Where we are

This is a photo from the hill on the opposite side of the bay from where we are.

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We've had a few questions about the house, so here goes:

Back when the processing business was first starting, the business built a set of short-term accommodation villas and frequently people from the business came to stay. The business had full sets of diving equipment, a variety of fishing gear, everything. It seemed to be a very lively place- the kitchen has a huge number of nice serving dishes, bain maries, etc- it was definitely well set up.

Around the time of the civil unrest, the processing plant stopped operating and the villas were empty more often, there weren't any guards, and the place got trashed- most of the portable gear was stolen, mattresses disappeared, windows smashed, etc. All of the diving equipment and fishing equipment was stolen. It has been a while since all of the villas have been occupied.

A while back, before R. came to first see the place, people were hired to fix it all up, repaint, relace the toilets, etc. The main focus seemed to be the villa we're staying in, and the entertaining area. So it has been repainted recently, the curtains washed, etc. The other villas, not so much.

Much of the wiring and some of the pipes were stolen, so currently only half the villas have power. Those that have power are spliced together. When the army came, they spliced into our power, too (with permission), so the whole thing needs redoing.

We've made a point of repairing the leaks (when we find them), so the water situation is a bit more efficient. We collect rainwater in the only section of gutter there is, which goes into a cement tank in the ground. Then it is pumped into an overhead tank, which feeds our showers and taps and toilets. The water is usually turned off at night so we fill up a bucket for handwashing or whatever.

Our villa is not fully self-contained, there isn't a kitchen, so all the villas share the kitchen in the entertaining area. The villas are fairly public, being on the beach, so we often have people all around- in the gazebo, on our back porch, etc.

The villas aren't 'sealable' I guess you could say- geckos, mosquitoes, crabs can all get in under the centimetres-wide cracks under the doors. Dave's been repairing the 'ventilasi,' the square ventilation holes in the tops of the walls, which are covered with fly wire.

The floor is completely tiled with blue and white 'marbled' tiles, the walls are light blue and the curtains a darker blue. With the dark wood of the doors, windows, and furniture it is quite pretty. We are really grateful to live in such a nice place, next to the beach!