Palapa

When we rented our casa last year it was suggested that there might be a palapa on the roof in the future. However, when Blanca, our landlady, came down here earlier this season, she was still upset about the passing of her husband and decided not to do it right away.

She came back to Mexico a few days ago and we were asking her about several things including the palapa. She said she would talk to her nephew, Ram, about it as he owns the place. They were thinking, in the future, to build a casita on the roof anyway, so we were hopeful.

The next day Blanca showed up with her son Junior and between us, we decided what was needed. As it turned out, the best suggestion was exactly what we wanted.

A while later the builder showed up, found out what was needed and drew up a quote. Blanca said she would have to discuss it with Ram again as the quote was quite high. Then they all went away.

About an hour later the builder, Rámon, showed up again with some of the materials, so we assumed Blanca got permission to proceed; at least we hoped so, as you never can tell in Mexico.

We opened up the gate so the guys could bring in the roof panels. Rámon said he would probably be back to start in the afternoon so Rosalie and I had to go and remove all our junk that would have been in the way. I also had to take down the shade cloth and which was later modified for the new palapa.

Rámon didn’t show up that afternoon but arrived the next morning. I took down the Star Link dish just in case they dropped something on it. Rámon checked our extension cord and said he needed a heavier one for the welder.

He went up onto the roof and handed one down for me to plug in for him. Well, it was a typical Mexican haywire job. He didn’t use a welding mask, but just held up a chunk of smoked glass and carried on with that. True to his word, he was finished the next day, and a sturdy structure it is too. His shop is just around the corner from us and he does some very nice work including spiral stairs and window bars.

The only problem we found was that it was open to the sun all day long. It was decided to cut the shade cloth into quarters and make a set of blinds for the two sides with all the sun. That provided a few problems but they were soon overcome.

So, what next? Of course! A PALAPA PARTY!!