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Tenerife Norte Airport from the road to La Atlántida * Tenerife * Sunday, 22 September - Friday, 27 September 2002 |
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Apple Expo Paris related info may be found in my special Expo Report non-Apple Computer related Paris trip info may be found in my Paris Report |
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Some linked pics / stuff may open in a new browser window for convenience |
22 September 2002, Sunday - As usual I got up a couple times during the night, and finally started a fresh pot of coffee at about 11h -- there were only some crackers and I made a cheese sandwich. It was sort of cloudy and the inside temperature was 64 degrees, where it has been all day, thus far. I had another weird dream -- this time for some reason with the Queen of Holland (I do not even remember if there is a queen in the Netherlands at this time!) -- she lived next door to a bar of some kind with a rooming house above which I had a small room, and her side door led to a passageway with a door to the bar and a mens' room -- I was sitting in the bar drinking coffee and had to use the bathroom -- a young dude with a napsack went in, there was another dude with a brief case sitting on the toilet, not in an enclosure, in a corner, and the two of them were talking about something related to assassinate the queen -- I left quickly. Somehow I met the queen in the street, a reporter was hanging around semi-discretely watching us, and I told her about the plot -- she told me to wait a half hour until she changed into something else. When she appeared again she was dressed in the clothes of the locals with a nondescript head scarf, no makeup or anything, and for some reason there was a safety pin in her lower left cheek. She was still very beautiful au natural.
We walked through the small town and caught a bus to another small town -- apparently nobody recognized her. We walked around for a while, sat in a park and chatted about things, then went for dinner -- the TV news was on, and they mentioned that a terrorist ring was apprehended and that they had intentions to kill the queen, who had mysteriously disappeared. We both quietly celebrated the news and started back via bus to where we started out. When the bus reached the stop, we both noted the same reporter lurking around, who seemed to take an interest in watching us. I whispered to her that we would walk normally along a side street with lots of traffic. He followed at a good distance from the other side of the street. There were many doors along both sides of the street, and when a a lot of cars and a bus approached, we ducked into a door, which luckily was pen. It was a whore house! We sat on a sofa and I suggested that the reporter would never look in here for us -- she mentioned how convenient it was and something to the effect that we should find a free room there for....... at this point I woke up! DAMN!
I remembered to take the Celebrex -- only have five more left. After my usual coffee I went outside and dug a couple more plants from around the house to plant in the restored plant section. This time, luckily, the roots were not that extensive and I only found a couple chunks of concrete and block fragments in the soil. One of the things I planted is a large-leafed one that there were many of planted in that section before. At this point I shall not plant anything else -- Horacio said he would bring some cuttings of different climbing flowering vines he has at his finca, including the hummingbird vine from Trenton. I assume that the next time I return, most of what he/I planted will have prospered, and all I would have to do is go down to the coast to get a couple car trunk fulls of callados, the rounded stones of all sizes I had between the plants before -- I have no idea where they all got to!
The cabinet thing in the living room was dry, so I put the few bottles of liquor, the brown glass dinner set, glasses of various kinds and some small musical thingys, including my Horner flute from when I studied in Germany in the early 60s, back in the lower sections having doors. Went out back for more lemons and made another liter of lemonade in a plastic bottle. Just heard on the radio that Arafat is once again isolated in his residence and that there was the usual trouble in that area. There is always a lot of news about the UN, Bush, the Iraq thing and Sadam, terrorist cells discovered here and there -- the usual crap that gets a little boring after a while. Also loads of Spanish political stuff, new proposed laws, cultural and art events, sports, a little music, and weather reports that are a lot more extensive than what I usually get on CBS radio at home -- it is Radio Nacional de España, which covers all of Spain, probably from Madrid. The German elections, and the pre-electoral campaigning of the main Spanish political parties are hot news.
I heard mention of some study about computer use in the Canaries, which is seemingly minimal on the personal and school level -- Horacio said that some few schools do have them, and it will probably take years until the recommendations of the study are ever put into effect. By that time Apple may have better sales in Europe, and Spain, in particular, and hopefully some of the educational centers may opt for using them.
The sun came out so I went out back to see if I could clean the steps and landings that go down too the huerta -- holy shit, it was like an archaeological excavation to find where the steps were, some with a couple inches of soil and overgrown with grass and the local weedy plants. I did down to where Manolo kept the dogs -- used an albañil's pick like (mason's pick) thing to remove what I could of the stuff, then hooked up the hose to the faucet in back of the house and washed them down -- I shall have to finish some of them off with the flat stone slabs that most of them already have (there are a lot of loose ones lying around), or even tiles that I might find and like. Now they look as they did, more or less, when I first got the place -- some work around the sides of the steps has to be done to keep the soil from washing onto them when it rains, which is easy enough using some cinder blocks and perhaps a wrought iron railing in a couple places. It is now 19:35 and the bruma is rolling down again. I am sort of getting hungry, but there is not too much in the fridge.
OK, I made a double decker sandwich with half the sliced meat I have left and some cheese, with wine and the last four cactus fruits. Am now on my usual java and I made a list of the most pressing things to paint inside next week. First will come the teakoil, simply because it takes so long to dry (a couple chairs, a table bottom, the mantel above the fire place and the bottom and feet of that large cabinet (I might like to do the teak wall at the fire place but will probably not have enough left) -- then my bedroom door, and I should start on the walls and ceilings of one of the rooms that has to be done. I am now going to make a large pot of green tea that I got in bulk the last time I was here, adding two teabags of boldo leaves, (German brand, of which I have several herbal varieties which I keep in tightly closed jars) just to vary a little -- it may last me two days. I also have many tins of British tea leaves, which I always used since I studied in Madrid (I prefer loose tea over tea bags, when available). Hung the five framed ceramic pieces to get them out of the way while the water was boiling.
The news has a lot about illegal immigrants arriving in the islands and elsewhere by boat -- and drowning in rough seas. hmmmmmm I know that I do not have the local time on the puter as exact as it should be, but today when my laptop chimes, the beeps on the radio sound at the same time (it is now 22h) -- this is sort of weird, and my little mind starts theorizing that the AirPort card I have in the TiBook might be picking up some kind of signals from the not too distant microwave retransmitters -- or could it be by satellite? Maybe just a coincidence?? Very strange, in any case. If it would only be that easy to get online and update my sites, then the dreamers, including myself, would be overjoyed! OK, out of curiosity I just checked and there is no AirPort connection in contact, not that I expected one.
How would I describe my first week here -- let me try this in as few words as possible. Great weather -- the house is in surprisingly good shape despite my prolonged absence -- many fond memories of Evelio and just as many odious ones of his santissima puta madre , Consuelo, are everywhere -- I have not done as much work on the inside as I thought I might have at this point, but did somewhat minor puttering around both inside and out. I have been sleeping better than I normally do in Trenton, and seem to be dreaming more than I have in years. I have seen more people and gotten out, including to eat, more than I ever seem to in New Jersey.
As in the States, I have spent many hours updating my news and activities into the early morning hours, but unfortunately cannot get it online as readily as I might like -- maybe a phone line might be useful for many things, among them contacting Horacio, and Bernar to see how things are back there -- perhaps next time I get here I shall see what it takes to install a line, but however they do it they would take forever for just the administrative things to activate themselves before they even get here to connect a line. It is now easier than when I got the place because there are now many phone lines on my road -- when I checked years ago they would have had to put up telephone poles and all the usual stuff -- and they would have charged me for it!
The same with the water -- I only had a deposit on the roof up to which stored rain water from the deposit beneath the bodega would be pumped, and the flow was miserably slow, only functioning due to gravity. Two visits ago they already had public water lines along the road (which was now paved instead of being just basically a dirt country road!), and I had it connected -- there is pressure, and the water flows as well, or better, than it does in Trenton -- plus it is deep well water, fresh and cold. I have not seen the beach water yet, and probably will not get the chance -- too many other things to think about hopefully doing.
The TiBook has been doing its job, and luckily the recharger works on the different current and my outlets are compatible without adaptors. The ordinary camera batteries do not seem to last as long as the rechargeable nickel-hydride ones I always use in NJ, and I do not have enough money to look for a recharger and batteries while here. I still have to find the special black antioxidation metal paint, and I may also need a gallon or two of inside white.
My hip has not been exceptionally painful except, basically, when I forgot to take the medication. Back home I rarely take the things -- but then again I am not as relatively active there as I have been here. I am more quietly happy than I have been in many years! Thanks again, Jöelle, for making all this possible.
I just heard on the radio that they turn back the clock at the end of October (or was it September?). Some 14 year old had Siamese twins, joined somewhere or other -- unmarried (GAWD, and this is a Catholic country!). According to a poll, 43% of the Spaniards would vote for the party that limits immigration from outside of the EC (which seems to be the trend throughout Europe). Horacio told me that a recent news item was that some woman found a penis on the beach -- it belonged to some dude who was in a nearby hospital! hmmmmm -- I wonder what all the juicy details were? Spain is different! The Archbishop of Barcelona said that a little marital abuse is not enough reason for divorve/separation because it is part of God's plan which includes, as it always did, things that do not go as they perhaps should and they should be suffered with saintly acceptance. They just mentioned a New Jersey concert of Springsteen!
The tea is good -- it is now 1h and time for bed. GAWD, I am shivering, so I put on some pajamas,
23 September 2002, Monday - I got up at 9h, took the med and had some crackers and tea -- gathered the load of trash from outside and inside and stuffed it in some trash bags -- put the stuff, and an old chair I found down where the dogs were, a bike and a lawnmower and the three large bags of stuff in front -- asked Monica if where I put it is OK -- no, it has to be piled up in the large plastic trash things just up the road -- the bike and lawnmower is Nuria's, her sister, so I took them back in and will put them down where the dogs were to get them out of the way.
I showered and got ready to go to La Laguna, which takes about five minutes. I parked in a lot behind the Facultad de Farmacia, and sort of got lost finding where Horacio was. I finally found him in a lab in Química Orgánica, on one end of the pharmacy school. He was working on some experiment
and took me to the computer room in which there are four PCs, a brand I never heard of. A co-worker came in and hooked up an ethernet cable to the laptop and we tried to connect. I played with the damn TCP/IP controls, trying different combinations, using the Explorer browser. Eventually it worked and I launched my ftp app, Fetch. The only thing I was able to do is get/remove a page but when I went to replace it with the revised one the connection disappeared somehow! I tried for over an hour to get the damn thing to work, but it would not connect. The battery was already down to the last charge line, so I gave up. If I do not find an alternate solution, my updates will have to get online at the end of the month when I get back to Trenton -- se fastidió el milagro electrónico del extranjero! I shall check the HELP thing to see if I can find some clear info about connecting later tonight, and maybe make one more try, using an ethernet cable from one of the other puters.
Horacio changed one of my last hundred dollar bills for a hundred Euros. I told him I needed coffee or would fall asleep, so we went to the bar -- each facultad has one for snacks and lunch. I was starving so I also got a tortilla tapa. It was now 12:30, too late to go to the bank, so I decided to go to a large place, Leroy Merlin, on the road down the hill to the capital city, Santa Cruz der Tenerife -- sort of like Home Depot but way larger with a much better selection of stuff, to get two cans of that special black metal paint I need and one of beige for the inside trim -- also got two cans of brush cleaner, a four-pack of batteries for the camera, wood glue, a pot of romero and two of xxx, pink and red -- and two hanging basket planters with shredded coconut liner for Bernar. They had loads of really kewl tiles, very Euro and unlike the usual junk back there -- now I know where the new floor tiles will come from. Returned back to La Atlántida, stopping along the way for five liters of gas -- at 0.97 Euros/liter. Also got some cookies and a banana cake to munch on.
I changed, put on some shorts to try to get some sun, and started to plant the things -- Alexis' parents were passing by and stopped in to say hello -- Doña Blanca liked the flowers. I then opened the teakoil, took some chairs and a large base for two monster ceramic water jugs out to the driveway and started to work on them -- wanted to get this painting out of the way because it takes a couple days to dry -- also did the bottom frame of the large cabinet. It started getting dark, and I only finished three chairs and the ceramic stand.
It is 22h and all of a sudden I am sort of cold -- shut all the windows for the first time since I have been here, shut a couple inside doors, and put on one of the few long sleeve shirts I have here -- and I do not have a knit cap or anything that can substitute. It says 66 degrees -- maybe I need some food or something. OK, a sandwich and I am working on my second glass of wine. I lit the catalytic butane space heater and rolled it into my study -- I got the thing the last time I was here -- it was a December/January, as I recall, coldish, rainy and very damp.
OK, I checked the TCP/IP control panel and it should have worked. Whether the ethernet cable should be attached to the TiBook before going to the control panel, if it should be connected to the wall or the puter first, or if the puter has to be restarted before using it is an unknown but could have to do with how it theoretically functions. It is automatic and should just work! Joder!
OK, tea and a big piece of banana cake -- I do feel warmer already -- 23h and the radio is beeping again at the same time as the puter -- shall put the heater in the bedroom before I turn in.
More than a million illegals have attempted to get to Spain this year -- many Moroccans to several of the Canary Islands, and the coast around Gibralter. Almost every day they mention arrivals to several of the seven islands -- after all, it is only a short distance between coasts, sort of like Florida and Cuba. Spain and Morocco are at it again over some dumb rocks near the Strait of Gibraltar. The stock market had another baja (low) , as did that in the States. Poor Arafat is isolated in Ramala. An explosion of some sort in Bilbao, in NE Spain, in the Barcelona area, more or less.
I just moved the heater to the bedroom -- it is almost 23:30, and I shall try to get to bed at about midnight -- buenas noches -- hasta mañana.
24 September 2002, Tuesday - It is now 21h -- let us see what I did today. Got up at 9, had the last of the tea, a piece of banana cake and some cookies -- cleaned a small hallway to the bathroom and scraped the window tiles in front of my study, the darkroom and the bedroom with a razor blade in a plastic scraper thing -- wanted to clean the moss and some old paint spots -- mixed 500ml of sealer with an equal part of water -- the object of the game is to seal the old composition floors against the moisture which always creeps up, and to keep the rain from seeping through the outside window tiles -- I have to do this to the floors in all the rooms, but have to move things and do parts of the floor, then move more things and do another floor area. Bernar and I used the same liquid to seal a new unglazed tile floor in a recent construction in West Trenton.
In the meantime Manolo and Antonia stopped by to give me a bunch of old mail he did not send me, and a long list of things he paid for me which amounts to exactly what Alexis paid me for the ground he expropriated! He saw the cleaned back steps and said he might improve them when he has time. He liked all the plants I already have in the raised plant areas. He suggested that he would remove that large Agave and another one, since I already planted some small ones, and take out the zarza (spiney blackberry weeds) that was growing rampant in back of the bodega where I only want that hormongous plant that you can see in the header of this page (the small room seen in that pic is a storage room for garden tools). I tood him I was cleaning up the yard in front of the house, and he said he would get to that too, and trim the plum trees again.
It was now noon, and I wanted to go to the Ayuntamento in Tacoronte to see where they are getting the Contribución (local taxes on the property and the trash collection), which should be coming from my checking account, but apparently is not. Then, finally, to the bank to see what is happening with the payments and all. Unfortunately it was sort of late as things close at 13h, and I was really starving already and needed to get some food.
Took the car down the hill and got some ham, cheese, eggs, yoghourt, cookies, a package of magdalenas (a smallish cake I always snack on), onions, an ajo (I cannot remember the name in English!), two kitchen sponges, bread, strawberry jam (I wanted cherry but apparently around here they do not have it), a large chocolate bar, a Spanish version of the French chocolate-nut paste that I used in Paris, two packages of ground coffee, bananas and kiwis. When I returned I immediately made some lunch, coffee, and decided to start painting the entrance gate with Hammerite, that anti-rust black paint I always use -- I first had to scrape the globs of cement from the works, which was sort of easy but time consuming -- them wiped it all and started on the right outside part. The sun finally came out, and when I finished that part of the gate there was very little paint left, so I scraped the wrought iron grill in front of my study and painted that, something I wanted to do the last time I was here but could not due to the constant rains. It was just past 19h and I took the study aluminum windows out and cleaned the tracks which, after a few years, collect dirt and other crap. Cleaned the third window glass in the living room, and brought in that stand for the ceramic water jugs which was more or less dry already. Then I started trying to uncover the driveway at the entrance of the property, overgrown with grass, but it was getting dark and I was sort of poopped already, so I decided to make my first real sort-of meal here -- an omelet with onion, ajo, and a can of tuna I had from the last visit -- used two large brown eggs. With bread and wine it was yummy! Had a banana and kiwi for desert. I closed the windows again before it gets too cool -- it is now 66 degrees inside and I do not feel cold as I did last night, but just put on long pants just to be on the safe side.
23h, and I just cleaned the tops and what can be seen of shelves of six things loaded with books and other stuff in the study and living room -- plus the ceramics and glass on the shelves and on top. I was going to do the bookcases in the bedroom and paint them with teakoil, but it is about time to get to bed so I can get up early enough to get to the bank in the morning.
25 September 2002, Wednesday - I slept poorly, waking frequently or simply just not falling asleep worrying about what I still wanted to do. Had a fast breakfast, opened the windows as usual and left -- opted for the road that Horacio takes to La Laguna, a round about way through the airport to San Benito which avoids the main entrance at Padre Anchieta that leads to the main street, La Trinidad, which is always loaded with cars and then one has to find one-way streets to get anywhere. I found a parking space in La Calle La Higuera, a few blocks from the cathedral which is closed for much needed repairs, and the bank -- and where Horacio and Ima live.
The bank was totally changed inside. I went to a window and asked where I can change some dollars -- and discovered that I left my wallet at home! It was about 10:30h, and not enough time to find the car (luckily I wrote where I parked it in my notebook!), go up to Barranco las Lajas (the barrio where the house is), back down, and find a parking space again, which is much more difficult than in New York City! So I went to another person to check on my pension thing, checking and savings accounts -- luckily I had some papers in my attache case (sans laptop) to identify myself and the accounts. The bank merged with Argentaria last year and all the accounts were changed -- thus the bills were not being paid -- plus, everything is now in Euros and not pesetas, as it was the last time I was here! El Libretón, my savings account, was placed in an inactivo something or other, and the lady has to make it active through Madrid. Hopefully tomorrow I shall get there early and have things organized again, whick may be wishful thinking the way they do things here -- almost every time I get here, something changes with the freekin bank! She could not find my Banco de Vizcaya stocks -- I had about 200 of the things since 1986, and unlike investors I know back in the States, I never once checked to see how they were doing in all this time -- Horacio also has some and said it was very low.
I think the pension cost me some 5k pesetas/month (the lowest participation available at the time), which would have come from the savings account in which the stock dividends were stashed -- I started it in July 1996, and apparently it gives 7% interest/year. She gave me some kind of a printout which I do not understand, but I suspish that it has not been being paid for I have no idea how long, and I shall have to update the payments somehow. I have no idea if I have anything in the savings account to pay it with -- the dividends were never really that much. So I guess I may get more exact info in the morning.
I left to look for stamps and somebody behind me called my name -- it was Ima -- pequeño pueblo, this! She said that Horacio would stop up to my place after lunch, and that I could get the stamps at a shop on the other side of the cathedral -- when I got there I remembered I did not have my wallet. So there was not much more to do in La Laguna and I went to find the car -- it took a couple questions to passerbys. Near the car was the Ciber Cafeteria New York, so I went in to see how they function. It is in a bar area having pool tables (a favorite passtime here, which I sometimes played), a couple of those European fusball games, and in a raised area were about twenty PCs in individual smallish work areas -- no room to have a laptop. I asked the dude if it would be possible to connect the TiBook, but he said they do not permit it, for whatever reason -- but that I could burn a CD with what I had to transfer and do it that way, which was at least an alternative. Did he have CDs -- yes, three Euros -- I saw my monedero in the attache case and went to pay for the thing only to discover it was full of the old peseta coins! Holy shit, nothing sems to be working the way it should have -- and, hey, I really do always try to plan things ahead of time! OK, on the way back to the car I stumbled onto a small computer shop -- all PCs, and no, there are few Apples on the island, and the guy could not say if there was a distributor or place where they are sold. I asked about IPs (internet providers) and he gave me a folleto of the one they must represent. No, there are no CDs all over the place, as AOL does it in the States -- one gets the software when they sign up for a provider.
From what I can see in the brochure, modem access, using one of the five yearly plans, it costs from 84 to 243 Euros/year, with from 300 hours online/year to the higher priced unlimited access from 18h - 08h during the week, and all day long on weekends and national holidays. Hey, with a couple Xservers I could start a new IP here -- but one detail escapes me thus far -- how they connect by phone, and if the calls are local or are charged as normal phone calls, which as I understand it are still charged by the minute.
OK, back to La Atlántida -- had some bananas, kiwis, fresh coffee and cookies for lunch and changed into shorts to continue painting the other side of the gate. I had one can left, and it should do the job. When I started, Horacio appeared and I told him about the bank stuff -- he cut one of the elephant ear plants down that was growing in a corner in front, planted one in the back and took one for his finca. He went for more black paint, but could not find any at the store he went to. In the meantime Manolo and Antonia showed up again and met Horacio, exchanging phone numbers in case they ever had to contact each other about me or whatever. Horacio said that I should check when I leave there because I kept saying Saturday -- good thing he asked because I leave here at 07h Friday morning -- and Manolo invited me down for lunch on Friday! I must have been thinking of Saturday, which is when I leave Paris to return to JFK. The days have been fleeting by, and I do not even remember what day of the week it is, just trying to do things before I leave. From what I can see I shall not have time to do anything in the bodega, or very much in the guest room. I still have not painted any walls and ceilings, and checked the paint I have left, there is not very much white even for a room. I continued painting after they left -- it was getting sort of dark when I finished the outside of the gate and there was some paint left on the bottom of the can, so I used it to just cover the major rust spots on three window grills -- finished the can and it was dark already -- cleaned the brush and the paint on my legs and hands. It is now 22:19 and I have to make a sandwich for dinner.
OK, I opted to do a 11 Verdura soup and a half-pound package of small noodles (just to make it seem like more) I had in the kitchen from the last trip -- shall add two eggs about five minutes before it is done, which I do every so often. The soup should be done at 23h -- with any luck I may have some left for breakfast. I am just lucky that the large tank of butano in the kitchen was more or less full from last time to be able to cook and shower -- the one in the heater is also available in case I run out.
NO WAY -- it is now 23:41 and I ate the entire monster pot of soup! I guess I must be sort of famished or something? It is 68 degrees inside, probably from cooking. I have not even gone to any of the many local bars/eateries for snacks or a meal -- it entered my mind, but I wanted to stay up here and get some stuff done and the time just flew by and I only did a small part of what I hallucinated I would do -- as usually happens. One bottle of wine left, the one Horacio gave me from his finca. OK, the radio and puter are now both chiming midnight again. It just occurred to me that the time almost has to be exact because when I was online in Trenton, it would automatically adjust itself, and when I changed time zones a couple times, in Paris and here, the basic hour/minutes remained the same -- duh! So much for my weird theories!
Apparently GE did better than expected, and the NY stock market was slightly higher. The Ministro de Sanidad decreed that frozen embryos may be used for reproductive purposes -- hey, what else can they be used for, tortillas? That explosion in Bilbao was a local terrorist bomb, and a Guardia Civil was killed.
26 September 2002, Thursday - OK, folks, this is my last day here to try to do some things. I did not sleep too well and was up by 07h, showered and had my usual cookies and coffee and a couple bananas for breaklfast. I sorted out the pile of mail from the bank that Manolo left me, some about two years old -- gathered the papers I needed for the bank and my wallet this time, and was on my way at about 9h. I took the airport round about road again and on the way down stopped at a paint store to see if they had the black I used -- I was amazed to find a dude whose desk had several old PCs on it, disassembled with new hard drives sitting around -- I asked him about the phone thing and being online and he said one needs a divided phone line, one for calls and the other for use as an IP, and they are both provided by the Telefonica, although there are a couple other new companies jockying prices to get new subscribers. I did not have time to really go into details. No, they did not carry the paint but could order it -- it would take a couple days, but if I had that much time I could get it immediately at the large place I bought it at before.
Not a lot of traffic getting to La Laguna and I found parking on a street parallel to where I parked yesterday -- and this time the attache case was heavier because I brought the laptop to make one last attempt to update my pages.
Doña Suzi Quintero was at her desk at the entrance of the bank, and after she took care of someone before me, we got to work to see how things would be rearranged this time. I had a savings and checking account before and she suggested that only a cuenta corriente was really necessary -- why should I be paying two maintenance fees for the two things if the Libretón was not giving interest as it used to 15 years ago -- OK, so I would have a new checking account. She could use the data from the previous bills for the Luz and Agua and have those paid out of the account -- she wrote a couple bank ID numbers on the slips for the trash collection and local property taxes which would have to be taken to the Ayuntamiento in Tacoronte to start paying them through the bank -- the problem was that she needed the new checking accout number and she would not have that until tomorrow!
The pension plan was made inactive even though it continued acruing interest -- instead of paying the payments I missed because the checking account disappeared due to inactivity and no funds, she suggested sending in a large amount in December, when they always have a special end of year offer to add an aportación extraordinaria (I assume for tax purposes, as in the States) the sum of which would depend on the plan one started with, among other things, and then they give some kind of premium depending on the sum added -- I said a car would be nice, but she said it could be a CD player or TV or whatever. OK, another thing apparently was functioning again and they would start collecting payments in October.
She needed my Spanish ID, the NIF (Número de Identificación Fiscal) -- mine was an old one, which was still valid, but the new ones also have a photo on them, so I also gave her my passport which, of course, identified me as myself (up to that point I could have been anybody with some papers) -- she had to take the stuff to the director because she was not sure if what I had was OK, but it apparently was and we continued. The old signature cards were still valid, so they would not have to be redone/updated.
The checks, new credit card and other updated papers would be ready by next Thursday, more or less -- I know they take time with administrative things, so I was not really too surprised. I then gave her my last four hundred dollar bills to change to Euros and put in my new account so things would get paid -- she also could not do that until tomorrow (by this time it was close to closing), but gave me the usual stamped receipt. Then she tried to find the stocks in the bank I had but seemingly could not get into that section on the computer. I had two hundred bank stocks, as mentioned above, and at the time each was worth 10k pesetas, more or less equivalent to about 60 Euros -- it is now somewhere between 6 and 9 Euros, so I asked her, when and if there is anything left in my savings, that I would want 300 bank stocks -- forget utility, pharmaceutical, tech and other stocks -- any bank makes piles of money in the long term. I told her I had called their office in New York several times over the last three years to see if I could put something in the account from the USA, but they always replied they are not able to do that yet, but it was in the works -- yeah, slow works, as usual. I even tried their online pages but since I did not have any valid numbers or anything to work with, I never got very far. OK, it must have been an hour and a half that she was getting things set up and all, extremely helpful with all the administrative details, which I greatly appreciated because everything seemed to be almost working again. I said I was leaving for Paris tomorrow and that Horacio might be able to pick up the stuff next week.
I then wanted to get to the Mercado Municipal before it closed at 13h, and only had a few minutes left. Stopped at the post office to get some stamps, but the two lines were just not moving at all so I left and went to the market. The stand where I usually get the green tea had others but none of what I wanted (they would have it in a week) -- there was one other herb/spice stand and they had it, so I got 500g and it only cost 6 Euros -- when I could find it in the Trenton area, a smallish can cost me almost that much, and this stuff is fresh, in bulk! A nearby stall had a specialty from the island of El Hierro, Quesadillas, small cheese pie-like things which are unbelievably yummy -- I used to get them by the dozen at about 100 pesetas/each (which was about 60 cents at the time -- now they are 1.5 Euros! I was shocked, and the lady said that when they switched to Euros, just about everything really went up in price and fewer people now buy them -- I said I wanted six, but changed my mind to eight so I might hopefully have at least two left to bring back to Trenton for Bernar. I got to the animal stand just as they were closing -- as usual they had some dogs, cats (including a couple Siamese, the old apple-headed kind I used to breed), some aquarium fish and small turtles, and loads of different kinds of birds including various species of chicken-like ones, parakeets, pidgeons and many kinds of song birds. All the other stands in the bazaar section were already closed.
The plaza in front of the mercado is a delightful tree-shaded area with a fountain that was working the last time I was here -- people sitting and leisurely chatting, others reading or just soaking up the sun -- I walked around that area and took some pics of the narrow streets and some of the typical architecture
I found another computer place, Cyberlaguna, near the post office, and the friendly dude allowed me to connect my TiBook to his ethernet hookup, and we attemped to get online several times but it simply did not function -- the cable was type 5 and should have worked. I finally gave up trying to update my news until I get back to Trenton -- some little neglected detail was perhaps the reason why it did not work as it should, and quite frankly I am more than a little disgusted at my inability to do anything from Spain. It simply means that I shall have to load the new stuff and changes as soon as I get home, and sobre la marcha, until probably mid-October, finalize the trip material with things I have to scan and comment on.
My hip was sort of OK and walking was not as labored as it had been before, thanks to the dumb med, and perhaps moving more than I usually do. Now I headed to Horacio's place instead of going to the uni lab to try the internet thing again -- I assumed that if I did not show up at the lab he would come home -- it was now about 14h. I saw an art show still open at the Barcelona Bank La Caixa) gallery, and went to see the works -- there are many Salas de Exposición in La Laguna and other main towns here -- when I lived here I would go to evey show opening and knew most of the artists of that time. This was a show of works by Luis Galán of the island of La Palma, and was abstract, some quite interesting.
When I got to Horacio's, Ima was making lunch and she called Horacio that I had arrived. The turtles got active when I walked into the living/dining room, as usual. Shortly thereafter Horacio arrived and I toild him what I understood of the bank -- he said he would get the stuff and send them to me, and we got together a letter to Doña Quintero saying he could pick up the things, which hopefully will be ready late next week -- barring unforeseen circumstances, of course. Lunch was a soup having a thin cabbage-like plant, chorizo and other goodies -- fried sweet red peppers, mushrooms and onion, and a meat dish -- a bottle of wine, of course. I gave him one of my new gate keys, and said I would leave whatever food was left for him to take back with him. I asked about the wash he took, but he forgot the stuff and it was still in his car trunk -- not a major problem as I was going to leave a lot of things here to wear the next time. Ima and I did the huggy kissy thing, and Horacio walked me back to where I had the car, probably about six or seven streets away. It was now around 17h.
Back home -- I gathered together some small plants to bring back with me and decided not to even think about cleaning or doing more than was already done inside -- the temperature was 69 degrees -- the inside of the gate was not done, but I can do that and some of the other stuff on my next trip, I guess -- you can see a lot of grass that crept over parts of the driveway, some of which I pulled out yesterday night.
I went down to Alexis' and took a couple pics of some of his volcanic rock sculptures and said goodby to his parents. They showed me his work area in a large garage and some finished things in a large room. The page I make for him will be linked here when I get back to Trenton.
As I started processing the pics I took today, Manola and Antonia arrived, on their way to the south. I told him I could not pay him for the bills and new gate he paid for until Horacio sends me the checkbook and I know what is still left in the stupid account -- meaning I shall have to start doing the eBay thing as soon as I get home to get things paid off as soon as I can. I did not have a chance to check the receipts he gave me yet, but apparently it comes to about a thousand Euros, including the new gate, water, electricity, trash removal and the local taxes over about three years. It is now midnight and I have to stay up until I leave for the airport at about 05h.
27 September 2002, Friday - My last few hours here -- have to gather together what I want to take with me, take the sheets and all off the bed, put moth balls around -- got a couple boxes of them last time and they are still half full. Hope to take the boxes of books and other junk off the sofa and stuff them in the guest room, sweep the floors where I did not before. I just turned off the fridge, hopefully in time to let the ice melt that built up in the freezer section since the door does not shut as it should, but there is so much buildup that I doubt it will be even loose before I leave! The extra food is stacked on the counter for Horace to pick up when he gets here.
I wrote out the post cards I got yesterday in La Laguna and, if the post office is open in Paris, they will have to go out from there later today. I piled all the Expo stuff and some other folders and things in the duffle bag. Put the tools in the darkroom. The ice I chipped out was enough to fill the sink -- was going to make snow balls and throw them at the dogs that are going wild barking on the othet side of the new wall -- went out and got the plants I am taking and put them in plastic ziplock baggies. It is now 02:30h. I also brushed some of that liquid I had left to seal part of the floor in the guest room, and have another mug of coffee and am finishing off an open pack of those cookie-like things I have -- still have four packs for the trip. Put the boxes of books and some other stuff that were on the couch in the living room since ther last time I was here in the back room just to clean that area more than I had before. I think I will rest a little while in bed before finishing packing -- it has been a long 24 hours thus far and I have been yawning. A little more than two hours before I leave, hopefully.
At 04:15 I shaved, put all the trash in the bag and shall take it out when I leave -- took the sheets off the bed and rolled the few more things that have to be washed in them -- the fridge is almost ice free; what little is left can evaporate -- I still have to change and close the carry-on -- the dogs must have finally gone to sleep -- closed all the windows and curtains -- on the radio is a talk show about artesania, ceramics and other varieties -- took the regulators off the two large butane tanks and capped them.
All that is left is to load the stuff in the car, shut the lights off in the bodega, the water main and put the handle under a rock for Manolo when he needs it for something, lock up and be on my way to the airport. I guess the light from the car will help in the darkness.
At 05h I was on my way -- no traffic to the airport -- parked the Renault in the totally deserted and completely dark rental car parking area and went to the unexpectedly closed doors of the terminal -- I mean if a flight leaves in slightly over two hours, there should be something going on?? A large flight board was visible through the doors and the first one that said Madrid was at 10:15, so I took out my ticket to see what my flight was and all -- different flight number and time -- something must be wrong. So I just stood there at the closed doors, puzzled and wondering what was wrong -- a bus pulled up, nobody on it but the driver, then drove away -- this was beginning to seem like a surrealistic happening. A while later two young German-looking dudes showed up -- one was schlepping two suitcases and the other absolutely nothing (now why could I not find that sort of arrangement?) -- I looked up at the direction signs on the wall and saw a departures arrow pointing around the other side of where I was languishing for over 20 minutes already. So I started wheeling my stuff along the left side of the arrivals building -- but there was no departures section there. OK, I thought, maybe it is just a tad further on -- in the meantime, the two germanic hunks were headed in my direction, passed me and kept going, which suggested that they were also departing and knew where to go -- I followed them, having to stop several times along the way to catch by breath because my chest was seemingly exploding due to the weight of all the stuff (and the unbalanced bulk) I was dragging with me.
OK, so the departures building is the old one that served for everything, and it was totally at the other end of the freekin airport complex! By time I got there I was half dead and sweating like a wart hog! There were several dozen people in a couple different check-in lines, none of which had anyone on the working end yet! Luckily I found a luggage cart and put my three goodies on it, put it in the Iberia line, and sat down on a chair. I was still yawning and very tired. At about 6:15 one could note a couple airline employee-looking zombies wandering around, and in another 15 minutes they sort of figured out they were on the payroll to process the check-in lines -- a couple lines opened, some for group tour operators. I finally checked in and had to figure out where to leave the rental car keys and the envelope that had the hour I left it parked and the new mileage -- the starting kilometers was 75,421 -- the km when I left the thing was 75,525, which translates into: I drove some 104 kilometers in about 13 days, which seems excessive probably due to the original number being written wrong by them on the envelope -- what a waste of car rental money! It probably would have cost me one tenth what I paid for the freekin car by using taxis and/or busses! I asked a guard and he said there was a box under the stairs to put the key in -- so I looked under all the few stairs there were there on the lower level and did not see any boxes, but oh, yes, there was really small row of teensy mailbox type things on the wall near the other entrance door -- not exactly what I might describe as under the stairs! I had to take the key out of the envelope and stuff it in the box because apparently there was already something in this 8 x 8 inch receptacle -- then folded up the envelope and stuffed it in afterward! Curiously on the envelope it said if you had any suggestions to write them on the back of the envelope -- yeah, like I was going to try to get the thing out of there now to suggest they spend a couple Euros to buy a much larger key deposit!
OK, using the handy-dandy elevator I got all my treasures up to the second level where the departure gates were. I did the security thing and after a short wait, the flight was called. I dragged all my crap down the stairs onto the waiting bus, then up the stairs to the airplane -- the usual thing. Then when I finally, totally out of breath got my feet onto the plane, a short Napoleon-like pilot or something started going on and on about how I had too much stuff, to which I replied that they were the same things I brought from Paris, through Madrid and here (but, hey, did I not already see this part of the movie?!) -- got the two bags into the overhead compartments, got a freekin window seat that some really fat guy on the aisle did not want to switch -- we were off -- the sun was beginning to appear above the distant horizon -- breakfast was served, and whatever it was I had my usual vino tinto with it -- I continued yawning -- in about two hours we were in Madrid -- had to set the watch ahead an hour -- luckily the connecting flight to Paris was in the same building, so I just sat at a cafe with a coffee and tried to stay awake the couple hours. I might have liked to see Madrid after not droppng in for so long, but the trip fom the airport if really long, and the time gets sort of knap.
OK, flight to Paris called, nobody said a word about the stuff I was dragging with me (I guess thy figured if I was dumb enough to be a mulo cargado, it was my problem, not theirs) -- got an aisle seat, more leg room, and a really yummy lunch of empanadillas (something I was amazed that I remembered the name of because it was so many years ago I last had it), some baked salmon, a salad of cuscus, yoghourt, bread, wine and coffee -- luckily there were two fit and trim French gals sitting beside me and they did not want their goodies, so I actually got three plane rations of the main mini-course (which might, en conjunto, equal perhaps one half of what a normal meal might be). When we landed, one of he flight hostesses suggested rolling the duffle bag handles around the pop up handle of the carry-on, and the attache case on top of that, which did result in easier moving because I could keep my cane in my left hand, as usual, while everything else rolled, sort of -- the duffle bag was a lot heavier on one end due to the carry bags of Expo goodies I stuffed in the bottom and kept turning over the entire neato looking construction.
When I get back to NJ I have to scan a couple things and complete these pages, so feel free to stop back in mid-October. Hasta luego.
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