Research Trip - El Hierro¶
I wasn’t expecting this. By the time our planned activities for the research trip were over on Thursday evening, I thought I was ready to go back, all set to return to my reality: my crowded city, which has everything I thought I was missing.
When I arrived at El Hierro airport, I recognized that I was still on the island, and things were not similar to how airports work elsewhere. I parked the rental car right in front of the entrance door of the terminal and left the keys at a counter inside, where there was no one. The lady in the next shop told me that I could leave them without worrying. This was not like a regular experience with car rental companies.
After my first flight, I landed on the neighboring island, Tenerife, and the enormous change hit me. Coming out of the airport, the guy who organizes the taxi line warned me that the door I tried to exit from was only for taxi passengers. He was disappointed that I didn’t get a taxi and told me to exit from the next door, which was one meter away from the one I used.
I started walking on the side of the road to reach a nearby restaurant that the map claimed was a 6-minute walk away. I was surrounded by cars, walking on a sidewalk of half a meter next to a road that could be called a highway. I recognized the noise while inhaling the exhaust of trucks, old 7-seater taxis, and passenger cars of all types and colors. It had been a while since I saw a road of two parallel lanes: All the roads I can remember on El Hierro were single-lane, and I hadn’t come across any traffic in the week I’d been there. I was sure that I didn’t walk next to any trucks - let alone see any - and probably didn’t inhale any congested air.
I had to take a longer walk, taking an overpass, a roundabout, and walking on the side of the road which had no sidewalk to reach the restaurant. I finally arrived at the restaurant, which was 500m away, in 15 minutes. I think getting used to using all these urban infrastructures that I had kind of forgotten took me a while to adjust back to.
I sat down to eat in this modern place that I thought I had been missing. A good, clean restaurant with a large selection of food to choose from. It was something I hadn’t done on El Hierro. We didn’t eat out that much, and the few places I’d eaten there were super local, with few items to select from while being very friendly and authentic. The waiter kindly explained the suggestions of the day, and I chose “Alcochofas con jamon”. When I bit into the jamon, I thought of how similar this dish was to what I used to eat in Madrid. I wondered if they produce jamon at all on these islands. The food didn’t feel like I was on the Canary Islands; it took me to another large city I used to live in.
While eating, I thought of what to do next, because I had rejected the rental car I had booked the day before. The company told me that they didn’t have a car in the same class as I had booked, so they were going to give me a larger one. I had no interest in driving a larger car, so I cancelled it. I wondered what made them think that, by default, a bigger car is the one people would enjoy more.
I also reflected on the fact that I didn’t do business with an international company for this whole week, and what a blessing it was. Here I was, back at trying to negotiate my way (preferences and rights) with capitalism’s representative: A car rental company that has offices in almost all airports of the world, trying to give me a larger car and sell me additional insurance. I was tired to hear all they had to say.
I decided to take a cab to where I booked to stay, to meet someone local. The taxi driver was very excited to have me and show me around. On our way to the campsite, whenever he saw a green piece of land, he pointed at it with his finger and said:”Look at this beauty! What a beautiful place!” The green land he was showing for the first time was a hill covered with lawn and some trees. It was the size of a basketball field and it was surrounded by buildings, roads and small houses on all sides. Basically it was some land that somehow survived the attack of the concrete that the rest of the neighbour was swallowed by. When I arrived at the campsite, I reflected on the amount of concrete I have been seeing all around. The road inside the camping side, the stairs to the kitchen, the floor in front of the shared room were all built using concrete. And I didn’t recall seeing anything like this in El Hierro. I was disgusted by the look of concrete: How grey, industrial and unhealthy it felt, under the sunshine that was hitting us today. “Soil is covered with concrete…” I thought, “what a waste”.
I had planned the day to see around Tenerife, and discover the island. After I arrived, I sat down and recognised that I had no desire to see any other new places after this trip. I was fulfilled -and slightly overwhelmed- by the amount of intake these days. I had known a place beyond my existing realities that allowed me to question the status quo in our cities and our so called modern world. I had no desire to add more new things on top of this. It hasn’t been even two hours on this island that is new to me, and here I was, already missing El Hierro.
I decided to stay home. I read a book, delved into my thoughts, took a nap on a hammock, and skipped dinner. I went to my tent and meditated on the ground thinking about all that I experienced over the last week. I wondered if I was ever going to find the same feelings and the same sense of comfort, rhythm, connection and friendship I have seized on El Hierro with the land and its people. Feeling grateful, I fell asleep.
Rest of Them - Short Film¶
Accepting the invitation of the island to change to a different rhythm, I found a way to rest myself by searching for others at rest - even when they’re in subtle motion.
https://fablabbcn.org/blog/lab-life/an-exploratory-trip-to-el-hierro-island