The Sky is Falling
It is the end of April and the end of summer. Just before the rainy season begins in May, the winds die down and it is hot here. Since most of the roofs in Granada are made of small tiles that just lie on the roof, it is time to prepare for the big rains that are coming. The tiles become dislodged during the year from critters, like cats, walking across the roof. Even though it is now the hottest time of the year, neighbors are climbing to their roofs, rearranging tiles and replacing broken ones. You know the rains are near because different plants are sprouting and ants are appearing in the house.
There are so many varieties of ants here. Little ones that look like spiders, larger ones that bite, big red ants and the famous leaf-cutting ants. I assume the ant tribes are moving indoors because they know their burrows will soon be flooded. Why don’t they just stay in their homes and buy flood insurance like the people of Florida? The leaf-cutting ants are the most interesting though they have destroyed many of our plants. They can take apart a fern in one day but it’s fun to watch the leaf segments move across your floor in a long green line.
We hire a crew to look at our roof and fill in any holes they find but we discover that the timbers of the roof extension are rotting so we decide to have them replaced. Wood timbers - $300, labor – about $1 an hour, dry roof over our heads – priceless. The major drain in our house seems to be draining slow so plumbers are hired but they can’t do anything so they recommend what other friends have recommended – hire the bomberos (firemen) to bring their fire truck and shove a high pressure hose into the drain. I agree but something tells me I will probably regret it.
Amy is gone for a couple days to go with a friend to San Juan del Sur. The bomberos arrive but the drain is way in the back of the house so by coupling several hoses together they are able to snake the hoses through the garage, through the living area to the courtyard. Of course, the hoses are muddy and water is leaking all over the place. One advantage of having a tile floor over carpeting. They turn on the truck pump, the hoses stiffen with pressure and the coupling is blown back at the truck end. While they search for parts, I examined the fire truck which apparently came from Newton, NC since the big decals on the side declare that. I would say the fire truck is about 30 years old but in good shape. Ahhhh, they have found another gasket and replaced the coupling. The hose nozzle is jammed into the drain and two men hold it down as the full water pressure comes to bear. After a minute they declare victory, they accept my 300 córdobas, roll up their hoses, wave to the gathering neighbors who think the gringo house must be on fire and roar off into the distance.
I slosh through our living area and wonder why these things happen when both the maid and Amy are not here. The storm drain starts in our courtyard then goes under our rear bedroom where the drains of the shower and sink add their discharge then the water goes out to the big city runoff. Remember that this whole escapade started because it appeared our storm drain was blocked. Upon entering the bedroom, the water is a couple inches deep and the shower has mud to about four feet up on the walls. For those of you a little weak on the laws of water thermodynamics, high pressure water will go where there is the least resistance and with the drain being blocked further down, the water simply came shooting up the shower and sink drains, hence, the water in the bedroom and the mud on the walls. Again, I am thankful we do not have carpeting.
I cursed the town of Newton, NC for donating their fire truck to Nicaragua and spent the rest of the day cleaning up. Keep your fire trucks in N.C., concrete homes can’t burn anyway. A few days later I found a friend that had one of those little rotor-router cables and threaded it down the shower drain and the blockage was cleared.
When will I learn to stop listening to people here?
There are so many varieties of ants here. Little ones that look like spiders, larger ones that bite, big red ants and the famous leaf-cutting ants. I assume the ant tribes are moving indoors because they know their burrows will soon be flooded. Why don’t they just stay in their homes and buy flood insurance like the people of Florida? The leaf-cutting ants are the most interesting though they have destroyed many of our plants. They can take apart a fern in one day but it’s fun to watch the leaf segments move across your floor in a long green line.
We hire a crew to look at our roof and fill in any holes they find but we discover that the timbers of the roof extension are rotting so we decide to have them replaced. Wood timbers - $300, labor – about $1 an hour, dry roof over our heads – priceless. The major drain in our house seems to be draining slow so plumbers are hired but they can’t do anything so they recommend what other friends have recommended – hire the bomberos (firemen) to bring their fire truck and shove a high pressure hose into the drain. I agree but something tells me I will probably regret it.
Amy is gone for a couple days to go with a friend to San Juan del Sur. The bomberos arrive but the drain is way in the back of the house so by coupling several hoses together they are able to snake the hoses through the garage, through the living area to the courtyard. Of course, the hoses are muddy and water is leaking all over the place. One advantage of having a tile floor over carpeting. They turn on the truck pump, the hoses stiffen with pressure and the coupling is blown back at the truck end. While they search for parts, I examined the fire truck which apparently came from Newton, NC since the big decals on the side declare that. I would say the fire truck is about 30 years old but in good shape. Ahhhh, they have found another gasket and replaced the coupling. The hose nozzle is jammed into the drain and two men hold it down as the full water pressure comes to bear. After a minute they declare victory, they accept my 300 córdobas, roll up their hoses, wave to the gathering neighbors who think the gringo house must be on fire and roar off into the distance.
I slosh through our living area and wonder why these things happen when both the maid and Amy are not here. The storm drain starts in our courtyard then goes under our rear bedroom where the drains of the shower and sink add their discharge then the water goes out to the big city runoff. Remember that this whole escapade started because it appeared our storm drain was blocked. Upon entering the bedroom, the water is a couple inches deep and the shower has mud to about four feet up on the walls. For those of you a little weak on the laws of water thermodynamics, high pressure water will go where there is the least resistance and with the drain being blocked further down, the water simply came shooting up the shower and sink drains, hence, the water in the bedroom and the mud on the walls. Again, I am thankful we do not have carpeting.
I cursed the town of Newton, NC for donating their fire truck to Nicaragua and spent the rest of the day cleaning up. Keep your fire trucks in N.C., concrete homes can’t burn anyway. A few days later I found a friend that had one of those little rotor-router cables and threaded it down the shower drain and the blockage was cleared.
When will I learn to stop listening to people here?
