New happenings

Rose and I opened a free thrift store at Isla Bonita in one of the old bathroom stalls. We collected all the clothes, shoes, and good finds from around the property when we cleaned it up in the first place. I spent 3 days hand washing the items so at least they were clean. Rose painted a cool pink leopard where the mirror used to be and put grass around it to look more naturistic. We cut a piece of yucca wood ( when the yucca grows old it turns into a tree then blows over in the wind) and made the two pieces into a rack to hold the clothes. Then below in each stall is 2 wood crates that have the folded up pants and shorts. The shoes are laid out in front. There's  a men's and women's side. Then we put a piece of driftwood on the floor in the back to hold miscellaneous items. There was a piece of plastic piping that was right in the way so we put a tree branch in the hole which made it easier to hang belts n hats. The walls had spots to screw in hooks for scarfs. Rose and I had a grand opening for everyone here with wine, bread with cheese, olive oil, and oregano, and chocolate. It was a blast creating. Now it's running itself. We get donations of clothes and we all swap in and out.
We have 2 new people from Spain, Carla and Moises that showed up on bicycles carrying 2 dogs. They have made such a big impact here. Every day I would walk by them two wondering what their building next. Moises carved out a old trunk of a palm tree and made a cool drum with a leather top in all. I was amazed. The two of them redesigned the bottle window using a bamboo supportive in between each column of bottles. Our other bottle window blew out as a whole piece during a wind storm. We don't get bad weather here but we do get the wind being right on the coast. Moises and Carla also helped us by putting up a door in the kitchen area to block the wind from tunneling through. Then attached swinging doors to the outside communal shower's to improve them. Some things we improve all the time. Communal shower is one of them. We had a few fish dinners cooked over the fire by Carla and Moises which were always delicious. They stayed for about 2 or so weeks. Sad to see them go. 4 days later Jonas from Slovenia left too. Jonas has been here for a month or maybe a tad longer. He brought us all smiles, good times, and many drum circles. Jonas painted a peace flag on the side of the house which turned out awesome. It's a circle with 3 circles within. Simple and represents. Jonas was like a family member here. We miss him already. Jonas took off on foot. We do a group photo of everyone in front of the Isla Bonita mural before they leave. Then we all clap until their gone out of sight.
Melly and  Richard moved into a little house on the property. It's cool they have their own spot now. Next to them is the compost area and a spot where tents set up to stay. They have the 2 perfect palm trees for a hammock out front. Melly painted the outside of the place beautifully. Now all of us have our own cozy room.

Artists in the works

Now comes the fun part as if every day isn't fun, ha. We are decorating every inch of Island Bonita in paint. Mostly focusing on the beach side of the property to start with since the public views that side the most. Our concept is vibrant with flowers with other mixed paintings. Joe, Melly, Richard and I worked on mosaic in the art gallery floor. There was a bunch of missing tiles from the floor so we turned them into a long snake with a apple from Adam and Eve concept. Richard and Melly made designs. We used concrete and smashed up other tiles we found. Never done Mosaic before but pretty fun. Joe created two shrines in one of the old fireplaces in the soon to be art gallery. Turned out colorful. A family from New Zealand came by here and stayed 2 days. They are a amazing family. There's 2 girls ages 5 and 7 traveling with their own packs on a bicycles and have gear. The family goes 40 or so kilometers a day. Wow. The girls created a Nome scene with all homemade items made from the earth. A woven grass blanket, clothe line, and all the nomes faces are hand drawn different. Such great talent. The guy helped us siphon out the stale water from the pool which was a huge accomplishment for us. Now the pool is garbage and water free. A couple from Ireland named Garth and Hanna arrived here by bicycles as well. They are such fun people. They stayed for about a week and joined us in a few drum circles and fires. Always a blast to have people but sad to see them leave sometimes. Island Bonita, we set up a website called Warm Showers where bicyclists can contact us and ask if they can stay here. We get some traveler's that way or people are just drawn to this place and end up here, and some people we meet in town and invite them back to our place.