Cafayate has just suffered the coldest days on record - frozen pipes, ice on the streets, the lot and all this when I have just run out of a gas and have and empty tank that is supposed to last three months within two weeks.
Order a new one - another 180 pesos except that the owner of Killa, the hotel that supplies gas tanks to the pueblo, tells me no way the tank is empty. I need a plumber. Oh depression. There are only two plumbers in the pueblo and they are either work-averse or way too busy, depending on the cycle of the moon. No - depending on the time of the month. If they have worked enough to cover expenses well then, may as well stay in bed.
I am used to plumbers and all workmen, drawing a dubious inhalation and saying they couldnt possibly get there before a week next wednesday. In cafayate, they say yes definitely, they will be there right away. It's just that 'right away' could signify 'mas tarde' or 'manana' or 'el ano que viene' - i.e. Never. The expats here fume about workmen, calling it a heinous form of lying but it isn't really lying. It's a cultural difference in that Argentines would rather be polite than honest. Like the men who tell they love you forever, it's just what they think you want to hear.
With the advice of my friend Jose, I stop calling the plumber's wife and we drive to his Hansel and Gretel house on the edge of the pueblo and physically remove him from the premises.You don't phone workers here - they always just smile hugely and nod and tell you yes. They don't trust phones in Cafayate - or at least they won't subvert the truth once they can see the whites of your eyes. But I have had three different plumbers en casa over the last month and none of them have spotted the problem of the wonky regulator that the German hotel manager who came with the gas tank noticed in about two seconds.
Yes, well plumbers...grrr....
Posted by: Joli | July 27, 2009 at 11:13 AM