Showing posts with label donkeys. Show all posts
Showing posts with label donkeys. Show all posts

Monday, 17 April 2023

Cars in unfeasible places

 In Granada, the streets are cobbled and narrow, banked by high buildings.
Laid out in Mediaeval times, they are suited to donkeys.
But this challenge has clearly not put off the modern driver, and we frequently had to retreat into doorways to allow cars to pass. 
Almost no alley was too narrow for some car to attempt it.
Perhaps they are being driven by donkeys?

Monday, 3 April 2023

La Giralda

There were no warning signs at the entrance at the foot of the Giralda - a tower 104 meters high.
But that's ridiculous I thought. Someone with a heart condition or weak knees might set off to climb the tower.
However the tower had been designed to allow donkeys to climb it carrying people or goods.  Therefore the ascent was achieved not by a precipitous staircase but by a series of thirty-five shallow ramps.
The stream of people ascending ran alongside the line of people descending, each keeping to their respective right. So if one felt tired it appeared easy to swap over and return to the ground. 
The fact that each stage was manageable and that starting the climb did not require a big commitment meant that a huge number of people attained the top of the tower. 
As we jostled elbows for a view from one of the windows at the top we realised just how many people of all ages had made it.

Perhaps humans would achieve more if all aspects of life were designed with donkeys in mind.