10 posts tagged “vigo”
spain
is over. all 101 ceph talks were given
(well, 100, there was one no-show), although i can’t honestly say that every
single one was attended – a non-fisheries-biologist can only absorb so many
separate reports on individual populations and fluctuations of commercial
species. the conference dinner was held
at a castle 45 minutes from town (for a brief exciting moment, we thought we
might be in portugal, but realised that the questionable legality of
transporting 130 scientists from about 50 countries across an international
border for dinner made it unlikely). i
would very much have liked to see more of this castle by daylight, and to learn
more about it, but arriving as we did at about 10pm and being engrossed in
dinner and then riotous dancing, it remains something of a mystery. it may have been the parador de baiona.
i had a rather humane flight the following day, departing at 2pm (in contrast to some people who left at 6.15), so there was time for a reasonable sleep and unhurried packing, plus reflections on the past ten days. lasting impressions of spain include: the delayed daily schedule, including daylight hours from about 8.30am to 8.30pm, lunch from 1.30 to 3.30 and dinner starting at 9 or 10 at night; the friendliness of locals and their patience with slow, awkward communications; the unbelievable stamina of night-time partiers especially on weekends, and the dedication and size of the clean-up crews in public areas on the following mornings; the dogs of all shapes and sizes; the lovely streets lined with laden orange trees and interesting statuary, yet dotted with an astonishing number of suspicious, foamy puddles (see previous two remarks); the remarkable clarity of the water in the harbour, even next to the pier (easily 5 meters’ visibility), and the presence of many large, healthy-looking fish; and the pleasure of sitting along the waterfront at any time of day, with harbor breezes, warming sun or shining moon, in the company of fellow ceph-heads. muchas gracias, amigos y amigas.
on the opening night of the conference, a welcome reception was held at what may have been 'city hall,' but no one is really sure - buses took us there and brought us back, and the building itself was kind of castley and apparently also functioned as a museum. the reception was out in the gardens, which were lovely, and we wandered around admiring the mini castle on an island in the pond, the sunset behind the main tower of the building, and the pairs of goldfish that made up the table centerpieces. (i sincerely hope they got to live in the pond or somewhere else nice, after their decorative duties.)
yesterday morning i went up to a large park in the middle of vigo, on a hill overlooking the city. 'el castro' includes the ruins of a celtiberian fort, plus several separate monuments and gardens, and offers spectacular views over the city.
in between organized conference activities, there have been a few opportunities to walk around town and enjoy the sights. in addition to the cool buildings, narrow alleyways and laden orange trees, there are many interesting statues, monuments, and signs.
i mentioned that the hotel i stayed in for the first two nights was somewhat lacking in warmth and cheer. not that i was complaining at the time - the saintly desk clerk took pity on me and my bumbling spanish and gave me a perfectly adequate, lockable space in which to bathe and sleep, which was exactly what i needed. but the place i have moved into is just a *little* more welcoming - let me illustrate. exhibit a, my first hotel room:
now, exhibit b, my current room:
no, i know because i was awakened at five o'clock this morning to the sound of someone in a room above me flinging his window open and spewing long and energetically into the courtyard five stories below. and when i say 'energetically' and 'long' i mean over a period of enough minutes and with enough variation in pitch and volume that i eventually used my ipod to try to drown it out and go back to sleep.
by the way, my current window is mostly soundproof when shut, and gives onto a small balcony that affords photo opportunities like this.
