Fiesta de Mexico!!

Viva Mexico ! Today the 15th of September is Independence Day in Mexico. Mexico once used to be owned by Spain and it achieved independence on 15 September way back when... So tonight in Barcelona was a host of celebratory activities arranged by the Mexican Embassy. I was lucky enough to be invited by some of my new Mexican friends - Zaida and Guille. The festivities here in Barcelona were vibrant so I can just imagine how much bigger the celebrations in Mexico were - with every town and city countrywide getting all fired up to celebrate!

I met the group of Mexicans at the Port - where a Mexican Naval ship - the ARM Cuauhtemoc - was docked. The evening began with singing and some honorable dignitaries making speeches on the boat. The boat's crew - all dressed in their naval whites complete with hats and skips - were on board and waving at the crowds of Mexicans who were singing on the dock below. A Mariachi band played typical Mexican music. The ship had lights strung up from the masts, so it was intimate and one could feel the Latino energy present there.

ARM Cuauhtemoc at the dock

After all the pomp and music, the crew disembarked and mingled with the spectators and offered to have their photos taken with anybody. I was impressed at how human and approachable the crew were. I honestly felt the Mexican emotions!!

She is lit up in the dark 

Then the crowds moved to Plaza La Merce - where the Mexican bands were on stage and entertained thousand of spectators. Mexican food and drinks were on sale. Some of the people in the group I was with had brought bottles of Tequila and other drinks. We all started getting stuck into the booze. Typical Mexican celebration with drinks flowing!! We sang and danced to all sorts of songs. After the band stopped we headed to a night club which was full of 20 something year olds. We had a free shot of Tequila before heading off to a restaurant for much needed food. My head was already dizzy!! We found a Middle Eastern place and had Schwarmas and Falafels whilst listening to an Australian busker outside in the street, singing the songs of Crowded House and Chris Isaak.

Sailors stand and watch the spectators below

After our stomachs were filled we made our way to back to the nightclub - but nobody went inside this time. We decided we were not 20 something any more... The free shot of Tequila was not reason enough to go in. So we headed to Plaza Real and found another bar to sit in and enjoy some Mexican music.

A fantastic time. Viva Mexico. I never expected to have so much fun. Gracias los Mexicanos, por toda!

Hop on the Bus Gus !

I stay in an area which is located just off the metro line so I always catch the bus to get a couple of blocks down the road from the last metro station. Since I use buses at least twice each day, I have been experienced a lot of bus rides...

A bus stop in a quiet street

The bus ride does not cost anything extra. It is built into the cost of your ticket - if you connect immediately with the metro - so there is no extra cost to ride the bus. The buses usually run on time and many bus stops have an electronic sign showing how long it will take for the next bus to arrive.

The bus arrives on time...

On every bus I have used, I was greeted or acknowledged as I boarded the bus. That is the most mind blowing thing for me. A bus driver greeting passengers as the passengers get on the bus ! There are many very friendly bus drivers here I guess. I have sometimes run up to a bus whose doors were already closed and the bus was about to leave. The driver has sometimes seen me (or other passengers), waited and reopened the door to passengers. That is amazing. I have taken to greeting and thanking bus drivers as they make the bus experience so pleasant. I guess being a bus driver in Barcelona is a respectable job. It is probably well paid too. I assume this because many of the drivers are well groomed, sport trendy sunglasses and are very personable.

Big buses on the main street

The more I use the bus network in this city, the more I like it.

An African moment

This afternoon I was doing some filming work in a park. My brother and I placed our bags on a bench slightly away from where we were filming. We were filming and getting along with our work when I noticed a guy who was walking around the benches near our bags. The guy did a second lap around the benches with our bags on. The African neurosis in me began to think "He is trying to get close to our bags - to take them or to see what is in them". I opened my mouth and told my brother (who was closer to the bench than I was) to keep an eye on the bags! I said it out loud, in English.

As he walked past us (and the bags) the guy sighed and shook his head! I do not know whether he understood what I had said in English or whether he was just expressing frustration or disagreement with something else. My brother laughed, thinking that if the guy had understood what I said, that he may have disliked what I had said. Europeans are not used to crime I guess. They do not have to worry about leaving their possessions somewhere and those same possessions being stolen. I felt a little guilty but in Africa we are trained to keep our ears and eyes open all the time as things happen if you are not "wakker". Only in Africa I guess. I am still very much an African. Is it so unkind to be weary of suspicious people hanging around near your possessions ??? I think not...

Action on the beach

This afternoon I sat on a beach and read my book whilst I waited to join my beach volleyball group. In front of me sat a white Spanish guy who does a bit of bootlegging. He sits under a cloth umbrella with a cooler box. He produces Mojitos for beach customers from this "work station". He clandestinely walks about and sells mojito cocktails to bathers on the beach. He just does it in such as subtle way that the police do not know he is a vendor. He charges 5 euros per mojito.

A Pakistani vendor came strolling down this same section of the beach, calling the usual "Cerveza, Beer, Agua, Water, Coke". The next thing, this Mojito man bolted up from under his umbrella and started to chase the Pakistani vendor, while kicking him and kicking sand up at him. It was an amusing moment for the people on the beach who watched this. Then from afar, the Paki vendor started yelling and arguing with this Spanish Mojito vendor.

The Mojito man came back to his umbrella and continued secretly pretending to be a sunbather whilst he prepared mojitos. The next thing, two Pakistani men arrived and grabbed the Spanish Mojito man. One, at the shoulders and the other, at the feet. They lifted him up and started to carry him away. The sunbathers on beach were so angered and many got up to rescue their Spanish countryman. A fight ensued. The Pakistanis were rolling with the punches of the Spanish men who came to intervene. The next thing, the police came running up and handcuffed the Pakistanis. They took the Pakistanis away and all the Spaniards seemed pleased with their defense of their countryman.

I paused to think about the situation. I sympathised with the Pakistanis ! They work that beach all day in the heat and have to pay bribes to the police to be there and they got into trouble because the illegal Spanish vendor did not like the one Paki vendor that walked through "his" space on the beach. Meanwhile, the Spaniard is doing the same thing illicitly anyway - without having to bribe the police for permission to sell Mojitos on the beach. I watched as the Spanish Mojito man gave his statement to the police and felt very sad for the poor Pakistanis who were handcuffed and taken away. They have to endure more than the Spanish vendor just to be able to sell their drinks on the beaches - with the implicit authority of the police (because of the bribes the police demand from them). The Spanish man got off Scot-free and had backing from the Spanish supporters.  Not fair play...

The Blue and Yellow store

Yesterday I had to make an emergency trip to the blue and yellow store - also known as Ikea. There is an Ikea situated about 20 minutes' walk from where I stay. Yesterday I took the bus there which was the wrong move!! The Friday afternoon traffic is the pits. It took more time to get there by bus than it would have taken to walk there...

Entrance to the Blue and Yellow store

As you approach the Ikea store you can't help but notice the blue and yellow of the building in front of you. An attractive welcoming glow! Many latino guys hang around the entrances soliciting their services to customers who have just bought big items that need transporting to homes - because not many everybody has cars here. Carrying big things on the metro is not fun...Or they offer to help assemble the items customers have just bought. All for a fee of course.

These guys are waiting to help customers!!

Once inside the shop there is a "Hotdogeria" and a standing eating area. They sell hotdogs at 50 cents each, ice creams at 50 cents each and a bottomless cup (coke, fanta, coffee, sprite, lingonberry - whichever you choose) at 50 cents each. The place is popular. I tend to go there just for dinner sometimes. My menu - 2 hotdogs, an ice cream, and a bottomless drink. Total = 2 euros. Not bad. Not healthy though....

Hotdogeria in the store

The bottomless drink station

Stand and eat your hotdog here...

You then proceed to the upper level where the shopping begins. Before shopping you have to grab a pencil and an order card to record the serial numbers of the items you want to buy. And that is where the fun starts. There are so many nice things - and some outrageously cheap prices too. I cannot buy much as I have no space to keep things nor will I know what I will do with them once I have them. But the temptation to buy is certainly there...

The rooms on display in the store

So what did I buy ? Two boxes of AA batteries. Each box has 10 batteries in it. Price : 2 Euros per box.  Priceless...

A petrol station !!!

I was walking past the bull fighting arena-turned-shopping mall and in a small street next to the arena I noticed what I thought looked like a petrol pump. A petrol pump on the side of the road ? What for ? Such a small filling station ? Who would come there? There is no space to park your car while you fill the tank ?

A small petrol station

I was quite surprised at the lack of : a forecourt, petrol pumps attendants, a shop selling snacks and other items! I mean this is a fuel station! It is supposed to offer a range of things. As I stood there and wondered about it, a motorbike came whizzing up and stopped in front of the pump. A man from inside the fuel station (if you can call it that) emerged. He sprang into action and filled the tank of the motor bike. The man and the bike rider had a lively conversation and then the biker hopped back onto his bike and was off, into the traffic once more.

Another happy biker with a full tank!

I figured out what this little petrol station is for. It is a place for motor bikes to refuel!!

A taste of Cape Town

The ocean, the mountains, the vegetation, the busy harbour, the waterfront restaurants and shops... It sounds like I am enjoying a trip to Cape Town.

Cape Town's Table Mountain and the Waterfront 

The 12 Apostles in Cape Town

To be honest, I am nowhere near Cape Town. I am sitting in Barcelona which is thousands of kilometres away from Cape Town and Spring is not in the air here. Cape Town is welcoming the arrival of Spring. Barcelona is bidding farewell to Summer. Officially, Autumn is here. As much as it is Spring in the Southern hemisphere, it is Autumn in the Northern hemisphere. 

Barcelona's port is said to be the busiest in Western Europe

I still remember and even cherish the idea that it is Spring in the Southern hemisphere - even though I am not there! But before the sunshine starts to recede and the trees lose their leaves etc, I thought I better share the some little reminders of Cape Town that I have had during the Summer. 

Succulents and fynbos type plants grow in Barcelona

Barcelona's Castle looks onto the sea

Barcelona's Waterfront complex near the port

Barcelona is like Cape Town in some ways.This city is built around a range of mountains right next to the sea. The vegetation here is similar to Cape Town's - dry plants and succulents grow all over. There is a castle right near the ocean, which offers good views over the Mediterranean Sea. There is a busy harbour with countless ships - cargo and passenger ships - coming in and out each day. There is a waterfront development - like Cape Town's V & A Waterfront but definitely not as nice - in front of the old port. There are many city beaches with gentle waves and clear waters - which are definitely not as cold as Cape Town's Atlantic Ocean. It is a city which is alive and has a very touristy feel - which is a good and a bad thing. There is always a big party atmosphere here. The world comes here looking for a good time!! Cape Town is a more mature place with a quieter atmosphere but a more welcoming one I would say. And as for Cape Town, it is far more breath taking. Barcelona has not got all the natural beauty of Cape Town. Barcelona is far more developed and does not have as many untouched natural spaces. Barcelona or Cape Town ? Cape Town...

Barcelona is built around mountain ranges