Tsunami 26 & 27. Driving on Errands

Yesterday was quite a full day. In the morning I went to Santiago, and in the afternoon I finally had classes in my studio. It's a good thing it was Friday.

On my drive up, looking around, there was nothing discernibly new. The only thing that hadn't been there was a pharmacy that had popped up. The only thing that wasn't there that had been, were the pilgrims.

Normally, driving up I can see pilgrims doing the Portuguese Way of Santiago. Either in groups, or individually, in places where the Way coincides with the road, I could see dozens of them. Not this year. It may be a Jacobean Holy Year, but the Way is empty. When the Pope announced at the end of last year that the Holy Year would be extended, with its plenary indulgences, to 2022, he merely cemented the fact that the Church has forever been more involved in economics than in spirituality.

Entering Santiago at around ten, it was traffic as usual. I went first to an industrial area with large stores. First, to Decathlon for sundry things, then to the Lidl supermarket. The sports store was not as full as I've seen it, but possibly because I entered a short time after it had opened. The Lidl was chock-a-block. I have never seen its parking lot so full, with cars cruising up and down, looking for a space. Next stop, at MediaMarkt to look for a cable, that it turns out exists only for newer technology, not ours, was decent. But at the BricoMart, a large construction do it yourself shop, again it was filled with crowds. 

Then, I drove into the middle of Santiago, and it was just the same as always. People everywhere, cars in uncessant movement. Some stores have succumbed to the crisis. I noticed a stationery store that had shuttered. There were some bars that still had their shutters down. Whether or not they will open again, is doubtful. Those that had opened had placed tables on sidewalks, and they were mostly filled with customers. What I saw was hopeful; most people had their masks on, and were sitting apart. I noticed a couple of people pull down their masks to sip their coffees, and then pull them back up. Have we learned our lesson? I doubt it, because today in the news, it seems that some bars had too many tables out, and occupancy was above the fifty percent allowed. Fourth wave, here we come.

It was refreshing to be able to drive up again. Did we need what I bought? Most of it, yes. And I still want to visit a shopping center to see if my favorite sneaker store still has mark downs. I had to buy an emergency pair at a local shoe store last month, but they're not as comfortable as my Sketchers. If sales have ended, I suppose I'll wait until the summer sales, assuming we won't be locked down again in July. 

Though, if many people listen to Victoria Abril, we'll be in a continual mode of contagion ad infinitum. This actress has come a long way from when she was a "chica Almodóvar" and acted in his films. Now, she lives in France, and was in Madrid a couple of days ago to receive an honorific prize. Apart from actress, she now seems to consider herself an expert on the "plandemic", as she calls it. According to her, the vaccines are an "experiment" to inject poison in people, since they haven't even been tested yet. She can go join her friend, Miguel Bosé, who has also called Covid a hoax, even though his mother died from it back in the first wave last year. You have to wonder sometimes, at the lack of intelligence in some folk.

Life continues.