Planting Roots in the Caribbean
Greetings,
Wow, I’ve been slow at updating here, yes? Just to give you an idea I’m busy from 6:30am until roughly 4pm most days and I’m staying at a popular guesthouse where each night I run into interesting characters from around the world where I use all my discipline not to join the adventures. Right now, there is a housewarming party going on and a friend is BBQing ribs; can you see my dilemma? Let’s talk about planting roots aka digging foundations in the Caribbean Sea.
I say Caribbean as a friend of mine just informed me after seeing some photos that this is similar to how things get done in Jamaica, ya mon. Jamaica is one of the closest islands in the Caribbean to Little Corn Island after San Andres which belongs to Colombia; now you know. The foundations for this house got dug really fast but looking back, it’s an easy dig because the house is 25×25 and only one floor; as a result the trenches and holes for the pillars don’t have to be so deep.
All these photos are from the first day of construction and maybe the second, not sure at this point as things have been going on since the beginning of February and now, we’re the end of March. Obviously, we ran into some issues mainly due to material supplies and such which put a serious roadblock in our progress. That said, I’ve learned A LOT about building down here and notice other places popping up; foundations and such are done fast but the devil is in the details of actually making a house a home etc…
The good news is that I’m making a video blog for each day of the construction and you can see what’s occurring on my Youtube channel here. Soon I’ll start sharing them here on this blog but for now, here are some photos. I will say that I’m really happy with the team working on my place and just today, I poured the foundations on my second home. The man watching and making suggestions during the pour was decidedly different than the gent who watched one ~two months ago.
I figured it would be smart to start small so if I failed, I’d fail small and a learning experience regardless. That said, so far it has been great and besides material hold ups and a roof fiasco which resulted from me buying this Spanish Colonial zinc which is hard to find around here; all is well. The issue is I bought too little and a few other things which got rectified but it’s still full steam ahead. That said, I can’t think right now as I can smell the BBQ and hear the party; I must go investigate.
Stay tuned for more and building a house on my favourite island in the world has so far been one of the highlights of my entire adventure starting in 2009. I’m moving from a traveler to an international gent and I am beyond happy about it. Planting roots feels good, especially when you’ve seen a good chunk of the world and settled in one of your favourite spots. This doesn’t mean I’m slowing down, I think of it as say going back to school to better prepare for the future; the world will always wait and be ready when you are anyways.
Tips hat,
