Sunday, July 10, 2011

Málaga middle of week 2 of 12, July 10, 2011 Sunday

I do read the comments people post. When replying to some comments recently, I lost my original text because I had not signed in first. The blogspot system is a little confusing, but it´s free.

Just for kicks, I tried to get internet service from another Movistar store, then another. Well at least they are consistent – I´ll have to wait until Thursday to pick up my NIE at the Comisaría de Policía.

Don´t leave home without it. A plastic trash bag costs 3 centimos. Since they are not free, this forces people to re-use them until they fall apart. They still end up in the landfill, eventually. Paper bags are not an option.

A business case. The internet ¨cafe¨ has 10 machines. Each rents for 1.20€ / hr. Best case scenario: 25K€/yr ($37,440/yr). This is based on a 40 hour week, no vacations. The shop is actually opened longer but I doubt that one employee works more than 40 hours per week. Also, they sell sodas and candy, and they have phone booths for long distance calls. But, they also have rent and utility costs, and the machines and phone booths are frequently idle. The family that owns and runs this business is from Venezuela. A 2/2 apartment sells for around 200.000€. I don´t think the govenment is subsidizing them, and they seem to be doing alright.

Sculpture at La Rambla, on my way to the Muelle (MooEHyeh, Wharf). Smiling faces?


A Mediterranean Sea-faring ferry. I´ll be taking something like this to Mallorca in a few weeks.

Off to the left is the Mediterranean Sea, wide open

 Another day, another cruise ship and another(?) cargo ship.



 A cargo ship being unloaded in Málaga. 



Damn, this place is clean! The Harbor Walk.


Finally, a bank that can hold all my money (yeah, right). El Banco de España is Spain’s equivalent of our Federal Reserve Bank. BTW, every Euro (bill) is a different size.

Bike lanes.

Art, Fart, I´m not paying you for that paint job. (Good help is so hard to find these days) Málaga is Picasso´s birth place. This is the Picasso Museum.


A statue to a commander. No mention for the dead soldier. It´s always like that.
Málaga, the city, dates back to 770 BC (Before Christ). The Phoenicians founded it and called it Malaka. The arabic word for King is Malik; there may be a connection, or maybe not.
The time here is GMT+1 (Greenwich Mean Time plus 1 hour). For now (both the US and Spain use daylight savings time), when it is noon in Texas (Central time zone), it is 7pm here.

Busted trash bag. It was picked up in one hour, an hour later, someone put out 2 more trash bags.


They're cleaning the streets again.

Upon leaving a shop, the salesman said ¨Hello!¨. ¨You say Goodbye, and I say Hello¨ -- The Beatles. Oh well, at least he´s trying. Later, -- Ron

2 comments:

  1. Hi Ron, fab blog. Sorry I've not been in touch recently. Recovery period has been long & slow, will email you in a few days, Debs

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kool, Debs. Thanks for posting your experience with healthcare here on your blog. I´ve commented on your Sanitas posting.

    ReplyDelete