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In Quintana Roo and the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico huts are commonly known as palapas and there are even hotels that advertise beach palapas to Gringos and Germans. Go figure. Some turistas prefer going native. So do many of the natives.

The whole concept of the palapa developed because the Maya of old would farm one area of the jungle for several years and then move to another area. Everything was renewable. The trees they cut for palapas would over a 20-30 year period grow back and the Maya would not go back into an area for that period of time so the jungle could actually rejuvenate.

It all worked well since a palapa could be built in a week or two. And jungle men like my friend Poot could build one using just one tool; his machete. But things changed. With population increases land was privatized or more commonly turned into 'ejidos' or communal farms. We live on one and so do many Maya.

In one of our huts there is no roof. Hurricane Dean took care of that. It wasn't thatched but we are converting. We'll have to go out to the ranch and cut some guano or palm fronds for the thatches; fortunately the wooden frame is intact so we don't have to replace that. On the ranch we have an older palapa and amazingly nothing happened to it; one hundred mile per hour winds could not knock it down.

A hurricane will blow the roof off a well constructed house since the hurricane winds form a vacuum inside the house and the roof is literally lifted off. Not so with palapas. In a bad hurricane the roof will lift up until the outside and inside pressures equalize, something more modern style constructions cannot do. Because of its natural construction the palapa will bend but not break.

The palapa roof is also cooler than conventional roofs. What is strange is to see a modern hotel with a thatched roof; it's not just the 'look and feel' for tourists. It's cooler and air conditioning costs in Mexico can be very expensive. Obviously a palapa cannot be air conditioned because it has no insulation.

The downside to the thatched roof is critters like rats and scorpions love to make their nests in the thatches. Last night we heard a rat and sure enough in the morning it had raided our food.

Another downside to a thatched roof is that it burns easily so smart palapa builders put their kitchen outside and away from the hut. Since most rural Maya still burn wood, the sparks can easily ignite a dry, thatched roof.

The palapa walls can be made of sticks or planks of wood. Our main palapa

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