This Woman Walks!

I am a maniac for walking - especially since getting my hip rebuilt last year and can now actually enjoy the exercise!

One reason I indulge myself on a daily basis is because the weather is usually great and there is always something new, no matter how minor, for me to see and discover. But I have caused a fair amount of confusion by consistantly refusing rides from friends who honestly think that they are offering me a favour!

One gentleman, Mr. Leno, is a taxi driver who lives on my street and though I have made use of him professionally for airport runs and trips to the Estadio Deposito for cases of beer (he'll carry them up the stairs for me) he simply doesn't understand my passion for the freedom of walking. I can't count the times he's pulled over and tried to give me a ride when he's spotted me en route to El Centro and he has even gone to the extent of assuring me that it would be a free ride. A free ride from a taxi driver? Unheard of here in La Ceiba... So, I enjoy our little conversations, make my good byes and head off walking again...

Walking also means that I can waunder off the main routes, do some exploring, learn a little more about this city that I live in and use my camera for the most ridiculous purposes. I've written about concrete construction in La Ceiba, but during one of my "waiting for the laundry" walks found this little place tucked away out of sight and snapped away merrily simply because the man working was actually using a breathing mask! It's the first time I've ever seen someone working with concrete making use of safety equipment and was a real surprise to me.

If you want better detail from the pictures in this blog, just click on the photo and it will enlarge itself for you - I'm very slowly learning how to make use of Blogger, now if I could just convince the cyber gremlins to leave me alone....

Street Noise!

It’s been an interesting month in my barrio.

At the end of March, I realized that there was this horrendously loud noise coming from the street behind my apartment. It seemed to consist of an air compressor and some sort of metal cutting blade and would go on and off for hours at a time.

My first thought was “Oh no, someone’s started an auto body shop in their yard!” which has been known to happen as there are industrial shops right next door to family homes in most barrios.

After a couple days, it appeared that the noise had moved off somewhat and that’s when my curiosity kicked in. So off I went, following my ears and discovered some pretty big changes just around the corner!

Great mounds of dirt and debris right in the middle of the intersections, huge, gaping holes in the pavement and a series of lines cut into the pavement of the streets of the whole neighbourhood. I found it quite amusing to be able to simply climb right up on the piles to take photos without being questioned or stopped by anyone. No barricades to protect pedestrians from themselves, taxis and private cars slowly creeping around various mounds in order to traverse the streets and not a worker in sight.

The work is progressing, slowly but surely and has now reached the point where some of the underground infrastructure is being established. I’ve learned that this whole endeavour is to provide “black water” (sewage) lines from individual homes, to a central pipe and thus (hopefully, though I’m not certain!) to a treatment plant.

There aren’t a lot of technical or specialized tools used. If you look closely, you can see the nylon line tied to the rock and stick that is used for establishing the cutting lines. I’m left wondering whether or not there will be powered jack hammers or simply labourers with pick axes used when it comes time to lift the segments of asphalt.

I do find it quite disturbing to watch both the operator and helper of the machine that is used to cut the pavement lines. Yes, they have hard hats, a short sleeved over shirt and work boots but I have yet to see hearing protection, work gloves or any form of air mask! The residents are curious about the work but at the same time terribly accepting of the overwhelming noise levels, with an attitude of “it has to happen”.

I’m leaving the country in a couple of days so sadly won’t be able to keep a complete record of this major project though I am hoping that it will be completed before I come back again next winter!

Anyone interested in taking their life in their hands and getting a job in La Ceiba?

Construction, La Ceiba Style

I’ve watched many changes La Ceiba over the last five years, some good and some not but I am constantly fascinated by the very basic approaches that are taken to accomplish various projects, large and small.

I’ll also admit to a certain macabre fascination at the lack of safety, health and environmental standards that I have witnessed. I’ve done a fair amount of construction myself therefore have some experience with the health and safety requirements of the workplace in Canada. All I say is that if any of “our” standards were imposed here, nothing would be accomplished! Yes, I do believe that there should be improvements to protect the workers but at the same time I still have to admire the sheer audacity of how things are done here.

















There was the day that I stopped for photographs of the men who were taking a large limb off of one of the trees in the Central Park Square. This is a very busy part of the downtown core and there were no barricades or crowd control, as you can from the men sitting in the bench watching with some trepidation. Myself, I was impressed that the workers were using a ladder and had also tied a rope to said limb in order to control the fall. Yet the worker in the tree was using only a machete to chop his way through the limb, non grip sole shoes and no gloves. Thankfully, the mission was successful with no injuries!










One enterprising individual decided to build a street side vendor stall, brought in his supplies and started his construction, right in the midst of the busy street life of the market in full swing. I have a real fear of electricity and simply couldn’t believe the casualness of his standing above ground, his hammer and various overhead lines tucked under his elbow as he positioned the roof brace.














The cement was mixed on the street and the structure simply lifted up and placed into coffee cans of concrete in order to both brace it and to prevent its “accidental” removal. This stall was completed the following day, with its “for rent” sign and in the month following its completion, I have yet to see it used.










There is a phenomenal amount of concrete construction all over La Ceiba and on one of the busier downtown core streets I’ve watched a two storey building progressing over the last two months.



Concrete is mixed in a pile right on the street surface and carried in 5 gallon buckets or wheelbarrows to where it is needed, building debris is piled on the sidewalk or street, supplies are piled wherever there is space and life continues in and around the construction site with no consideration for pedestrians or traffic. You can see the roasted corn vendor who has maintained his working space right at the edge of the building site, complete with airborne debris and his food sales are probably booming given the proximity to the work site.

The men work in whatever clothing or shoes they possess, I have rarely seen work gloves and have never seen a hardhat on a construction site. There are no safety harnesses, telescoping ladders, power tools and only the most rudimentary hand tools. Yet, these projects are completed!