LA RUTA DE CHE

I have to confess that I made a trip back to England for 5 weeks in June and July, leaving Ed to run the build, take care of the animals and feed me wonderful photos of progress at Sky Hacienda so that I could maintain the blog.  

He decided to drive from Sucre to Santa Cruz on my return to Bolivia as we needed to pick up applicances, a journey mostly on dirt roads that saw him and our trusty minibus arrive 18 hours later covered in dust.  He swore he would not return on the same road, and we were assured that there was a longer route, but paved, back to Sucre.

Well, two thirds of the road was paved, but when we turned west towards Sucre we realized we were on la Ruta de Che, the road used by Che Guevara as he was hunted down and eventually killed by the Bolivian police.

It was in equal parts terrible and beautiful.  The dusty rubble road limited our speed to around 20 k an hour but we drove up into the mountains passing through rain forest with breathtaking views.  On occasions it was a little too breathtaking, especially when we were driving around a narrow stretch of mountain road and encountered not one but two massive trucks carrying excavating machines.  Of course they were on the inside, so Ed had to gingerly drive to the edge to allow them to pass, with me whimpering with fear in the passenger seat.  Memories of our near death bus ride from Lima to Cusco in Peru came flooding back as I sat over the crumbly edge of the road.  But we survived!

24 hours later we arrived back in Sucre, having been forced to sleep in our minibus in freezing temperatures when all service stations had run out of diesel until we managed to buy fuel at three times the price from a very happy local.   

THE POOL WALL

Work starts on the pool wall.  It will provide shelter from the prevailing wind and much needed shade from the fierce high altitude sun.  

Windows are installed to keep the weight down on the terrace below - adobe is very heavy!  The frames will be filled with coloured glass.

Ed welds steel posts and supports in place. 

Wooden eucalyptus tree beams are laid across the span of the roof.

Carmelo inspects the bolts to make sure none are missing.

View of the roof work from the upper terrace.

TERRACING THE GARDEN WITH A DRY STONE WALL

 Rosando continues with the dry stone wall that will create a level terrace in front of the Roundhouse.

He builds steps leading from the upper level to the outdoor kitchen area below.

Here you can see the extent of the terraced section in front of the Roundhouse.

Dirt is brought in to backfill the wall.

Rosanda and his ayudante continue the wall to finish near the fruit and vegetable garden.

The terraced garden has broken up the large, steep slope and created a great vista from below.

A final touch, a stone seat similar the those in the village of La Caunette in France, where we used to live.

Our beautiful Peruvian Pepper tree brings some welcome greenery to the lower garden....

and frames the view towards the living room of the Roundhouse.

LIVING ROOM WINDOWS

When we asked Phillipe to come to measure up for the living room windows he couldn't stop giggling when he saw the size of the openings - we weren't sure if it was nerves at the prospect of making the biggest windows in his experience.  He hadn't been to visit us since measuring for the windows in the single storey section of the Roundhouse, when we were still in the process of building the vaste living area.

It was touch or go as to whether he could even accommodate the frames in his tiny workshop in Sucre and welding them on site was considered.  But in the end he built them in his workshop and simply cut into his adobe door frame to get them out!

The frames were delivered and installed between the tall stone columns.

Ed spent many hours installing the glass.

It was so good to have the living room sealed off after so long exposed to the elements.  We were now able to complete the installation of the concrete floor.

At the same time Ed installed the 'arrow slit' widows where the office would be on the mezzanine and the kitchen windows above the counter top.

GREAT PROGRESS WITH LIME RENDERING THE GARDEN WALLS

Making lime render is exactly the same process as for making lime wash.  We use fresh lime stones which, when added to water, produce a boiling liquid that gradually settles into a thick paste.  It's a messy process, but the lime render is the perfect protection for our adobe walls, keeping the rain from penetrating but allowing the earth inside to breathe.

David and Carmelo work well as a team and having finished the back wall behind the Roundhouse are now steaming around the inside of the rest of the garden wall. 

STARTING THE KITCHEN

Whilst our workers were occupied with laying foundations on the living room floor we designed the layout for the kitchen area.

 

An area along the wall between the main door and the start of the tall columns was dug out and also the foundation for the island.

Plywood forms were made to pour concrete bases for the kitchen units.

Reinforcing steel was wired together to strengthen the concrete for the island base.

Then the black tinted concrete was poured into the forms.

When the bases were dry we began building up the supporting walls that would support the concrete counter tops. 

Soon the walls were in place, ready for the next stage.

OUR VOLUNTEERS FROM WORKAWAY DO A GREAT JOB

We had Hans and Dorien from Belgium staying with us for a month.  They were really hardworking and below are photos of their work.  We really enjoyed having them to stay.

Hans lime washed the exterior of the Roundhouse and did a fantastic job.

Dorien did an incredible job on starting the mosaic work in the jacuzzi.