A load of rubbish
Last Sunday Ian and I borrowed Chica, our neighbours´ dog, for the day and went off to some lakes about half an hour´s drive away. It was a gloriously sunny day, the water was clear and refreshing and we had no end of fun splashing about with our rent-a-pooch, watching her trying to dive for stones which we had lobbed into the lake. We were surrounded by families who were either swimming or enjoying picnics in the shade and laughter could be heard all around. You can picture the scene, surely. Idyllic springs to mind. Well, almost.
To our horror, all the bins on site were full and there were lots of carrier bags, stuffed with rubbish, which had been placed next to them. Of course it would have been too much to ask for people to take their litter home with them but at least they had made some effort to clear up after themselves. For others, this was far too big a task, so they had simply decided to leave all the debris behind under trees, by the water´s edge, … – wherever you looked there were rusty coke cans, smelly tuna tins, greasy crisp bags and even glass bottles, a lot of them smashed, so that many shards of glass were lurking dangerously in the sand. I hate to point the finger of blame at the Spanish but I´m afraid I must. Spaniards still have not learned to respect or look after their environment. They think nothing of littering everywhere from streets to beauty spots like these and have an amazing tolerance as far as pollution is concerned – they simply don´t care. I have often witnessed Spanish kids coming out of a shop, unwrapping an ice cream or chocolate bar and chucking the paper on the floor, the nearest bin virtually within their reach. When I´ve told them to pick up their litter and throw it in the bin, they have stared at me in disbelief (together with their parents) as if I had asked them to give my shoes a quick polish. So, yet again, I decided to pick up the glass at least, as I was worried about the dog injuring herself. (It wouldn´t have worried me if the culprits, who had dumped the rubbish in the first place, had cut themselves, but alas – poetic justice like that never happens, does it?) Two girls gave me some peculiar looks but I didn´t care. Next time, apart from our towels, two folding chairs and a cooler box, Ian and I will bring a big bin liner and gloves with us. What a sad world we live in.
The beautiful lake from afar :) ...
... and from close up :(