Keeping Busy

C's been keeping me pretty busy. Last night we went to a restaurant down on the beach for a drink. It was a German place with the long beer list you'd expect from such a place. Too bad the beers only exist on the menu. But the atmosphere couldn't have been much better. A Friday night, but far from crowded, we sat on the edge of the patio for an unobstructed view of the waves. Big waves. Much larger than I am used to seeing. As the sun began to set a live band took the stage behind us. We didn't stay long after that, but I made a mental note to remember the place.

Today we went with another expat here to a local carpenter to commission a dining room table. You can have beautiful hardwood furniture custom made. It's not super cheap, but something of equivalent, hand-made quality would go for a good penny more in Europe, and it wouldn't be custom built exactly the way you want it.

The workshop was located on a run-down dirt street and was spread out in a number of small buildings constructed in the typical rotting wood and flimsy metal manner. On closer inspection, the large bar expertly crafted from afzelia standing in the road gave the place away, as did the beautiful teak and afzelia doors leading to a crowded showroom. The master carpenter showed us beautiful chairs, coffee tables, cabinets, and shelves, explaining the techniques they use to ensure that the furniture will not warp or crack in drier climates and displaying the high-quality hardware they make sure to use. Apparently using cheap hinges and wet wood are common mistakes made by many local carpenters.

After seeing the workroom, where a staff of about 10 people were busy sawing, sanding and polishing, our friend handed the carpenter a set of drawings she had made and explained her hopes for a new dining room table. In 6 months she will have a beautiful wood and glass table. If she didn't have to worry about drying the wood really well first to take the table back to Europe she could have had it in 2 to 3. I made sure to get this man's card before we left. T had mentioned something about being interested in finding some nice furniture here.