Morning Comes to the Posada

At 6:30 a.m. the light is gentle in the Posada.

6:30 a.m.
It is still slightly dark, cold and quiet. Some moving shadows have already risen silently to face the day. And although I was almost shivering during the night, the morning seems warmer. Geography studies suggest that the sun has already warmed the land enough to cause air to rise, drawing in even warmer air from the sea, which is slower to cool at night than the land.

The temperature can be variable in Tijuana. Some years the home builders sweat in 100 degree heat. Sometimes the days are much cooler. This year we've been working in the 70s, I believe.

But that also means the nights are chilly. I came with one small felt blanket, and last night I was wishing for more. But when I got up at 6:30 a.m. today the outside air was comfortably cool and the room actually felt warm when I re-entered.

Moses was confronted with a burning bush; we get a blooming bush.

Outside the light is gentle and the posada is quite pretty, with blooming plants and bright building colors that remind us we're in a Hispanic (Latino? Mexican?--what's the right word here?) environment now. Strolling around the compound in the quiet morning is a good way to take off the night's chill.

That's a good thing, because here's no such thing as warming up in the shower. You get one minute. The method is to get wet for 15 seconds; shut off the water and lather up; then use your next 45 seconds to wash off the soap.

City services have reached the posada, but water is expensive. My understanding is that we're not conserving water-- we're conserving money.

It's ironic, because "Tijuana" derives from an Indian term meaning "by the sea," or something like that. And when we returned from the job site yesterday, we rounded a curve at the top of a hill and there was the ocean, just a short bike ride away. (Not so neat a ride coming back up the hill, of course.) But the Colorado River never reaches the sea, and the Tijuana river doesn't produce the volume of water 1.6 million people would like to use--which makes you wonder what the future is going to be like for Mexico's fastest growing large city.

Enough of that. Here's some more photos from yesterday that didn't make it on the blog due to some technical difficulties. We'll be on the road in about an hour, and I hope to post more tonight.

Have a good day. Photos below.
Love,
Robert
Note: This blog is independent of any organization; errors, omissions, exaggerations and misinterpretations are solely the responsibility of the author.

And on this rock: Yesterday this home rose on the previously-poured foundation.

Workers tied rebar to a frame that would be used for roof beams.

Wire was tied and twisted to hold the rebar to the frame.

Susan Nadeau ties rebar that will be surrounded by cement within the Hainer blocks, securing the wall.

The interior of the home: only 10 feet wide, but provided with a doorway that someday may open to an identical unit attached to one side, doubling the home's volume to 20x30 feet.

Next: Our late morning / afternoon projects.