Gringos de Marimán

After all the worries of last week, we'd better start out by checking the weather report. There's a few clouds on the horizon, but anytime you can see the top of Villarrica then it's usually going to be a nice day.



Now if you can also see the Andes at the same time, then there's pleasant weather in store. These pictures were taken from parcela 8 which is just on the other side of the bosque from us. A great location for checking the weather, so I usually walk over there for a little while each day.



As you've guessed by now, it was a very pleasant week in Pucón. I'll stop worrying about the start of the rainy season.



So let's get to work . . . Since Maestro Valdovino and his crew dug so many holes last week, it seems only right to fill them up this week. First, several truckloads of 'dirty wet gravel' arrived early Monday morning. I think they ordered it dirty and wet to make it more of a challenge to shovel it into the wheelbarrows and dump it in the holes. However, this week we had 5 men on the job, so they were prepared for just about anything.



So why use dirty wet gravel? Apparently, after it's compacted this ripio provides a good base for concrete. At least that's what the engineer says. I'm sure you're surprised to see they actually used a machine to do the compacting. The machine did break down a few times, but what do you expect from equipment built in the USA? In fairness, I have to say that the guys really like the tools I brought from California. Two of my shovels, a rake, hoe, and wheelbarrow have been put to great use. Yes, they have their own tools, but they seem to like the US stuff better. I'm just glad to get credit for helping in some small way.



Despite the breakdowns, the crew filled up the holes pretty quickly and we were ready for the concrete.



A truck arrived early the next morning and the pouring began. Concrete that is, still no rain in sight.



Of course, there was still a lot of manual effort involved. The crew unloaded the entire truckload into wheelbarrows and spread a layer over the gravel. You can see Jose in the foreground checking the level of the concrete.



Once again, these guys worked very quickly and the once deep holes were now about half-filled. Next they prepared for . . . more concrete. But first they needed to add some fierro to make the wall pillars.



Thanks to the just-in-time flete service the fierro arrived shortly after the concrete pouring finished. Many of these local flete trucks still operate in Chile. Hopefully, we won't see our furniture arriving in one.



The crew cut, bent, and shaped the iron and then positioned it over the concrete. They added wooden supports to ensure that everything stayed in place.



The holes were lined with black plastic to keep the concrete dry. Or maybe Christo came to Chile and decided to wrap the site for his latest art project? I guess polietileno is in nowadays.



More concrete arrived on yet another beautiful day . . . .



More wheelbarrows were loaded with concrete and dumped into the holes . . .



I think there were 5 or 6 loads of concrete during the day. You might think this would be pretty boring, but you can see at least one hawk stopped by to watch the action. Far better than watching Purdue lose again in the NCAA's.



Fortunately, the wheelbarrowers got a little bit of a break when they poured the bottom section.



Since Maloney concrete wasn't available we opted for the big name in Chile - READY MIX from Bio Bio. I asked if they ever painted the trucks to look like soccer balls, but the driver thought it was a strange idea.



Back to the wheelbarrows to finish up.



Jose checks out the levels while we waited for the last delivery.



We waited and waited as the shadows got longer and longer.



Still waiting, but at least we had a pleasant vista.

Angela and Claudio: here's what the view should look like from your terrace.



Here's a final look at the now filled holes. A lot of progress for one week.



I know you pinhead fans would be disappointed if he didn't make an appearance. He's guarding the steel (or was it iron?) to be used next week. Yes, next week we start on the radier!!! Hasta la proxima!!