Barceloneta, #19, Barcelona, 2019
First, the anecdote.
We pay right about 165 US dollars a month (144 Euros) for the both of us to have a pretty complete medical insurance package (Assistència Sanitària). The deductibles are very low and just about everything is covered, including, as it turns out, doctor visits to the home at any hour, day or night, 365 days of the year.
(Yes, there is public health care in Spain–what we would call “single-payer”–and it is excellent (Google world life expectancy stats) and generally used for anything big…like chemotherapy, a liver transplant, bypass surgery, fixing a broken clavicle, etc. The private policy is generally used to get quick, routine care, and many folks–like us–opt to pay for this extra insurance.)
So…yesterday my wife was coughing heavily and felt terrible. What to do, what to do? We called the appropriate number and, in about an hour, a doctor showed up at our door, gave her an exam, diagnosed a bad cold, prescribed something for the cough, and was on his way 30 minutes later. Our cost? The co-pay was about $18.00, deducted from our bank account via auto-bill pay. I picked up the prescription for about 10 dollars (that’s expensive, actually!) in just a few minutes at the pharmacy 50 meters up our street.
Point: the United States has great docs, great R&D, great tech and equipment, and tremendous specialized medical expertise, but it has a terrible health care system for the masses. Let’s get with it, gang! Let’s join the modern world! It’s high time we had universal coverage in the US of A. No one should have to worry about losing their health care due to changing jobs, or having a pre-existing condition (hell, we ALL have those, right?)…or fear losing home and savings to bankruptcy when a spouse is diagnosed with cancer. (To those who love to hate the S-word: Oh my God, yes, I’m thinking socialism! But democratic socialism a la Spain, Norway, Holland, Germany, et al–not what passed for “socialism” in the Soviet Union. There is just an eensy-bitsy bit o’ difference.)
OK, I’m off the soapbox, rant over. Lets calm down with a bit of photography and a selection of recent monochrome images from the section of Barcelona beachfront that stretches its legs from Barceloneta to the iconic Hotel W (Hotel Vela)…
The Barcelona beachfront panorama on this first Monday of the New Year…cargo ships awaiting their turn to come in to port, the bizarre stacked-and-leaning cube sculpture, an airliner with gear down and aimed for El Prat airport, the sail-like profile of the W Hotel, a couple snapping a selfie on the beach, a guy with a metal detector checking his equipment before probing the sands, and a dog sniffing out the panoply of delicious scents excreted through various pores and holes by yesterday’s Día de los Reyes crowds.
Barceloneta, #6 (Odd Couple o’ Buildings). Barcelona, 2019
About the sculpture…It was built as part of the 1992 Olympic Games preparations by the German artist, Rebecca Horn, and is said to be a monument to some of the very tiny apartments that were typical of the Barceloneta barrio time ago. Folks here just call the structure “The Cubes”, although the official name of the work is “L’Estel Ferit” or “The Wounded Shooting Star”. It certainly makes for an obvious meeting point if you are looking for someone on the beach.
Barceloneta, #7 (The Beachfront Icon). Barcelona, 2019
The Desigual building near W Hotel has some nice reflections to play with, depending on the light, cloud cover, and your inclinations.
Barceloneta, #8 (Reflected Palms). Barcelona, 2019
Here, I have a few versions of W Hotel (or Hotel Vela), starting with the hotel tower reflected in the glass panels behind the Desigual sign. Perhaps you could read into this the inequality (desigualdad) inherent in our capitalist system that does not allow most folks to afford a stay at the luxurious W Hotel–but maybe they can buy a dress at Desigual? Or maybe they could just admire the reflections.
Barceloneta, #9 (Desigual-W Hotel). Barcelona, 2019
Barceloneta. #12 (W Hotel). Barcelona, 2019
Barceloneta, #13 (Double W Hotel). Barcelona, 2019
Barceloneta, #14 (W Hotel and Contrail). Barcelona, 2019
Barceloneta, #16 (A Dappled W Hotel). Barcelona, 2019
Barceloneta, #18 (W Hotel and Another Contrail). Barcelona, 2019
And, to change optical gears a bit, two simple silhouette images.
Barceloneta, #5 (Two Palms). Barcelona, 2019
Barceloneta, #21 (The Volleyball Referee). Barcelona, 2019
Back in Barceloneta proper, I found the first of what might become my “abandoned bicycle collection”.
Abandoned Bicycle, #1. Barcelona, 2019
Finally, this is not actually anywhere near Barceloneta, but something I saw on the way home, just a block from our place. Yep, a mighty tight fit for the delivery guy. Neither the nurses nor the driver seem particularly concerned, though, so it is likely a weekly occurrence.
Tight Fit, #3. Hospital Clinic, Barcelona, 2019
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