This is Not a Cat Photo

Let it be known that I am not breaking the rules with yet another photo with cats. Even though our little Tito is in the picture (now you have seen all three of our cats: Lolita, Camilo and Tito), really what I want to show you is the pumice-stone blocks which are used to build houses in Guatemala. Also, I want to show you the broken glass, chaye in Guatemalan Spanish, which is put on top walls as protection against burglaries.

So there you have it, as you can see the today’s photo is not about a cat. Now, if you really find Tito more interesting than a grey naked wall, you can click this link to get a close-up portrait of Tito.

Tags: Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo / Antigua / Guatemala / Tito / our cats / pumice-stone blocks

6 Responses to "This is Not a Cat Photo"

sompopo says:
April 22, 2007 at 3:42 am
Here in my neck of the woods we call them concrete blocks and they are mainly used for house foundations and commercial construction.
The first time I ever saw the broken glass used in this way was in the French Quarter in New Orleans. If you have ever been to Mardi Gras you would know why the people who live in the French Quarter have this deterrent on top of the walls surrounding their homes.
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Richard says:
April 22, 2007 at 10:10 am
Well I don’t know about everyone else…… I’m used to seeing pictures of daft looking dogs (it comes naturally) but this is the first time I’ve seen a daft looking cat (The Scottish word is “glaikit”). I hope Tito doesn’t mind the slur, I’m sure he/she was just caught unawares!
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Pamela says:
April 23, 2007 at 9:04 pm
Tito is gorgeous! We call those breeze blocks in English, for reasons I have never even thought about before and, almost all newer buildings here in Tenerife are made with them too. So much so that I’m afraid we called the resultand little towns full of grey box shaped buildings “breeze block cites” and it wasn’t meant as a compliment. It became really bad and ugly at one point because people were leaving the walls grey and unfinished forever in order to dodge taxes that they didn’t need to pay, if the building was not yet complete. So the authorities closed the loophole and started giving grants to people to pay for the paint to finish off their facades.
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Rudy says:
April 24, 2007 at 1:20 pm
Sompopo, here they are simply called blocks. They are very practical and inexpensive to build houses and buildings, but they are so ugly when they are left naked, without paint.
Richard, I can guaranteed Tito is not daft. He was simply caught off-guard. You can see him in all his elegant beauty here. By the way, thanks for the visit. How are doing with your fountain series?
Pamela, I knew you would like Tito. I agree with you, concrete blocks, breeze block, or simply blocks are ugly. They make for a very efficient way to build houses, but they are horrible when left unpainted. I love how stone-walls and terra cota bricks looked when they are naked, but I dislike the look of breeze blocks.
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Meg says:
April 24, 2007 at 7:39 pm
Naughty you – how many times are you going to post cats!!
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Pamela says:
April 24, 2007 at 8:13 pm
It’s true, I’ve found very few cats that can’t get along with, but I have a very special black and white chap, Mico, sleeping here next to me – laid out on a blanket on top of the printer. 🙂
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This is Not a Cat Photo

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