Tuesday, January 24, 2012

news from the beach



The talk over the weekend was the earthquake we all felt on Saturday afternoon; 4.6 centered just off Manzanillo, 35 miles NW of here. I was listening to the opera and felt three sharp jolts. Scared? You bet! This temblor came 9 years to the day that we had the big one, 7.4 - 7.6, in 2003. And by Mr. C's various calculations and researches, we are indeed in the time frame for another serious shake. This area has severe earthquakes every 8-12 years; we may have a 3-year grace period. He says this little shiver in Manzanillo doesn't count. Well, it counted for me!

The 49'ers lost; Newt won. The gods must be crazy.

Fernando came to the house on Saturday to dig out the well. It gets clogged with sand and we can't pump any water. It's a very messy job. He had to go down to the bottom and shovel sand into a bucket. Martin (his brother-in-law and cheerful co-painter) than hauled up the bucket, emptied it in the vacant lot, lowered it down into the well and the whole process started again. It took them about 3 hours to dig it all out. More than worth the $35 USD we paid for the work.

Tianguis yielded up another stunning pair of sofa pants. Actually, they're more like settee pants; linen/silk combo in lighter colors. Cost 75¢. I already have a couple of tank tops that will "go" perfectly.

I think a good challenge would be to come down here with only the clothes on my back and get my entire wardrobe from the stalls and stalls of new and used clothing.

They're back at the painting this morning. And they'll be at it most of the week. This is just for the exterior, west-facing walls. Then there are the interior house walls and the two big stairwells. I would say another two weeks before it's all finished, including the two downstairs bedroom, the living room and kitchen. Fernando has vowed this is his last painting job!

Here's a spot of local color. The family that lives down on the corner are a very enterprising lot. They operate the only laundry service in town - Lavanderia Mahala. They also provide baños and regaderas for a fee. This is their sign. This photo is not upside down.



I'm planning to drive down to Charlotte's tonight to watch the State of the Union. That is, as of now . . . Who knows how I'll feel about it at 8 o'clock.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Liz says:

Don't you remember the earthquake last year, the day I left? Everyone was pretty excited about that, as I recall.

The Fevered Brain said...

Yes, I do. It was up in Mexicali, near the US border. A good jolt; about 5.4, I think. We were probably fearing the roll was on its way down to us!