This is the fifth part of my journey about transforming the land I bought in Guatemala and my new life here. If you missed the earlier parts, you can catch up with Part 1 through Part 4.
This week has been pretty relaxing compared to the last. I decided to take a break from working because I was tired of living in dust, and my hands were burning from using lime paint, which is very corrosive. So, I spent most of my time avoiding my hyperactive boyfriend who always wants to get me working. We did go into town for a big grocery shopping trip, hoping the supplies will last us through Christmas. We already have a full lamb in the freezer and might get a turkey for Christmas too. Speaking of the freezer, it’s finally repaired, but I’m still waiting to hear back from the company about covering the cost of their faulty equipment.
We’ve finished the excavation work, and now you can see where the new room, bathroom, and walk-in closet will be. The bathroom is designed to open up partly to an interior garden, giving it an outdoor shower feel.
As for the new room, it’s going to have stone walls. The workers spent a few days digging for stones on our neighbor’s land, which isn’t ideal, but since the land is empty, they opted for the easier route. If the neighbor complains, they’ll have to take it up with our contractor, who’s charging us the full price as if legitimate stones were brought in by truck. This whole process is a bit frustrating both financially and ethically (although, honestly, the money part stings more).
The Petanque field is coming along well with all the excavated earth being used on the beach. We’re cautious not to let the earth mix with the lake water to avoid making the beach muddy. We did think about using the earth to fill the holes from stone digging on the neighbor’s land, but that seemed like one step too many.
Now, our house is completely painted white with lime, inside and out. The Mayans also used lime, but there are stories that they used too much wood to burn the lime, leading to deforestation and subsequent food shortages. The kitchen and bathroom have also been painted white, making it easier to spot and get rid of insects.
The bathroom now has a new door, making it accessible from both rooms. The new guest room, a small space with two single beds, has also been finished. It has a door and mosquito nets, making it ready to host visitors.
My own bedroom now has a door and a new wall, giving me some privacy from the workers who come in and out of the house. Eventually, the main room will be rented out as a Bed and Breakfast once our room is completed. The house could either be rented out as a whole to accommodate a family of four, or we could install a door leading to the bedrooms and rent out the rooms while using the kitchen ourselves.
This week, I’m alone at home and have the handyman all to myself (no, not in that way). He’s off excavation duty and will start preparing a garden so I can plant seeds at the back of the house. I’ve also tasked him with another deep cleaning session. Even though we’ve said, “this is the last deep cleaning,” about 50 times, I still think it’s worth paying him for one more round.
We need to keep him busy because we don’t want to lay him off. We bought him a motorcycle that he’s paying off with his work, so he needs the job. We tried giving him extra work to make more money, like the two-week excavation project where he earned double his monthly salary, but now he prefers to stick to a regular monthly salary. He probably deserves a full post to himself!
How’s your week going? Feeling the Christmas spirit yet?