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Welcome to Villa Dos Colinas!!
Jueves, May 23, 2019: Still working hard to finish the palapa, and various other "unfinished" projects around the property. Maestro Luis and his crew are making great progress on the palapa, as can be seen in the photos below.
Here, Wuilter adds a bottom step below the pool steps - as it was a rather big "last step", and this oversized step makes it much safer.
We are also beginning a project to build a small bamboo casita, hopefully to house a "caretaker". In order to be free to travel, we need someone who can remain on property to oversee our "villa"! More on that in the days to come....
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Jueves, 5/23/2019:
Doug just about has all the little rock walls to direct the rainwater built. By the next rainy season (approx. December thru April), we should be better prepared for whatever rain falls!
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Viernes, 5/24/2019:
Work continues on the wood floors of the penthouse and balcony. "Masilla" (kind of a wood putty) is put in any cracks and covering the screws.
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Viernes, 5/24/2019:
Only in Ecuador! The wood in the balcony floor is cedar. But, "most" of the wood in the screened room is laurel. The laurel came first, but they obviously didn't buy enough, and finished out the room and balcony with the cedar. I choose to say this is "unique"!
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Sabado, 5/25/2019:
The screen is being installed, and maestro will build a screen door for the room from cana picada (a cut bamboo).
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Lunes, 5/27/2019:
Looking through the door into the room. The laurel makes up most of the floor, but the front corner is cedar....you could say that we "aren't in Kansas anymore, Dorothy!"
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Lunes, 5/27/2019:
Wuilter is preparing fresh cana for use in the front entrance where he will build a small roof over the gate. He is "curing" the bamboo by injecting a chemical into each section of the cana.
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Lunes, 5/27/2019:
Down to the front entrance gate with the bamboo. It amazes me how strong these guys are - anything that can be hoisted up onto their shoulders can be carried!
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Martes, 5/28/2019:
Scaffolding fashioned from bamboo canes is ready to work on the entrance gate roof. Wooden supports will be attached to the bamboo, and the concrete roofing attached to that.
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Miercoles, 5/29/2019:
With the bamboo and wood supports installed, the guys are attached the red roofing to the top. Can't wait to see how it looks!
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Jueves, 5/30/2019:
Maestro Luis returns, and is nearing completion of the palapa. Here he is installing the small windows in the bodega. When Maestro Miranda (a master carpenter) finishes the custom doors for the bodega and bathroom, we will finally have those rooms buttoned up!
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Jueves, 5/30/2019:
The window between the bodega and the outdoor kitchen (which allows for cross ventilation).
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Jueves, 5/30/2019:
Back at the entrance gate, Doug and Woody check out the progress. It appears the roof is in place, and we're ready for paint on the concrete columns.
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Jueves, 5/30/2019:
We picked out a yellow paint (Doug's request) while in Jipijapa on Tuesday - Wuilter and Santiago are now finishing up the paint job.
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Jueves, 5/30/2019:
Closing the gate for the night. Looks great, guys! We plan to have a wooden plaque made to hang above the gate with the name "Villa Dos Colinas".
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Viernes, 5/31/2019:
On to the next project - building a bamboo casita for a caretaker. The first job is to dig the hole for a small septic tank. This turned out to be quite a job, as our property is mostly rock about a foot down. Bricks should be delivered next week to build the walls.
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Viernes, 5/31/2019:
No gym memberships required for these guys! I'm sure they will sleep well tonight. If you want a hard worker, hire an Ecuadorian!
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Sabado, 6/1/2019:
Saturday night and the Malecon is lit up...
a malecon is simply a roadway along the beach. And Puerto Cayo has not had a very fancy one up until now.
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They continue adding beautiful brick walkways and small walls, (we plan on walking down to the beach this coming week to have lunch and check out all the changes). It appears that lighting is being installed the entire length of the Malecon. We love the extra light!
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Welcome to Villa Dos Colinas!!
It is time to get the palapa finished up - so we have retained the services of another local Maestro to finish the granito on the ground floor, and the screen room and balcony above.
The weather has turned a slight bit cooler... the wind has picked up somewhat (to a really nice ocean breeze most days)... and we have a mixture of sun and clouds during the day, with slight rain or mist many nights... perfect!
We hope to have this project finished within the next week or so, and then work on some furnishings. We would like to have a guest space ready soon - and hope to have some of our dear friends and family come visit!
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Lunes, 4/29/2019:
The columns below the casita were never given the final coat of cement - so Wilter and Isacio are working on finishing up that job. Then all that is needed is another coat of paint.
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Martes, 4/30/2019:
The posts are going in for the handrails on our pathway to the front gate. It's fairly steep (old tires for steps), but a much shorter distance than walking down the drive.
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Jueves, 5/2/2019:
The two Moringa trees that Doug planted are finally taking off. They will become large shade trees, and the leaves also are said to have health benefits.
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Jueves, 5/2/2019:
Our chico, Wilter, was given a bicycle by a neighbor as it had no working brakes. So Doug actually figured out a braking system for him to be able to ride the bike before installing actual brakes.
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Jueves, 5/2/2019:
It's quite clever, and actually works... a piece of bamboo attached to a rope system... so now Doug is being called "McGeever" (the Ecuadorian name for McGuyver!)
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Sabado, 5/11/2019:
Maestro Luis brought 5 guys today to do the granito floor, all in one day. Granito is pieces of stone embedded in the cement - almost like an unpolished version of the old Florida terrazo floors.
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Sabado, 5/11/2019:
A long day of hard work, but the crew is finished.
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Lunes, 5/13/2019:
Today the stairs and landing to the upper floor of the palapa is being finished with granito also.
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Martes, 5/14/2019:
Our next project will be a small bamboo casita, hopefully for a caretaker. First, we must clear the site we have chosen near the front gate. Had to remove a beautiful Moyuyo, but we have many more!
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Martes, 5/14/2019:
Doug and Woody inspect the future building site for the casita. It is located right off the pathway between our casita and the front gate.
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Martes, 5/14/2019:
Meanwhile, back at the palapa, Luis and Andres work on the granito on the landing area to the upper floor.
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Martes, 5/14/2019:
Our gardener, Paulo, gifted us with one of his banana trees - and happily we can report that it is doing well in its new home near the palapa.
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Martes, 5/14/2019:
Our new refrigerator in the palapa. We had a problem with the freezer in the fridge in the casita (it started melting). Since we needed a second fridge for the palapa, I went to Puerto Lopez on Friday and purchased this great little fridge. The problem with our big fridge is a bad chip/or card which controls the auto defrost. Technician diagnosed it last week, and is due with the new card any minute now!
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Jueves, 5/16/2019:
Our beautiful bamboo retaining wall at the front gate has now had its finishing coat of lacquer/varnish - and I think it looks great!
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Viernes, 5/17/2019:
Woody joins me on our walk everyday to open the entrance gate. Here he checks out the upcoming building site.
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Sabado, 5/18/2019:
Yes, this is a fun place to work! Ney (who is from Venezuela) returned to weld some upgraded closures on our entrance gate. You can see how much we enjoy the guys working on our little paradise.
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Sabado, 5/18/2019:
Ney and Jaime demonstrate the upgrades to our gate! Great job, guys....
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Lunes, 5/20/2019:
Today starts the finishing of the wood floors of the second level of the palapa. The original "nails" that were installed are being replaced with stainless screws before the sanding and finishing can take place.
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