JAIL – if you break the
law here, particularly if you deal in drugs, the JUDGE will send you to jail
before you can blink. The British Consulate can advise you and your family of
your rights, but they can’t get you out of jail if you deserve to be in there.
There are some expats who dedicate themselves to visiting the inmates, many of
whom will have no other visitors, but you might have to wait a couple of years
before your actual trial. At least you’ll be fluent in Spanish when you come
out.
There are some strange
JUXTAPOSITIONS on this island. You might see an old one-storey house crouched
between two multi-storey blocks of apartments, or a battered wooden rowing boat
pulled ashore beside a streamlined power boat. On the beach could be a
black-clad grandmother sitting on a folding chair next to a near-naked girl on
a gaudy towel, and mothers in saris or headscarves stand next to women in
strappy tops outside the schools.
But the strangest
juxtaposition must be that of the airport and the Hermitage, former home of
Tenerife’s first and only saint. Hermano Pedro (Brother Peter) was born in 1626
in Villaflor, the highest town in Tenerife. For a while he lived in a cave near
the south coast and then he went to join relatives in Guatemala, where he
founded a Brotherhood that cared for the poor.
He was made a saint in
2002 and is credited with several miracles.
Although he is buried
in Guatemala, his former hermitage in Tenerife is a revered shrine where Mass
is said regularly. His small cave is full of flowers, small photos of people in
need of his prayers are stuck in the frames of religious pictures, and there is
a box of L-plates left there by those who believe Hermano Pedro helped them to
pass their driving tests. It is a peaceful place,
most of the time.
But the runway lights of Reina Sofia airport straddle the
site, and on the busiest days an aeroplane flies overhead every few minutes.
Usually they’re taking off, but I was there one day when the wind was blowing in
the opposite direction, and a huge JET came into land, JUST skimming the
hermitage. I was standing right underneath it. I could see the passengers’
faces, the wheels seemed close enough to touch, and it felt as if the noise was
pushing me into the ground. It was, as the youngsters say, awesome!
There is a small house
near the seafront in Las Galletas with a visual JOKE on its wall that always
makes me smile.
You can JUST see it in this photograph.
Maybe this chap met the Hanging JUDGE?
Hi Liz!
ReplyDeleteKind of you to refresh my knowledge of Brother Pedro. his cave is visited by thousands - as you know.
Certainly it's sound advice not be jailed in Tenerife. I wish those who drink & drive realise what happens if they caught - particularly if someone is hurt or killed.
I guess J was a more difficult letter use as a blog key.
Difficult? I thought I was quite clever! :)
ReplyDeleteI agree.
ReplyDeleteJOLLY interesting, as usual!
ReplyDeleteHello, stopping by from the A~Z challenge. Your posts are very interesting!
ReplyDeleteelayne from,
http://elayneminich.blogspot.com/
Interesting post. I love the juxtapositions. And that's a cool J word, too :-)
ReplyDelete