Swimming

Today the hard-drive on the laptop gave way. On the first boot of the day it was making a noise that could compete with a Colombian coffee grinder. After trying to install Windows and, with a rising sense of panic, using all the rescue utilities and boot disks I have, I am forced to the conclusion that it really is dead. This is both disappointing and impractical since my translation software, Spanish lessons, all my photographs so far and God knows what else are stored on that blighter. The upside is I have learned the Spanish for both hard disk (disco duro) and dead (muerto).I hope to never have to use them both in the same sentence again. A new disk in definitely beyond me. $200 for the smallest and two weeks to deliver.
LATER THE VERY SAME DAY...
Someone up there definitely likes me. What would you say the chances are of finding a second-hand 30gig IBM travelstar in downtown Barranquilla? Somewhere akin to having a small win on the lottery I'd say. Especially when one considers that the shop where I eventually found it were adamant that they never had had, didn't have and never intend to have such a creature in stock. It happened to catch my eye (that of an 'Aguila' these days),and having made a deal almost as sharp, $50 and a three month guarantee, the new, second-hand 'disco duro' is purring and whirring away happily in the laptop.(Spot the dead 10gig TravelStar in photo below and win a donkey).
A special thanks to Ike and Richard for getting this thing to me anyway, and Peter for the installations. All your rewards await you in the lost city. Fortunately I am carrying all the necessary software, MS Word is unfortunately in an ISO file which I cannot burn and I can't remember how to crack Systran. The photo of the early days and the photos of Miami are lost to me until I can get back to Europe, apart from that; happy as the proverbial pig. Happy days!
Thought I'd share that with you.