Thursday 29 November 2007
Wednesday 21 November 2007
It´s raining cats and dogs
It´s spring here, which is different from england, it is very changeable, but can leap from 28c and very hot, back to 11c and bloody cold and then hover in the middle being warm but with torrential rain and lightning storms that last for a couple of hours. And yet this is not a tropical climate, it´s something very different. What we don´t get, is the endless drizzly days of home.
What we also get, is dogs everywhere. Behind their ,not so secure, fences warning you off, roaming the streets in packs chasing car wheels and winding up the dogs behind the fences, goading them with their freedom. Cats are here in their numbers, however due to the dogs, they keep their heads down. When we arrived, borisita(after yeltsin) was within days of giving birth, enormous.
After a week or so, she left and was not seen for long parts of the day and it became obvious that she had a litter hidden somewhere. Over the next couple of weeks, we searched in vain but found nothing. We gave up, believing that they must have died or been snatched.
Six weeks later, we have a day clearing out the shed and hire a skip to clear away all the garden waste and accumulated crap on the land. Hidden in insulation foam, right at the back of the shed under loads of wood, tiles and equipment, are two tiny bundles of fur. The shed is bang in the middle of the dogs garden and the door was not always open. How she got them in there, and the gauntlet of fear she would have to run, to reach them, I don´t know. So now we have two babies, carlito (tevez) and borisita (mum now plain old boris). Katherine and I have fostered them and their mother for the next 2 weeks, after that, they will have to make their own way in the world. Hopefully they, like their mum, will keep on returning to us and become semi-domesticated cats. We will be leaving at the end of the summer, so they can´t get used to a home and then have it taken away from them.
What we also get, is dogs everywhere. Behind their ,not so secure, fences warning you off, roaming the streets in packs chasing car wheels and winding up the dogs behind the fences, goading them with their freedom. Cats are here in their numbers, however due to the dogs, they keep their heads down. When we arrived, borisita(after yeltsin) was within days of giving birth, enormous.
After a week or so, she left and was not seen for long parts of the day and it became obvious that she had a litter hidden somewhere. Over the next couple of weeks, we searched in vain but found nothing. We gave up, believing that they must have died or been snatched.
Six weeks later, we have a day clearing out the shed and hire a skip to clear away all the garden waste and accumulated crap on the land. Hidden in insulation foam, right at the back of the shed under loads of wood, tiles and equipment, are two tiny bundles of fur. The shed is bang in the middle of the dogs garden and the door was not always open. How she got them in there, and the gauntlet of fear she would have to run, to reach them, I don´t know. So now we have two babies, carlito (tevez) and borisita (mum now plain old boris). Katherine and I have fostered them and their mother for the next 2 weeks, after that, they will have to make their own way in the world. Hopefully they, like their mum, will keep on returning to us and become semi-domesticated cats. We will be leaving at the end of the summer, so they can´t get used to a home and then have it taken away from them.
Sunday 11 November 2007
cordoba, argentina
we´ve been to cordoba twice now, once on a day shopping trip to get some decent non- travelling clothes and then for a 3 day visit to get to know the city. It is argentina´s second or third city depending on who you believe, rosario is growing at a rapid rate. It has a population of about 1.2 million, many being students of the oldest university in argentina dating back to 1613 and built by the Jesuits. It houses a second university, the country´s motor industry and it´s province is increasingly becoming home to people fleeing buenos aires, either for holidays or for good. Villa giardino lies in the punilla valley, one of three valleys carving their way north from the city.
It is not as pretty as salta for example, but more than makes up for it with it´s vibrancy. It reminds me a little of valencia, not as visited as barcelona or sevilla, but a fantastic place to sample the culture and creativity of a country. It has a network of pedestrianised shopping streets, a canal that dissects the city, a good number of art galleries and museums, lot´s of restaurant´s and bar´s and a massive city park for boating on the lake, sports and a zoo. The young population bring with them a vibe that marks the city and provides energy to the place.
One example, was probably the highlight of our visit, returning from a drink in the hip part of town at about 1am, we dropped into a spit and sawdust empenada restaurant which we had been to in the day. Two table´s of musicians were playing traditional songs on the guitar, passing it between them every two to three songs. They were not performing for money, the owner had lent them the guitar. One table had a big guy with a beautiful voice, his friend accompanying him. On the other, were four young guys who sang the most incredible harmony´s in almost operatic voices, it was stunning and totally spontaneous. We wondered whether they were music students.
We stayed at the international backpackers hostal, with a reasonable amount of traveller´s there, that surprised me as on our travels down to argentina, we hadn´t met anyone who had been to cordoba. It took about an hour and a half on the bus to arrive back in the mountains, a beautiful contrast to the bustling city. Business is still slow but sufficient, the weather sunny most days with the odd dramatic electrical storm. Each day we find new stunning walks and get to know the area better. We´re learning spanish slowly, meeting david and jp´s friends forces us to communicate, which is good and fun. I´ve constructed a compost bin and read up on how to manage it, katherine is turning her hand to some crafts and is fully trained up as the comis chef, we´re both reading alot in the hammocks. We are still looking at properties and might have raised the funds to buy. We´ve worked out projections on what we need to earn in the uk and what we need to live here for the rest of the year.
It is not as pretty as salta for example, but more than makes up for it with it´s vibrancy. It reminds me a little of valencia, not as visited as barcelona or sevilla, but a fantastic place to sample the culture and creativity of a country. It has a network of pedestrianised shopping streets, a canal that dissects the city, a good number of art galleries and museums, lot´s of restaurant´s and bar´s and a massive city park for boating on the lake, sports and a zoo. The young population bring with them a vibe that marks the city and provides energy to the place.
One example, was probably the highlight of our visit, returning from a drink in the hip part of town at about 1am, we dropped into a spit and sawdust empenada restaurant which we had been to in the day. Two table´s of musicians were playing traditional songs on the guitar, passing it between them every two to three songs. They were not performing for money, the owner had lent them the guitar. One table had a big guy with a beautiful voice, his friend accompanying him. On the other, were four young guys who sang the most incredible harmony´s in almost operatic voices, it was stunning and totally spontaneous. We wondered whether they were music students.
We stayed at the international backpackers hostal, with a reasonable amount of traveller´s there, that surprised me as on our travels down to argentina, we hadn´t met anyone who had been to cordoba. It took about an hour and a half on the bus to arrive back in the mountains, a beautiful contrast to the bustling city. Business is still slow but sufficient, the weather sunny most days with the odd dramatic electrical storm. Each day we find new stunning walks and get to know the area better. We´re learning spanish slowly, meeting david and jp´s friends forces us to communicate, which is good and fun. I´ve constructed a compost bin and read up on how to manage it, katherine is turning her hand to some crafts and is fully trained up as the comis chef, we´re both reading alot in the hammocks. We are still looking at properties and might have raised the funds to buy. We´ve worked out projections on what we need to earn in the uk and what we need to live here for the rest of the year.
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