I have been playing the role of a hermit lately.
Since I returned from the highlands, I have generally been holed up in my house. For two reasons.
The first is the weather. I keep forgetting that September can be the most brutal month here on the Pacific coast. And this September qualifies.
The combination of the heat and the humidity limits outdoor activities. Venturing forth from the house after 11 is a bit like spending a balmy afternoon on Venus.
Of course, I could always take the air conditioned truck -- if it were not for the fact that the street that forms the border between San Patricio (where the business district is) and Villa Obregon (my village) has morphed from a road to a barrier.
The street is being torn up to improve it. (And, yes, I hear a Vietnam echo in that sentence.) But the going is slow.
The first day I returned to Melaque, I dropped off some clothes at the laundry and drove merrily down one of the town’s nicer streets. Until I encountered the barricade at the top of this post.
For a moment I thought my Francophilia had spirited me away to the Paris Commune. But it was just a barricade to keep me off of the newly graded street.
I am not certain when the construction began. But the stated completion date was supposed to coincide with the return of the white-legged snow birds.
The street is being torn up to improve it. (And, yes, I hear a Vietnam echo in that sentence.) But the going is slow.
The first day I returned to Melaque, I dropped off some clothes at the laundry and drove merrily down one of the town’s nicer streets. Until I encountered the barricade at the top of this post.
For a moment I thought my Francophilia had spirited me away to the Paris Commune. But it was just a barricade to keep me off of the newly graded street.
I am not certain when the construction began. But the stated completion date was supposed to coincide with the return of the white-legged snow birds.
That is not going to happen. At least not for the whole street. When I walked to town this morning, the crews were laying the pavers for the portion of the street that gets most of the beach traffic.
If they open that portion by November, most of the traffic will be able to flow between the two villages. If not, it is going to be an interesting traffic jam.
But the rest of the street -- the portion up by the bars and whorehouses -- is going to have to wait until the rainy season is over and the water table starts to subside. At the moment, it looks a bit like Venice.
I am glad I got out today. I have some good news from the post office. But that will wait for another day.
At least, my hermit stage is at an end.
If they open that portion by November, most of the traffic will be able to flow between the two villages. If not, it is going to be an interesting traffic jam.
But the rest of the street -- the portion up by the bars and whorehouses -- is going to have to wait until the rainy season is over and the water table starts to subside. At the moment, it looks a bit like Venice.
I am glad I got out today. I have some good news from the post office. But that will wait for another day.
At least, my hermit stage is at an end.
