Thursday, November 15, 2007

Palms Over Chacala

If I think of the one plant that really stands out in the Chacala landscape, it would be the Palm. They are everywhere, and they are used for everything. Except toilet paper, probably. You can eat it, drink the mild, build your house with it, make clothing and mats, and palapa roofs, Whatever you ant you can probably make it out of some part of the Palm.Fishing nets are woven on ropes stretched from palm to palm. The fronds provide shade to work under, and a place to anchor the ropes. Hammocks are hung from palm trunks. They provide shade for RV's, and even a coconut or two if you are quick enough to catch a falling coconut. They provide shade everywhere in Chacala. They shade paths.And are used to cover the roofs for restaurants.And palapa roofs.They provide fruit to eat. There are many different kinds of palms. Men climb up the tall palms to clear the coconuts.The rope you see isn't a safety line. It's to tie around the clump of coconuts. Then the guy on the ground slowly lowers the clump so the coconuts don't get cracked.
Many local people have little coconut plantations. They find sprouted coconuts here and there around town. And the keep then damp while they grow big enough to be transplanted. These plants are used along the beach, to hold the sand, provide shade, mark boundaries, and to replace aging palms. And probably for other things I know nothing about.

2 comments:

christine said...

Andee, your photos are so gorgeous and your technique and skill are noticeably changing. Thanks for sharing them with the blog sphere.

Anonymous said...

Very nice photos and commentary. You've given us a mini-vacation to a beautiful sunny southern clime. Thank you.