Another Roof

The man in the pink / purple shirt in the first picture of this week´s blog is Don Hipolito from La Palma who is our expert in all things chowiton. Chowiton you will remember is the local leaf which was used for roofing the first lodge and which will also be used to do the second. One important difference will be that instead of the usual yellow piola string, we are asking Hipolito to use a natural alternative to tie the leaves which is the bark of certain trees. This will be slightly more challenging and require more regular maintenance but the decision was made after seeing the finished look in the first lodge which didn´t meet our expectations. Consequently we are also ensuring that the piola disappears from view in the first lodge as well.

The simpler and smaller dimensions of the second lodge´s roof will mean it takes less than a week to complete and will allow us to start detailing this cabin also. The same technique of using caña castilla that was used in the first lodge as well as Martijn´s cottage will be employed again here in different areas.

Over at the main lodge work has begun putting up the horizontal roof beams in the lounge and these are going up at a rate of at least three a day with a special carpenter on hand to ensure a secure fit and a neat finish. Thomas and his team, meanwhile, are levelling the ground in front of the main lodge using large boulders as a retention wall and then backfilling with earth and gravel before laying a slate floor.

I am also happy to report that a team of four are back down at the bottom to help finish the kitchen and bathroom of Martijn´s cottage. Patricia´s arrival is less than three weeks away and as nice as my tent is I think she will appreciate a room with a door and a kitchen with a closet.