Shrugging off the firestorm of criticism surrounding him, the guy from Garza spent the weekend digging out the entrance to what will soon be the tunnel beneath Guiones Beach Club – the all-important link in the new route from the Bodhi Tree turnoff to the beach.

“My cousin was up here helping me on Friday and Saturday, so we got a lot done,” he said to Nosara Lately, resting for a moment while his backhoe recovered from a minor overheating incident. “The hardest part was getting the angle right. If you get the angle wrong at the start of a tunnel like this, it’s bad.”

The new tunnel entrance is on the road leading up to Green Sanctuary. When Nosara Lately was on the scene, the tunnel extended about 25 feet past the entrance into the hillside, and then ended. “That’s all I’ve been paid for so far” said the guy from Garza. “I have another job up near 506, but I’ll be able to come work on it a few days more next week.”

Many have questioned the GBC tunnel contract being awarded to the guy from Garza. He completed the Bodhi Tree turnoff three times in two years – a fact that he points to with pride, while others see it differently. Many point out that the culvert under the turnoff was only about 55 feet, while the GBC tunnel is nearly 900 meters long.

“Well, that number depends on where we come out,” he said laconically. “Anyhow, I got my cousin helping me this time.”