Adonis Diaries

Out in Mauritania; (September 1^st, 2009)

            I am seasonally settled in Mauritania; by a small poor fishing coastal village 30 miles of the borders with Senegal.  I selected this spot so that I may skip to Dakar for a couple of days, now and then, and enjoy mingling with the undulating and dancing bodies in the street of the capital of Senegal.  I love walking haphazardly in the streets among the rainbow clothed women, proud of exhibiting their charm and flashing their friendly smiles.

            I visit my farmhouse (without any farm animals) three months a year during the “winter” season.  It does not rain that much but it rains a little for the designation.  The winter season is cool and sunny most of the time.  The weather at night is not as cold as in the desert, close by, during the rest of the year; the sun is bright and gentle with this tinge of dry air coming from the desert nearby.

            My farmhouse is kind of a larger version, after remodeling, than most residences made of brick mud mixed with palm straw. My farmhouse is different inside; I arranged for a vast open underground space, equipped with a large modern kitchen and an oversized “custom made” Jacuzzi; the Jacuzzi can accommodate at least six persons but I designed a separate smaller one, attached to the main one, to save on water and power for frequent use instead of a regular bathtub.  This underground chamber houses my library and my audio-visual installations.

            My farmhouse is different; atop the second half of the roof facing south I erected an enclosed opaque glass gazebo; the floor is of packed dirt; palm branches and overhanging vine cover the gazebo.  Four large windows open half way down; you need to half stand to watch the view of the infinite horizons toward the ocean or the desert. The roof of the farmhouse is poured in concrete, thick enough and strong enough to sustain 60 cms of garden dirt to grow salad vegetables and a couple of jasmine trees.

            My farmhouse is the same as the typical residences; the main floor offers the interior of feeling at home for regular visitors.  The interior design, dwelling accommodations, furniture, and painting colors are the same. The kitchen is  typically “traditional”, which means nothing much in equipments, and the toilets are typical village toilets, just a hole and a utensil to pour water in and wash the ass.

            I am planning to plant varieties of fruit trees that withstand salty dirt and weather.  Instead of an artificial fence the perimeter will be ringed with three ranges of trees 10 meters deep; the trees will be spaced out 5 meters.

            I intend of extending the southern part of the farmhouse with three other non-attached ramblers to create a Middle Eastern inside patio; the main fountain will be located in the center and I will install benches around the fountain.  I will grow around the patio vegetables and Latin American flowers. Eventually, two of the ramblers might serve as warehouses.