Week 4 - Dreaming and Drawing

Every morning I wake up when it is still dark, and my head starts turning with thoughts and ideas for the palapa. Then as the sun comes up, I can see the building site a 100 meters off. While it is still cool I usually walk through the site and lean into the shovel for some landscaping and before the palaperos arrive for work about 7 am.
For this past week, I have been drawing and redrawing the details of the next part of the build -- the cement deck and the rooms on the deck. Just where exactly are the baño furnishing going to be placed. This has to happen soon as the cement work starts in a couple of days and the electrics, plumbing and drains are integrated into the cement. Also, we have to choose places for the hot water system and the gas lines.
I was talking to a Mexican fellow the other night about the history and genesis of this particular building style. He claimed that design of the palapas of PaaMul are not widely used elsewhere.
Another of our neigbours, Gill, has been coming to PaaMul since 1984, making him the oldest continuous winter visitor. When he first came here, there were 7 makeshift parking spaces, sharing a single 15 amp electric cord. Then some shade shelters were built and then more, and PM evolved season by season. Each year the experience and methods of the palaperos are developed, the buildings are built better, and more sophisticated.
Dreaming, drawing, learning as we go.