The wonderful beach of Ribeira Seca September 7, 2006
Posted by dorigo in personal, science, travel.2 comments
Yesterday I discovered a very nice beach on the north side of the island of San Miguel. Discovered is a big word. Let’s say I found evidence for it… No, just kidding. I mean it is a very well known piece of paradise, one of which I had not been informed and which I found only by wandering around in the Mercedes I had rented… (see a previous post here).
The beach is a strip of black and yellow basalt/pumice sand mix, brown to black. It is bordered by a cliff of pumice stratified over lava rocks, and has a varying width, between 10 meters in the narrowest point and 100 meters in its widest. It is roughly a km long.
Both yesterday afternoon and this morning (when I came back for a quick bath) there were tall waves, and bathing was fun - and dangerous. Yesterday I had no problems, but this morning the waves were even stronger, and I got actually scared once when, standing on the sand in shallow water, all the water was sucked away and then a wave completely dwarfed me with its crest. I managed to stand by jumping it, but then decided I had had enough…
Below are some pictures of the beach, taken yesterday afternoon.
Common skills of the hungry experimentalist September 7, 2006
Posted by dorigo in food, humor, personal, physics, social life.add a comment
Yesterday night we had our conference banquet at a local theater, which had been set up as a dining room for the occasion. Tables were tidily set in the middle of the theater, and later we were treated to local music and dances (check out the pictures below).
The food, as always happens in these kinds of occasions, was much worse than what we had been accustomed to by our restaurant (lunches at the restaurant were included in the conference fee, and were usually reasonably good). I skipped the soup, diligently ate my main course of fried fish with vegetables, and then waited hopefully. In fact, I was counting on a good dessert, which duly arrived after some twenty more minutes. It was the kind of creme caramel they make here. I love cream caramel, especially of such a thick and rich kind. So I got hold of a slice, ate it in no time, and then waited as a predator for the waiter to come and serve the few people in our round table who had not received it yet.
As soon as the waiter arrived, I quickly hid my dish on my lap under the table, and signalled him to serve me a slice - supposedly the first and only one. To the amusement of my colleagues, I thus got a second slice before they could even finish their first one. David Kaplan, on my left, was really impressed, and Thomas Cohen started arguing about the fact that experimentalists aren’t as dumb as theorists usually believe. Overall, a success and a little fun to spice up the evening…
Here is a picture of the hall with the azorean dances we were presented with.
Driving a Mercedes September 7, 2006
Posted by dorigo in personal, travel.add a comment
Yesterday I made a big mistake. I rented a car and, not willing to end up with the same kind of lemon (a “class C” car) that I had been given on Sunday (a subcompact car which would not hold the trajectory on the road if it rained), I decided to upgrade myself and go for a “class D” car (according to the classification of the rental company). That meant investing a few more dollars per day, but I figured it was a good idea.
The mistake was to ask for a class D Mercedes A140 at the front desk of my hotel, and then forgetting about the issue when the car rental guy came and picked me up, bringing me to the office to sign the papers. I was then presented with a brand new Mercedes E220 CDI, a dream of a car. I did not complain, obviously, since I just wanted to take off. So it was only a few miles later, when I recalled I had not specified again what kind of car I wanted to the car dealer, I checked the price on the leaflet of the rental company, I discovered it was a “Class Y” car, 100 euro/day. That’s about 180 dollars a day, after you’ve paid for insurance and taxes. Shoot.
Well, what to do with things it’s too late to change ? Put up your best face at them. I did enjoy driving that marvelous car all day, and today I used it a little bit more to travel to a nice beach on the northern side of the island. Too bad I decided to not keep it for another day!
Below, a picture of the car. I must say Mercedes are not overrated. So smooth and silent, and yet so powerful!
