Stuck to my stick

Sevilla, December 2023

Unfortunately, I had to leave behind my stick - collected in the jungle of Costa Rica - when flying back to Spain. As I had gotten so used to balancing out my discomfort during walking, relying on that little piece of wood, I craved for it’s replacement. Therefore, Stefano and I went on a mission, in search for the right stick with it‘s appropiate handle, in the old town of Sevilla.

We both met in Sevilla, him arriving from Formentera and me from Madrid, to spend two romantic nights together, before being apart from each other again, for another month. Because I was on my way to Portugal to meet my familiy, and him to Italy soon after.

It was a real mission, because gentleman‘s stores are not to be found in abundance. We asked people around, neglecting the tourist souvenir shops with thousands of colourful fans, castanets and flamenco dresses, to finally spot my new stick at the right place.

Once accomplished, we switched into tourist mode aswell and got lost in the narrow streets of the old city center, sunny main squares full of horse-drawn carriages, with phones at hand, ready to photograph, film or google search. These three marvellous korean ladies in front of the glamorous Hotel Alfonso XIII were a little suspicious, when I asked them to pose for me, but did giggle joyfully when looking at the results. I did not understand a word and left with a dum smile. Maybe the giggles were caused by a secret picture they shot of me, taking the piss out of european species. We both thought of each other as figures coming out of a cartoon anyway…

Next morning at the bus station, when waiting for the early bus towards Faro Airport, Stefano called me urgently from the Hotel because I had forgotten my laptop in the room. He shooted off in taxi to drop it off in my hands, just in time before departures.

He instead, spent hours at the airport with departure delay of his flight. At the end, he had to stay overnight in Barcelona because he missed his connection flight to Ibiza. All alone during New Year‘s Eve in an empty Airport Hotel, supplied by the Airline.

Mama, Deborah, Guggi and I arrived at the house, totally wrecked, cause none of us had slept since 24 hours, and still went on with programm of food shopping, cooking dinner and private kitchen dance party, until collapsing an hour before midnight into bed.

Happy New Year