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| Building El Rancho Grande | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The chronicals of the Rancho Grande from start to ???? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| El Rancho Grande is the tongue-in-cheek name I've given to my half-hectare country home in Chile. The name is a popular Mexican song and I consider it fitting because Mexico was where I first was introduced to Latin America, its language, culture and people. For anyone not familiar with Latin America, please don't make the same mistake as I did and conclude that all Latin America is the same as Mexico -- just more concentrate the further south you go. That would be the same as saying that Los Angeles is the same as London, England, because the language is the same. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| To reach El Rancho Grande you must cross two "rivers", the first is the Rio Colorado | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mexico is a long way from Canada and to get there you also have to cross "EL RIO GRANDE" which is the second of the unnamed streams which lay in the route of anyone wanting to arrive at our Rancho Grande | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| These are typical of the many WILD and SAVAGE beasts you may encounter in your jorney to arrive at Rancho Grande | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cutting the
Stakes to lay out the foundation on the house. Start Date 30 Sept 2003 |
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| Date 2, October 1st 2003, Foundation lines were established for the house. This will be the front on the south-facing river side of the house. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| October 3rd, Looks like a gypsy camp where the workers have set up their tent and the foundation work has begun | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| View of the Tolten River from the front yard, a few feet from the front patio | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The first diggins get
underway. In the foreground is a neighbour Francisco who's been hired for awhile to lend a hand or two. |
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| My birthday present 4th of October and the footings are poured. The house is underway and something I've been dreaming about for a long time is finally being put into first gear. NIce day too. That's Villarrica Volcano in the background. |
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| 9th of October. The foundation is completed. A couple of surpises on the way. The trucks which hauled in the gravel and sand got stuck crossing the Rio Colorado and it was necessary to get a couple of truck loads of road-fill to firm up the soft spots. In my light vehicle I'd been crossing these streams all winter with no problems. Now for a couple of months we'll be having heavy vehicles crossing the area and have to reinformce the road just for this. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 13th of October ...camera date is wrong ...and the walls of Jerrico came tumbling up....Well this isn't Jeririco and the walls aren't tumbling but now the place will start to show some form | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I've promised not to tell the housekeeper that they're filling our living room with piles of dirt. Wall frames are up and we're now looking at the sector that will be the living-dining-kitchen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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