29 October 2021 - FORMER ADDICTS LIVE IN SEWERS FOR 22 YEARS - COLOMBIA

 

 FORMER ADDICTS LIVE IN

 SEWERS FOR 22 YEARS

 - COLOMBIA -

 

G'day folks,

 Miguel Restrepo and his wife, Maria Garcia, hit some very hard times 22 years ago. They were both drug addicts living in Colombia and had nowhere to go after they had lost it all. They stuck together and helped each other get clean. But due to the area they were living, there were no options for a shelter or drug abuse programs, so they fought the battle with addiction on their own in their own “home”.

They had no money and nowhere to go, so what they did was their only option. They took to the sewers and found a safe secluded spot where they could focus on each other and kicking their addiction. Twenty two years later, they still call this little hole in the ground home and they say they couldn’t be happier.

 

Miguel Restrepo and his wife, Maria Garcia, have called this place home for 22 years.  They have made a new life under the streets of Colombia, where they helped each other kick an addiction to drugs. They had no other choice on a place to live and found this abandoned sewer that they carved into their home.

Miguel Restrepo and Maria Garcia have been clean for 22 years now and are completely happy living under the streets of Colombia. They take care of each other and define the meaning of love. They support each other and only expect unconditional love in return. They stayed by each other’s side through the toughest time of their lives and now are completely happy with simply being together no matter where home may be.  

 

Clancy's comment: Wow. How lucky am I?

 

I'm ...

 

 

4 January 2019 - THE SEWERS OF BARCELONA

THE SEWERS 

OF BARCELONA

G'day folks,

Barcelona's historic 19th-century sewers, whose foundations were laid in medieval times, are open to the public for exploring. 

Barcelona is known as the birthplace of Catalan “modernisme”, due to the architectural style pioneered there at the turn of the century. However, exploring below the city’s streets betrays the many layers of architecture in its history.

An aqueduct-based sewer system was introduced to Barcino, an ancient Roman colony, because when it rained the whole city would flood. Much later, in 1364 when the city had become known as Barcelona, medieval architects expanded on the sewers and ran water beneath La Rambla, the city’s most famous street. 

It wasn’t until 1886 that Pere García Faria designed the first modern sewers in the city, intended to serve Eixample, the bourgeois proto-suburb being expanded outside the medieval walls. These, too, expanded on and connected with the sewers of previous eras. Today some of these tunnels are still in use. Most are inaccessible to the public, but thanks to a dedicated group of Barcelonian tour guides, the sewers are open for adventuring.

 The best remnants are located below Passeig San Joan, a strategic avenue which linked Gracia, a formerly independent village, with Parc de la Ciutadella, the site of the 1888 Universal Exhibition. Beneath these streets a whole world opens up: The quiet flow of water in the dank sewers is illuminated by dim fluorescent lights while the city’s hustle and bustle continues on above.

The visits are facilitated by La Fabrica del Sol, an institution responsible for educating the public on Barcelona’s environmental activities. Small groups (no more than ten people) are guided by locals who explain the evolution of the aquatic tunnels, their technical processes and engineering, as well as lore and curiosities. 

Clancy's Comment: Mm ... Have you booked your ticket for Barcelona?

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