Driving me Crazy!

It's Summer Time, but unlike it has been for such a long time. I'm sure it has been as hot as we are experiencing it here in Spain before, but even for me, a confirmed hot weather fan, when the temperature goes over forty celisus, we know we are in trouble.

When you sweat just because you are moving your mouth, it's time to find an airconditioned anything and don't move. Between the hours of 11 am and 7pm, I think the heat must be  actually deadly. Animals and the elderly should be inside. Several years ago one of my dogs died because the heat gave him sunstroke.

I have an elderly neighbour who I am worried about. She stays indoors all day, but they do not have airconditioning. She tells me she is finding it difficult to simply breathe, both day and night when sleeping is near impossible.

My car airconditioner chose this year to breakdown. Normally I don't worry about it, but this year, driving along with the windows down is like letting fire in the car. I have taken to doing nothing at all during the daylight hours. My day begins at 6pm when I start with watering the plants. Any other work leaves me soaked to my skin, so following anything energetic is a welcome shower. However, even then I must have a fan in the bathroom to cool me down when I step out of the shower, otherwise I will sweat as though I were still under the water.

It's peculiar to actually wish for a cloudy day, and some rain. I am reminded though to be very careful what I wish for. My wish might come true way beyond my expectations.

Copyright (c)  2012   Eugene  Carmichael

Rototom Reggae SunSplash!

BIG UP YOUSELF MON!

ROTOTOM REGGAE SUNSPLASH!

As I write this, about 25,000 people, many being French and Italian, are really enjoying themselves at this year's Reggae Festival in Benicassim, so what could I possibly find to complain about? Well, plenty, actually, although in the spirit of Jah-Love Rasta Mon, my complaints are already sounding in my head more like simple comments.

The problem was that I had never attended a mega-concert in Benicassim before, and had only driven through the town, so I didn't know the lay of the land. I had read of people who had attended events at SunBeach and Harmony Beach, so that is where I assumed the concerts take place. I drove into the town, expecting large signs pointing the way to the concert grounds. Nothing!

I arrived on the 15th, the day before the event because I really wasn't sure that I wanted to be a part of the first day's crowd on the 16th. I'm not at all good with masses of people, but on the 15th there was going to be some free music. I thought this would have been rehearsal-type things going on, so I drove the two hours from my house and accidentally parked very near to where I should have been for what would be on offer.

I decided that I had better pay a visit to the Tourist Info office. I followed the signs, but the trouble is that while you are in your car you will likely drive past that office without even seeing it because of the need to watch the traffic. Finally, I asked a policeman who pointed me in the right direction,but he said that he thought they might have been closed due to the public holiday.

Shit! I got back in my car and went to find the beach venues, expecting to see major staging. I drove round and around, and finally found the beach road and added myself to the congestion along that route, but couldn't find anywhere that looked like a major event was in preparation. That was not surprising  as what takes place along the beaches is recorded music and games and live radio shows. So where the hell is this mega concert supposed to take place?

I drove back up into the city centre and parked the car in the original car park, and set out on foot, this time I accidentally came upon the Tourist Info office. It was open! Oh joy, now I could at least get some proper information and a friggin map.  The major concert site, although in Benicassim, is in reality across the N-340 on the inland side, and so far removed from where people actually live that it might as well be in the next county. It is across the road from Aquarama. But still I'm wondering, where is the bloody entrance? Still no great big sign directing newcomers to the parking lot.

Well, I figured at least let me get on the other side of the N-340, that would be a start. So, I'm now driving in the direction towards Valencia, and I'm not getting any help, when my thoughts turn towards just keep going. In two hours I'll be back home. Suddenly I find myself in a line of stopped cars that appear to be going into the Repsol gas station. Well, I did need fuel, so I stayed in line, only to find that this was the line of cars entering the parking lot for the concert. Bloody hell!

So far, I had encountered absolutely no organisation at all. I don't know if the FIB concerts are as badly organised. They take place on the same site, and the thing is that these people have been doing these concerts for so long they could be forgiven for not realising that not everybody knows exactly where everything is.

I get parked and realise I have to stand in line to get my arm band to permit me entrance. So, I stand in the appropriate line, and after a very long, patience draining wait, I get to the ticket window and announce that I am a retired person and am there to receive my free entrance arm band. The young girl took my passport and started entering info in her computer, and the more she tried the more confused she became. Her supervisor came over and looked at my data, then she asked whether my age was accredited? Only by my passport, my driver's license and my Residencia, all of which they had.

The young guy standing next to me said he thought that what they were really saying was that they didn't believeI was still up at that hour of the night. Do you mean that they can't believe that I'm still vertically up?  Much laughter! Seems I was the only retired person, and at 73 I didn't seem to be that old, and why would I have wanted to attend a reggae concert that runs all through the night anyway?

Finally the supervisor went and found an armband that stated "Over 65" and invited me to come every night, with their compliments. But on that night, there would not be anything taking place in the main stage area. For the free taster concert I had to go back over the N-340 into the town where the concert was happening. So, I tried to get out of the car park. The buggers didn't even have a SALIDA sign up, so I made several wrong turns.  By this time these people were really playing with me head, Mon!

When I got back in the centre of the city the car park where I had previously parked twice was jammed. I drove around and around, and while looking for some place on a back street I turned into a street and drove to the top of the hill and found a vacant spot in a strange area, but what the hell, I could finally get rid of the car. I walked to the Plaza de la Constitución and enjoyed the concert in motion until midniht at which time it came to an end. However, at one time I was standing near to the stage under an area with a roof, and the smell of marijuana smoke was so powerful it was giving me a contact high. There were also several children there and something was definately wrong with them as well. I started to feel dizzy; I had a headache, and I was hungry, so I went and had something to eat, then thought about either having a sleep in my car, or starting the long drive home.

I went to retrieve my car, only to realise I had parked in the parking lot of the Ayuntamiento, apparently in the mayor's place. Forget sleeping in the car! I headed home at 1:30am, knowing that no matter how tired I was I had to stay alert. Hint: it worked out O.K., but in spite of wearing my armband until Saturday night, I never actually went back to Rototom.

Perhaps next year!

RASTAFARI !

Copyright (c) 2012    Eugene Carmichael  

London Olympic style Traffic Headache

A Road not for Driving

I freely admit that I am writing this from afar, but at the best of times traffic in London is a real pain. I know this from having lived in the city, so I am using my imagination to compound the problems people usually have on a daily basis to get around, and add to that all the many visitors to the city for the Games.

The first thing we have to understand is that the Olympics is a business, one that jealously guards its trademark and products. The games have drawn so many people to England, and of course this is very good for most merchants who operate businesses for consumers. Restaurants, lodgings, transport, souvenier sellers, etc, however, if it says London 2012 or Olympics you will have paid very big bucks for the right to sell your goods.

This may all be very well, but if you live and or work in London, or anywhere near where events are taking place, I imagine your life may have been turned upside down, and possibly you may be wishing for tonight's closing ceremony. We have been concentrating so much on all the positive things that are derived from these Games, but on the other side of the coin there will naturally be the need to make accommodation by those who find themselves in the middle of things.

However, it is really good to see that the East End of London has got itself a fabulous makeover. Apart from transport by bus and private car, if you are a little crazy, its good to see the use of the river, and zip lines and  ariel lines to get people to the games as alternatives. Personally, for me these games have generated far too many people in one place. I am not good with crowds, so it has been better for me to watch the whole thing on television. I imagine that I have been missing the live ambience  of being in the stadiums, but I can live with that.

For all the bother of being there and getting there and back, I think that the games have been wonderful and I will look forward to the games in Brazil. I'm sure you will also!

Copyright (c)  2012    Eugene Carmichael

Back on the Road Again!

Me, back at work!

I must apologise for having been off-line for so many weeks. As a result of a blogger revamp my blogs were available to me in read-only mode, so I could not access them to add any new information. Now, at long last I have access again and I can also tell you that a part of the problem was that I have been away on a road trip holiday throughout northern Spain. For over two weeks I didn't open my computer, in spite of the fact that I carried my laptop with me. My wife made good use of it, but I really do believe that man is wired to need downtime when you completely change your routine.

Could you do that? Would it be possible to deliberately avoid all the toys that have become a part of our everyday lives?  It is difficult the first few days, but then I decided to also turn off my mobiles, and with that I could feel a sense of freedom coming over me. I do not live a life that is full of stress as I am a retired person. However, we do accumulate a degree of stress within our routines, and just the change is as good as a rest.

We did a road trip loop of southern Spain before, and this time we did the north western region, starting with the north of Madrid. In this area we visited The Royal Monastery of Escorial which is a Monastery established by Royal Decree. The monks were supposed to pray for the monarchy, and it is the final resting place of Spain's Kings and Queens, and lesser royals. There is a place reserved for the present Royal family as well.

Nearby, there is located "La Valle de los Caidas" or The Valley of the Fallen. This is a magnificent monument to the former dictator of Spain, General Franco. All the publicity suggests that it represents the fallen on both sides of Spain's Civil War, however, there are only two names that are displayed there, those of General Franco and the founder of the Falangist party. That said, it is worth a visit because it is Spain's history and the monument itself cannot really be described. You have to see it for itself. I will say that parts of it is in decline from neglect as it is a very controversial site.

I don't intend to give you a blow-by-blow description of where we went, but Spain is such a varied and diverse place. Each town or city has its own character so that a visit does add to one's knowledge and experience. For instance my wife did say that we were going to drive all the way to the city of Ávila to see a wall. I thought how interesting could a wall be? There were plenty right around us. The city of Ávila is completely walled in and we were able to walk around the city along the ramparts of the wall to view the city from above.

I can now say that I have done The Great Wall of Ávila so I can scratch The Great Wall of China from my bucket list. I wasn't looking forward to that anyway.

Finally, I must recommend a visit to El Monasterio de la Piedras that is located in southern Zaragoza. This is located in a zone that resembles a mini Grand Canyon. All around the area is dry and arid, but once you enter the canyon you are in a place that is graced by waterfalls and lakes and immense greenery. It is a wonderful park that should not exist in that location, but it does and the visitor is overwhelmed by the beauty.

It is also a place of extreme difficulty for men because everywhere you go there is the sound of falling water. The moment we step into the shower we want to pee, and we do, so walking around this place calls for frequent pit stops.

It is great to be back at my computer expressing my thoughts and feelings. However, I wouldn't blame you if you simply tought that I had died.

Copyright (c)  2012   Eugene Carmichael