Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Beware of falling rocks…


Monday is a day of tiding up from the week before. I go to Boxito to check on my missing boxes of tiles but I find they are in the middle of yet another redesign/remodel. They were devastated after Wilma, their bodega (warehouse) was totally trashed but by the beginning of this year they had rebuilt a larger and better one and a much poshed up showroom followed close behind that. Today it has regressed to its appearance in the weeks following Wilma. The entrance way is an obstacle course and it’s hard even to be heard above the sound of hammering, chipping and welding.

As one who is accident prone, I don’t really feel safe in this environment. Small chunks of masonry are flying around from the chipping. Large sections of seriously harmful sharp metal are protruding and multiple cables are snaking the whole environment. The guys behind the counter work on as usual and no-one is wearing a helmet! It’s a safety inspector’s nightmare (or dream if they are that way inclined!). I feel happy to get out intact, even though I am without my tiles.

I often seem to find myself in the building line of fire on Cozumel. I was hit on the head with a stray chip of flying rock a couple of weeks back while talking to my builder …ouch! I narrowly missed being hit with a much larger falling chunk of rock last year while my builder was adding an extension to the roof.

I was briefly gassed during another ill-fated series of events after Emily, when a chunk of rock inadvertently fell from the roof on to the lever handle of a gas tap.

By sheer fluke ...the rock hit the handle spot on and turned on the gas, releasing the remains from the tank. Gas smells a little different on Cozumel and it took me a while to work out what the smell was. I can be a bit slow sometimes – even without gas!

We finally removed all the gas lines around the house and dispensed with the gas water heater after Wilma blew the old gas tank off its support and ruptured the pipes. We now have electric instant water heating and use a small gas bottle with accident proof, turn handle, for our dryer and oven.

I tend not to dwell on my close encounters with electricity … they are much less frequent. Originating from a country with 220v flowing from the sockets, I tend to give it a little more respect than my US counterparts do with their 110v.

Whereas in US or UK these incidents would be a big issue – and probably require a detailed reporting in case required for later medical claim or even lawsuit (read USA here!) its part of building life on Cozumel. Unfortunately I see more people with injuries here than back home. You constantly need to be on the alert for falling, flying and hidden dangers while on a building site here. Your safety is your own concern, blaming others for accidents won't cut it here.

I suspect the injuries I see are not wholly from the building industry though. The other main source of mishaps here is the moto (motocicletas – motorbikes, scooters and mopeds) but I’ll save that tale of peril for another day.


With no further news of the delivery of our much needed tiles, we are now forced to plan a trip to Cancun. If they haven’t arrived by Tuesday my builder will make the trip on Wednesday and transport the tiles by bus and ferry from Cancun. It’s a nuisance but there is no other option as there are no refunds on our order and we will otherwise have to halt work and just wait it out.

The guys lay the boards for the pool surround and fill this mould with the more attractive concreto blanco (white concrete) for a prettier look. They next day they remove the mould and scrub the top with a wire brush, leaving a coarse but attractive surface, described as rustico (rustic) and much safer for walking on than a “slippery when wet” tiled surface.


That evening I suddenly find myself looking for the first time at a recognizable pool.

Regarding the electricity flowing from the sockets –James Thurber’s “My life and hard times” includes a tale of his great aunt who believed electricity flowed freely from the sockets and had to plug each one for safety.

Treat yourself to a copy for great travel and beach reading and have everyone around you wondering what the heck you are laughing so much at.

Good greif, this is almost getting like a school recommended reading list!

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