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Morally cost effective

May 11 2012 Construction Coffee Mountain InnCheck out the columns in front!

Cele’s been getting up the roof trusses.  His godfather welds, and has been up in Santa Fe for the past week.  Now the roof is taking shape – think it’s looking great.  They’ll finish the trusses over the next week, weather permitting.  After, it will be time to put the roof itself on!

We had been debating the use of “telagala”, a type of fibercement roof that looks like traditional clay roof shingles – or the use of colored “zinc” roof that also looks good, but doesn’t have that traditional feel.  The issue was that the telegala shingles  use asbestos – which, as you know, is fine as long as the asbestos particles do not become airborne.  I was having a moral dilemma about putting in asbestos for the construction workers – seems to me that there could be so many conditions for asbestos exposure. Tiles break, fall, and chip.    We ended up costing them both out,  and turns out the the metal roofs  were cheaper!  This made the decision much easier.

We’re going with red.  Update: Or perhaps blue

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Ummm, but you have an iphone hon…

So, you know what’s amazing about iphones and the 3G/4G network in Panama- well, you can, as in many places around the world, get internet access on your phone, even in Santa Fe.  As long as your cell phone is compatible, you can go to any store, big or small, and probably even to the guy who sells snocones in the street (I kid you not) and buy a cell phone card.  Activate it on your phone, and you can choose, if you have Mas Movil, for 99 cents a day to use part of that phone card for all you can use internet for 24 hours by pushing four little digits on your phone.  That’s all it takes.

So, the columns in the front of the hotel were going up last week.  I really want to see, I really want to see them. Can’t wait, can’t wait, can’t wait.  My husband wants to surprise me, so he says that he’s too busy to send pictures.

Let’s analyze this.

This means, he’d have to get his phone out of his pocket (he’s there every day), aim the camera towards the building, push a button, and then hit send.    The excuse isn’t flying over that well.  With that, I give you  a picture from last week, looking towards the balconies (maybe this will prompt him to send a pic-love you hon).

Update: he dropped his phone…oops.   I guess I will be surprised.

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Santa Fe Found – beauty of topographic maps

I love topographic maps of rural areas,  I can spend hours looking over them, the rural towns, the square boxes that mark one home, one life.  The dashed lines that mark roads/paths or trails between these small communities.  Trails to walk, views to see.

When my husband was dating me, he brought me two presents that I have on my wall: the topographic map of Santa Fe (scale 1:50,000) and of Calovebora to the north.

The town itself, Santa Fe, is one of the oldest cities/towns in Panama, founded in the 1500s, and was once the regional (viceroyalty) capital.  Place names in the history books found in their present day adaptations on the map.  “Veragua” to “Veraguas”.  “Calobegola” to “Calovebora”.  And others you wonder where they came from, like “Narices” or Noses.

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If I were a glass frog, could I win at hide and seek?

Glass Frog; Source Mudfooted.com
Man, I just had one of those days.  It makes me think of hiding, and well, of glass frogs (bet they can hide well).  These little guys are not that common, but inhabit some streams in Santa Fe National Park.  The most amazing thing, they’re see-through.  Not totally, not all the way, but you can see their organs inside like this little guy.  There are a few species in Panama, and differ on their see throughedness.

The Smithsonian Institute in Panama keeps a record of specimens.  Check it out.  If you go to a record with the headphones, you can even hear their call.

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Son, don’t be a doctor, work in construction

In Panama, about half the population is employed at minimum wage, but unlike in other countries, minimum wage is set both by your profession and by where you work. This wage has increased dramatically in recent years, with a 15-18% increase in minimum wage from last year alone.

What is odd, as we learned by employing people to help build our inn, the wage for those working in construction, even unskilled workers with no experience or schooling  is higher than: Veterinarians, Pharmacists, Accountants and Lawyers. Those in the latter careers need a college degree.

If you’re a young person in Panama, construction seems the way to go.