Saturday, January 28, 2006
Tenerife's North South Divide
My mother was concerned on her last visit that the floor inside my car was wet after it had rained, you know, like there is something wrong with that which needed fixing. This mystified me. After all, it has leaked ever since it was brand new. I mentioned this at the garage once, but they responded with the usual, unconcerned shrug. Well, if they - the experts - don't think this is a problem, then I can't see how I can, do you?
Leslie at Scribbles from Tenerife seems to confirm that the above is, indeed, normal behaviour for vehicles here, both old and new. Leslie is also correct in saying that rain is more frequent on the north of the island. As you can see, it is wet - and thus green - enough in this valley to nearly confuse it with green and pleasant Ireland.
But are we more prepared up here in the north?
Well, not so as I'd noticed. In fact, quite the converse.
England has it's north south divide demarcated by the Watford Gap. Also as Leslie points out, Tenerife has it's own version, a humping great backbone of over two mile high mountains. For sure, there are big differences, but not in human nature.
In middle England, we'd get this horrible grey slushy stuff every winter that someone dared to claim was snow. And, every year, it arrived completely out of the blue and was treated as if it was a great big surprise. Town halls would have forgotten to get salt in - or they'd blame the previous party for not leaving a budget for it - and everything would come to a standstill.
Similarly, it comes as a great surprise to everyone when it rains heavily in Tenerife. And for much the same selection of financial and political reasons, nothing anywhere is ready to deal with it.
Actually, 15 years ago on the south of the island, you would get your two days of rain, some time between November and March. The road surfaces would wash away (by surprise), but once the sun came out again, you KNEW that was your lot for at least another six months. Now that really has changed in the last few years, so you can, just, understand why buildings in the south were never designed to cope with torrential rain. Over here in the north, that excuse wears mighty thin.
There is plenty of evidence to suggest that some climatic difference was acknowledged way back in history. Yet the only real architectural difference is that the shutters are normally on the inside rather than the outside of windows, but that's probably only so you don't lose them in the high winds.
As for waterproofing anything, ha!
No, we too have inadequate roofs that leak every time.
I suppose I should count my blessings that after seven years of seriously nagging my landlords, it is only one bit of roof that now regularly leaks great lakes of water into the house. Looking on the bright side, after all the floods and damp, at least there is nothing much left of my possessions to damage any more.
Sensible people do have dehumidifiers going 24/7 over here.
Our dried up riverbeds tend to be a lot steeper over this side, but that is probably the only reason that they haven't all been developed yet. Roads still turn into rivers of rapids carrying mud, rocks and assorted rubbish. Much steeper, deeper and faster than it appears too. They regularly become impassable.
We also have less investment in roads and other facilities in these rural areas. Narrow mountain roads quickly become dangerous with both flooding and falling rocks. Light drizzle is enough to make electricity into an optional extra.
There are compensations, of course. (When I discover what they are, I'll let you know!) No, that's not true. This type of rain only happens once or twice a year, it does provide the fertile environment for agriculture, wonderful displays of year-round spring flowers, constantly twittering birdies, butterflies and more that you would not see on the south of the island. The people and their way of life over here, is far more real.
We get a different type of tourist over here too. They are more likely to be walking somewhere, so their footwear will be more suitable to cope with most weathers and they may be more adequately dressed, but they still greatly underestimate.
And where does a soggy camper, whose tent slid down a muddy hillside get help if busses finish for the day and Antonio the only local taximan retires for the night by early evening? Answers on a postcard, please. Considering that rain is expected here, I think the north is even more ill prepared than the south. Inexcusably so.
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