A Mediterranean Morning
We are not all in snowy landscapes. Some of us are by the Mediterranean Sea. some of us are not parents of children so we can skip the holiday. Maybe next year I will have a reason to value it, but not for now.
Writing one hundred and eighty blog posts in a row is a challenge. I would say that I have learned something but I haven’t. Some days inspiration comes easily and other days I struggle to find something to write.
We are in a pandemic and most days resemble the one before and the day after. Most days are not unique. We are grinding through this pandemic until someone competent takes control of the country’s response. I would like them to work towards Covid zero but leaders are not confident enough to set that as a goal in many countries.
If only this was a photo blog I would not be struggling to write content every day.
A single coke will cost 4.50 in a bar. Water could even cost four francs per glass. When you go to the shops do you buy a few litres of Rivella or coke. Do you buy wine, vodka or other alcohols? If you do then you can easily spend thirty or more francs per week, on glasses that will leave you thirsty, drinks that will leave you hungover, and containers that will require you to consider a trip to the recycling centre.
Now imagine habituating yourself to drinking water. “But we already do, you’re the only one that doesn’t.” ;-).
I do drink water, but when I’m out hiking, cycling or doing other sports. I don’t usually drink water at home. I didn’t like the taste of the tap water. That has changed. Now I can drink several litres a day. With the Camelbak Eddy+ and Chute adapters I found that I was still curious about experimenting with the Nalgene bottle. I want it for water purification rather than daily use.
For two days I used the Shield One. I like it. I thought that the mouth piece would be uncomfortable to drink from and I thought that the bottle felt heavy for the first two or three drinks. Now I find that the weight is fine and I like drinking from it. It is well designed and easy to drink from with a single hand. This is especially useful for when you’re doing something with your other hand, like hanging off a cliff, or driving a car.
The Sigg original looks rough on the outside, until you touch it. The surface is smooth. I drank three litres from it today. My impression of it is good. The lid takes a little more time to open than other water bottles. It feels compact compared to the half litre traveller I have but it takes up more space.
Switching to drinking water wasn’t difficult. I haven’t cut out the other drinks. I reduced my intake. It feels luxurious to drink water because it is unlimited. Simply open the tap. With Coke, Rivella and any other drinks you need to get them at the shops, carry them up, etc. With water the process is simple. It’s on tap.
The pandemic is alive and well at the moment and life in pandemic mode continues. We dream of opportunities to flirt and we walk by people while wearing masks even if they do not, to remain safe. I would like for people to do what they can to end the pandemic but that is an empty dream
A concrete dream is that shops in Switzerland are once again asking for one person per household to shop at a time and this is positive because despite the government failing to do something at least the shops do. It shows both that the situation is getting worse, but also that people are taking things more seriously.
I am in a safer part of Spain so I feel safe. I am still masked anytime I am near other people and I still observe the wind.
I am still wearing the Garmin Instinct solar but I find it hard to charge. Most of the time it is hidden under layers of clothing and when I took it off and left it by a pool it was back in the shade by the time I went back to it. I can see such a watch being in its element in summer, rather than winter, even in Spain.
I find myself considering emigrating from Europe to escape its defeatist pandemic attitude. I am tired of people making excuses to empower the virus, rather than to block its progress. I want soft lockdowns and self isolation. I want masking to be done properly and I want boosters to be more easily accessible.
I have been studying Bootstrap and so far it looks like a great tool. I will write more shortly. For now, I leave you.
Tomorrow I will be driving for twelve hours and I hope that I find it as relaxing as the last drive but I doubt that I will be that lucky. We will see how traffic and other conditions are.
I hope that I have a good two or three audiobooks to listen to, so that I may be entertained and focused. We will see.
If you visit Spain and get a lebara Spain sim you need to set up two access point names. One is for internet access and the other is for MMS. I only point this out because dozens of sites tell you what the configuration requirements are but non indicate that you are setting up two access points.
APN 1:
Name: lebara internet
APN: gprsmov.lebaramobile.es
username: wap
apn type: default, supl
APN 2:
name: lebara MMS
APN: mms.lebaramobile.es
mms proxy: 212.73.32.10
MMS port: 80
MMSC
http://mms.lebaramobile.es/servlets/mms