La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
I hadn’t mentioned that San Geraldo and I sold our car. We had a 2016 Toyota Prius with less than 22,000 km (about 13,500 miles) on the odometer — in 8 years. Although we almost never used the car, the exterior was beginning to look like a junker (I understand the feeling). Given the fact that we do not have indoor parking and live on the Mediterranean Sea, the finish was actually wearing off —plus there were a myriad of nicks, dings, scratches, and dents. You can see it above from it’s fairly good side.
When San Geraldo’s middle sister and her husband were visiting us in Sevilla (among its impossibly narrow streets), they decided to count how many cars showed physical damage. When they got up to 28 in a row, they decided to instead count the cars that were not damaged. That count never got off the ground.
We lived our first five years in Spain without a car, but when we finally got our Spanish licenses (SG beat me by a couple of years) we learned that there are separate licenses for automatic or manual transmissions. After all the years of driving manual transmission cars in the United States, we discovered there are very strict rules in Spain about when you shift up and down. And if timed incorrectly in either direction, you fail. SG found it impossible to unlearn what had become a reflex, so we both got “automatic” licenses.
We then were reminded how difficult it was to rent cars with automatic transmissions. We did it once, in 2015 I think it was. Our only options were a high-end BMW for €285 or a smaller BMW for €235. For one day! We decided that, in the long run, it was cheaper to buy a car. But then, as I mentioned, we hardly used it. And now automatic transmissions have become much more common and can be more easily (cheaply) rented. So we are once again carless. And, with taxis and rental cars readily available in our neighborhood, we’re very happy about that.
Besides, we didn’t even like the car much. We had a 2004 Prius in California that was our favorite car ever. The 2016 model turned out to have a lot of design flaws and a bad reputation. And the turning radius absolutely sucked, which is not something you want when tooling around old cities and villages, and mountain towns. But now I find myself looking at every peculiar vehicle on the road and considering it, even though we have absolutely no intention of buying another one.
No había mencionado que San Geraldo y yo vendimos nuestro auto. Teníamos un Toyota Prius 2016 con menos de 22 000 km (unas 13 500 millas) en el odómetro, en 8 años. Aunque casi nunca usamos el coche, el exterior empezaba a parecer un chatarra (entiendo la sensación). Dado que no tenemos estacionamiento cubierto y vivimos en el mar Mediterráneo, el acabado se estaba desgastando y además había una gran cantidad de mellas, golpes, rayones y abolladuras. Puedes verlo arriba desde su lado bastante bueno.
Cuando la hermana mediana de San Geraldo y su marido nos visitaron en Sevilla (entre sus calles increíblemente estrechas), decidieron contar cuántos coches presentaban daños físicos. Cuando llegaron a 28 seguidos, decidieron contar los autos que no sufrieron daños. Ese recuento nunca despegó.
Habíamos vivido nuestros primeros cinco años en España sin coche, pero cuando finalmente obtuvimos nuestras licencias españolas (SG me ganó por un par de años) supimos que hay licencias separadas para transmisiones automáticas o manuales. Después de todos los años conduciendo coches de transmisión manual en Estados Unidos, descubrimos que en España existen reglas muy estrictas sobre cuándo subir y bajar cambios. Y si no sincronizas correctamente en cualquier dirección, fallas. A SG le resultó imposible desaprender lo que se había convertido en un reflejo, por lo que ambos obtuvimos licencias “automáticas”.
Luego nos recordaron lo difícil que era alquilar coches con transmisión automática. Lo hicimos una vez, en 2015 creo que fue. Nuestras únicas opciones eran un BMW de alta gama por 285 € o un BMW más pequeño por 235 €. ¡Por un día! Decidimos que, a la larga, sería más barato comprar un coche. Pero claro, como mencioné, apenas lo usamos. Y ahora las transmisiones automáticas se han vuelto mucho más comunes y se pueden alquilar más fácilmente (y a menor precio). Así que una vez más nos quedamos sin coches. Y estamos muy contentos con la disponibilidad de taxis y autos de alquiler en nuestro vecindario.
Además, ni siquiera nos gustó mucho el coche. Teníamos un Prius 2004 en California que era nuestro auto favorito. El modelo de 2016 resultó tener muchos defectos de diseño y mala reputación. Y el radio de giro era absolutamente horrible, lo cual no es algo que desee cuando recorre ciudades y pueblos antiguos, y pueblos de montaña. Pero ahora me encuentro mirando cada vehículo peculiar que hay en la carretera y considerándolo, aunque no tengamos la menor intención de comprar otro.
• Del fabricante chino CFMoto: CForce 4×4 ATV.
• A la derecha, Citroën Ami cuatriciclo eléctrico para dos pasajeros no requiere carnet de conducir y puede alcanzar una velocidad de 45 km/28 millas por hora. Pero si lleva un pasajero, no habrá espacio para comprar alimentos.
• Steve de Shadows and Light compartió una foto de una de sus orquídeas resplandeciente de flores. Aquí está uno de los nuestros. Una flor y cuatro capullos.
• Envuelto con “cadena de bicicleta” y luego asegurado al portaequipajes. Algunos propietarios no sienten la necesidad de cerrar el suyo.
• El chiringuito por fin tiene su espeluznante señalización (haz clic aquí).
Click the thumbnails to enlarge.
Haz clic en las miniaturas para ampliar.
Not having an infrequently-used car should save you quite a bit of. money re servicing, parking, insurance, not to mention the initial purchase price. Good move!
Debra:
Yes, a lot of money! We’re so practical.
Weird – and rather ugly – vehicles! The first is basically a motorbike inside a Tonka truck, and the second one’s an invalid carriage…
Lovely orchid, by the way. Ours (a Cymbidium; they are quite hefty plants) gave us two sprays of 21 flowers each last year! It’s having a well-deserved rest this year. Jx
Jon:
I’m disappointed with the look of the Citroen since I used to love Citroens. Our orchids got short shrift while I was in hospital. Poor things.
I agree about the Citroen…hideous. A far cry from the vintage one my grandfather had, with style and panache.
Mistress Borghese:
I loved Citroens in the ’60s and ’70s. The coolest looking cars. I miss those. My father wanted one but, like. here, we had outdoor parking. Cars were subjected to the winds, sands, and salt off the Atlantic. One of his cars was stolen. So he wouldn’t invest in something he really loved. He stuck with Chevys. BIG Chevys, but still Chevys.
Boud here, renowned for expecting at least 20 years out of a car. I traded in my 99 Honda when the body started failing, engine fine, in 2020, just in time before lockdown and covid, which I didn’t know about then. Not many miles from me anyway, on the current Honda. I never buy new, let someone else go first, find out any drawbacks. Second mouse gets the cheese.
I wish I could dispense with a car, but around here, not so easy.
Boud:
This is the longest we’ve ever had a car. We have never owned a used car. And we’ve had a couple of lemons!
I have a 2016 Subaru Legacy with 52,000 miles on it. I thought that was low mileage, but yours is incredible.
cmagidgreen:
We’ve never had that much mileage on a car. We never keep them long enough.
Are there any car sharing programs in the area? These are essentially hourly car rentals for locals. https://www.zipcar.com/join. We have two cars, and between the two we only drive about 4,000 miles a year. (We had three cars for a couple of years.) My VW is a 2008 with 54,000 miles on it. You have a lot within walking distance, and when you want to make an IKEA run, rent locally for a few hours.
David:
I haven’t heard of any car-sharing programs, but I’m sure there must be. I’ve done big IKEA shops by train and taxi. No problem!
And of course I have a 2017 Prius which I do like a lot but not nearly as much as the old Mini Cooper I had. But it’s fine for all my needs. It doesn’t sound like you need the hassle of a car. Great pictures, as always, and that orchid one is stunning. The creepy signage is still creepy.
I remember when I was as strong and flexible as that yoga-lady. Damn. I miss those days.
Oh! I wanted to say that we used to have a friend who had a three-wheeler motorcycle. Or do they call them a trike? Whatever. He’d lend it to us occasionally and it was the most fun. I sort of wish we had one. Maybe you and SG should look into one of those.
Ms. Moon
Ms. Moon:
We should have bought the 2015 or waited for the 2017 Prius. They were rated well! I was as flexible as that yoga lady when I was 6! For getting around town, we won’t miss the car at all. For roadtrips, we will. So a 3- or 4-wheeler wouldn’t serve us.
They’re just for fun! In my experience, anyway.
Nice not to need a car. Not so here in New Mexico – where nothing is close by. Hubs commutes to Albuquerque 100 mi round trip daily (13,500 miles in 27 weeks); I go to Santa Fe for Doctors, groceries, etc 70 mi round trip 2-3 times per week. Good thing gas is cheaper here than in most other states.
Frank D:
We’ve lived in a couple of places where a car was necessary. It made me miserable.
Oh no, how will we get to Plaza Mayor now? 😆
Makes sense to shift it seeing as it was sat for long periods and also the parking nightmare that occurs during holiday season.
See you soon!
Nick
Nick:
We’ll take the train!!! I think you’d enjoy it… We can still go and watch the planes.
Sounds like it’;s for the best to NOT have a car … and I would NEVER have one of those teensy-weensy looking Toy Story mothertuckers!
Bob:
Have you seen the Twizy? It’s adorable. But we watched a not very big woman extricate herself from what passes as a backseat. She laughed and we laughed.
It never occurred to me that living by the sea could have negative effects on cars, especially the body of them. If you do decide to get a car you should look into Mazda. Of course I’m partial. I’m on my fourth Mazda. They hold up very nicely virtually maintenance free, and their service is excellent at least the one I go to. Just a suggestion if you decide to look to buy a car. The picture of that orchid is stunning.
Mistress Borghese:
I grew up on the Atlantic and my parents) complex did not have garages, only parking lots. Those poor cars! My first car was a Mazda and I loved it. But any car left out all the time in this environment is not going to fare well.
I’m still seeing the creature from the black lagoon in that sign. And that backbend! I could do that about 60 years ago…
Kelly:
The logo just gets worse for me. And, yes, I could do that backbend 60 years ago, too! NOT anymore.
I’ve never driven a stick. I sometimes forget such cars exist.
Kirk:
They’ve become less common now. I learned to drive one briefly but then never did again until Jerry and I lived in LA in ’82. Then it was common for us to have standarads. But now they’re unnecessary — except for purists.
Why keep a vehicle when you live somewhere with good trains, taxis and rental options? I learned to drive on a manual transmission and I preferred driving standard vehicles. My favourite vehicle was my 2004 Nissan Pathfinder (Chilkoot Trail Special Edition) that had a double stick shift which also proved to be a great theft deterrent since most young car thieves don’t know how to drive one stick shift, let alone two, LOL!
Your orchid photo is stunning! And now I know how surfboards are locked, so thanks for that too!
As for the creepy signage, it does look like the “Creature From The Black Lagoon” — one of my favourite movies… a great statement on how humans treat the environment and other living creatures. That poor bugger was just defending his home and attracted to a female of a different species, and he was speared, netted, lost a toe, rotenoned, set on fire and finally killed by gunfire for it.
Tundra Bunny:
Exactly. The maintenance, insurance, registration, inspections — not worth the trouble and expense for the amount of use. It’s fascinating how much more there was to the story of the Creature. We really liked the Nissan Pathfinder and considered it a few times, but San Geraldo is all legs and there was no room for his knees behind the steering well. I’m taller and it was no problem for me but he sits low and I sit high. When we wanted a car like that, we ended up with Ford Explorers and a Subaru Forester (The Lesbian Car, we were told). We were so excited to own that, but ours turned out to be a major lemon.
It’s definitely the creature from the black chirinquito.
Walt the Fourth:
I love it!
22,000 kms! Now that was a good buy for someone!
We just bought a 2018 Chevy Equinox with 37,000 kms…….hardly driven and very well kept with servicing. Sold our 2016…it was time. VRROOM!
Settling in to our ‘new abode’ ……yet tons to do.
Jim:
We’ve been talking about you guys. Wondering how you’re settling in.
Exhaustion in our mid-70’s, not a happy time. Siestas everyday always help! However our new car makes things a wee bit tolerable. Forward Ho! Thinking of you guys too!
Ron:
Well, just know I wish you years of happiness once you’ve settled into the new home.
Nothing like a new frock to brighten up the day and this includes a new car.
Urspo:
Or getting rid of an old one.