Construction zone

Lima is in the middle of a construction boom, and in the blocks near our home, the construction sites are mostly apartment buildings in various states of completion. Due to the frequent earthquakes, Lima has a regulation that buildings cannot be taller than 30 floors. Still, this provides for some tall buildings to watch as they are built, floor by floor.

I get scared just seeing them build; look at them, balanced on a board, putting in rebar! 

This is a closer view in case the earlier photo was not spine-tingling enough.

Simon has really developed a love of construction equipment while here, including making up his own signs for certain things like buckets (they are always two, on a pulley system, and so his sign is using both hands, one high, the other low, and then switching their places) and bulldozers (he pushes out one hand like the bulldozer pushes out its shovel).

Buckets, take 1

Buckets, take 2

A backhoe was parked near our apartment while the driver took a nap inside the cab... Simon seized the opportunity to try out the loader. 

My parents gave Simon a little excavator, which has been a huge hit (as you may have guessed from earlier posts), especially on artisan visits or at mealtimes at restaurants when we linger longer than we would at home. There are so many things to put in the loader and move around, like lots of coins or rocks. 

The excavator (and juice) buying us time to enjoy a coffee

The excavator buying us time at an artisan's workshop

They also brought Simon a cool book about 100 different trucks which is helping me to increase my vocabulary so I don't keep stammering, "look at that, uh, truck" or "the thing that moves dirt". It's been fun to see how Simon now notices a whole new class of trucks as a result, like tow trucks and impact hammers.

A regular activity with Simon is to go on a walk to check out various construction sites. Watching excavators fill trucks with dirt and rocks, or workers filling wheelbarrows with cement, then wheeling them to the elevators running the backbone of the building's skeleton, or cement trucks piping in the next wall or floor layer: there is always something fascinating going on. 

Relaxing on the sidewalk, watching the construction show

Once, while we were traveling through the Sacred Valley and enjoying seeing intricate ruins and gorgeous landscapes, I was recounting the day’s adventures with Simon as we were winding down for his nap. He bolted upright and mimicked an excavator’s scooping and dumping, reminding me that not only had we seen an excavator working, but that it had been working in the middle of a river. How could you forget that, Mom? That was the highlight of the day!

While Simon likes to check out what equipment is in use at each one, I like to inspect the signs. 

I pretend that these signs mean that the construction workers take frequent breaks to do aerobics, or at least that it is a caution to be aware that construction workers may break out with a dance move while shoveling dirt. 

I suppose it's just the orientation on this one... but they almost never have it oriented so that the worker is leaning over; he's always busting a dance move with the shovel!

This is another favorite. Doesn’t it look like they are reminding people of a rule to wear underwear? Or perhaps underwear with suspenders?

If there were no accompanying text, I could convince myself that it were true, instead of being about a safety harness.


I also like these. Some joker with a stencil flower put flowers in and around the various signs at this site.

I can think of a certain husband who might benefit from the one below as a street sign, to aid in avoiding tripping over curbs.

I just like this sign, what with the drama of the slipping person.

The construction boom is far more dependent on manual labor than in the States. An example: to move a pile of bricks, there is a chain set up of perhaps 15 men. One picks up a brick from the pile and tosses it to the next man, who tosses it to the next, and so on. The bricks move slowly from outside on the street to inside the construction area. They make it look effortless, as if they were tossing pillows around. These men are strong. And yes, it’s always men. I have yet to see a woman as a worker on a construction site. 

Another example of manual labor: note that there is a ramp of boards set up against the dumpster. This dumpster was slowly filled, wheelbarrow load by wheelbarrow load.

I'm not sure what the safety standards are... this worker is standing on a board, which is balanced on two ladders, drilling holes into a concrete wall. 

I'm secretly hoping that one of these days someone will invite us in and let us sit in the cab of the excavator while it moves around and does exciting things. Did I say Simon was fascinated by the construction sites? I suppose it is rubbing off on me, too... I want to operate the excavator!