan will give our buildings that special something that will make people want to come take a look. As they say in Costa Rica, “Ojala que si”!
1 comment:
Hey Kate, I have just read through all of your blog. You guys are awesome! And what an excellent childhood you are giving Luc. You were so right about leaving the workforce at the right time. Well, you wouldn't have been cut since you were such a great programmer, but I was laid off from Journeys after just one year there. You blog has whetted my appetite for hitting the road again. I hope that my family and I can get to Costa Rica some time soon. It truly sounds like paradise, but with lots of hard work as well. Buena suerte!
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