The Romance Dies in the Rain
Existing without a car and traveling by walking, colectivo (city bus), or cab is part of the fun of living in a city with more density than Portland, Oregon. Leaving the car behind allows us to experience Baires in a more visceral manner. (Truth be told, a little too visceral for some of the upper-middle class Porteño parents in the girls’ school who nearly fall over at the news that we take the city bus to transport our daughters to class!)
However, our love affair with the concept of ditching the car does wane when we are in the midst of a torrential downpour. It is nigh on impossible to hail a cab because everyone else has the same idea. Walking on the sidewalks involves picking your way through a minefield of splorting sidewalk tiles (it is incredibly disgusting when you get the gunk under the tile washing over your whole foot). And, standing on the street to catch your bus is a lesson in dodging puddles sprayed by speeding cars and buses.
Then, there are the rain-with-no-car wildcard issues that take the bloom off the rose a bit more. Today, those would be: 1) We have to get the girls to school in the rain in their cute, clean little uniforms that are not extreme-weather friendly; and, 2) We have to do a big grocery shop (probably in rain gear) on foot today so that we can make some bolognese for dinner!!
Oh yah, and our roof is still leaking in several places, but that is another story… .
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And you didn’t even mention the “umbrella etiquette” around here — perfectly acceptable to walk into other pedestrians and jab them at eye level with your umbrella. It never seems to occur to a porteño to raise the umbrella to avoid hitting others.
Ahh, yes, my brother speaks fondly of his many paraguas war wounds to the face!
[…] and books at home.” – Ulysses S. Grant, former president of the U.S.A. Ushuaia, T… The Romance Dies in the Rain[micheleandtom.com] Existing without a car and traveling by walking, colectivo (city bus), or cab is […]