Thursday, February 19, 2009

Changing The Square

I don't know anybody who likes our town square. It is probably the most stupid community improvement ever carried out here on the island. But our new Mayor appears to be doing something to try to make it a little more friendly.



And to the malecon as well.




You've probably figured it out by now, but palms are being planted everywhere. And big palms. Full grown and tall.




Watching them plant these things was amazing. They use this giant crane to lift them off the trucks and then set them into the ground.








It has really made a difference. Little groupings of palms all around the square. If they survive the stress of the replanting and all the salt they will be exposed to, it will go a long way in making the square a little more friendly looking.







I was amazed at how closely they crop the root ball on these things. Palms don't have a lot of root to begin with so it startles me that they would cut so much off. I assume they know what they are doing though. Time will tell.


I was also surprised to see the license plate on this truck. Did the trees come all the way from Queretaro, or just the truck? Surely there are companies in the Yucatan that do this same sort of thing. One wonders at the cost of all this.


But when all is said and done, whatever the cost, it is well worth it.



8 comments:

K.W. Michigan said...

Looks good .. I love relaxing under a swaying Palm (without the falling coconuts!)

Anonymous said...

Wow, that is awesome! Thanks for the on the scene reporting. What a wonderful difference this will make!

Frankly Ronda said...

Yes, Palm trees have a beuatiful and calming affect.

Life's a Beach! said...

That looks SO much better. And it looks like a person could sit on some of those white walls surrounding the trees? Hope so, because the square needs a lot more places to sit. Three cheers for the mayor!

Anonymous said...

Wow that looks great (and it's about time!). It will make the square more cosy-feeling while providing some shade to the seating. I bet you will begin to see more people hanging out; like the good-old-days!!
Doug in CT

Anonymous said...

Perhaps the next step will be to add some practical benches to sit on? Maybe that will bring back the local families selling thier food on Sunday nights. Thanks for the update.

Islagringo said...

kw: you got that right!

md: yes, it has made a difference already. I was downtown today and they are already turning brown though. I have yet to see anybody watering them.

AM Mommy: and they say "tropical" so well too.

LAB: yes, you can sit on those white walls but it will be some time before they are in the shade. I miss the old lanes with the topiaries. The most assuredly need to do something about the seating now.

Doug: so far now change.

jackie: they did change out the regular benches awhile ago. The first ones they put in, if you sat all the way back in them even my feet dangled in the air! If you look at the last photo in this post, you will see that curved pergola area. In the artist's concept drawing, it showed food vendors set up in that area. The former Mayor banned all vendors from the square, stating that it looked to cluttered and gave a bad impression to the tourists! I think the ban is still in effect, which is why the food vendors set up by the grocery store and across the street now. We used to go the square every Sunday to browse our way along the vendors until we had had our fill! No more.

Steve Cotton said...

Are they really coconut palms -- the minor league pitchers of bean balls?

I look the new look, but a hurricane is going to play havoc with them unless they develop a root system -- soon.