Friday i had to go to the Mecurio office in Maspalomas.  At the same time, i dropped my fatherinlaw of at the beach so he could go for a swimm before he had to fly back to germany on Sunday.

In the Mecurio, they are busy renovating, and the entrance looks like a bombshell has dropped into it……

The three lifts took their time in arriving, and i was in two minds wether i should walk the seven floors or not.  Just at that moment, the lift arrived, and the decision was made for me.  Even though i was undecided as i saw the people who got into the Lift (three heavyset you could say fat Indian Gentlemen, their skinny translator, and a tiny skinny little pretty thing) i took myself into the lift.

The lift was made for 6 People and the weight of 480kg.

The cabin is not very big and it was a tight fit.  I suffer a little in tight spaces, which makes me generally nervous, and to get into a lift with so many people took some nerve. Just as the doors were about to close, a very podgy (well she was fat actually) woman squeezed into the lift in front of me, and the doors closed without giving me the chance to get out again.

There we were stood, squashed together like sardines in a can, and it was a very unpleasant feeling to be so close to people you dont know.  I was breaking into a sweat and silently praying that the doors would open soon and the ride would be over. Just as the lift was aproaching the fourth floor, it suddenly stopped, and would not move an inch.

The air was hot and sticky, and as we had no room to move at all, i couldnt even faint (i wouldnt have hit the floor).

The skinny translator started to press all the buttons, and even pressed some of them at the same time.  I had a good mind to yell at him that what he was doing would surely not improve the situation.  But no on and on he went pressing the Buttons.

The fat lady (im going to lay the blame on her because she was the one person too many) pressed the alarm button, and the skinny bloke carried on with his mindless button pushing.  Slowly i was beginning to feel a little panik rise in me, and i tried to keep myself calm and forced some deep breaths into my lungs (which was almost impossible in that small space) I was looking for some kind of escape, and saw an emergency phone button on the right hand side of the lift.  I forced my arm through the crowd and pressed the button, and the phone began zu ring. Someone picked up, and the fat lady began to rabbit on that we are stuck in the lift and they should send someone to get it going.

That was ok, but the tone of voice she used was not very ladylike, and when she demanded it Pronto, i could have had a snap at her.  After all if she hadnt forced herself into the lift, we would not have gotten stuck.  In the meantime, the skinny guy was still pressing all the buttons he could find like a man on a mission.

A short time later, we heard a mechanic at the doors, and he began zu force them open from the outside. we had gotten stuck between floors, and had to climb up to get out of the lift. The fat lady was complaining and moaning, and i just understood enough, to hear him say that the lift was overloaded.

The rest of the pasengers moved over to the next door and cued there  for the lift. There was no way i was getting back into one of those, and took myself of on foot to walk the rest of the seven floors.  Im in no hurry to get back into a lift in the near future, and will be walking stairs for a while

After i had finished in the office, i went down to the Playa and ordered myself a large Beer with lemonade, to calm myself from the shock, even though i i normaly never drink alkohol when i drive.  After that, i was so calm, i totally forgot about the incident, until  i read an article on TV on Sunday about why so many lifts get stuck.

How could i forget something like that so completely??

Beitrag vom 28. November 2006 um 15:36 Uhr. abgelegt in der Kategorie English version. Du kannst einen Kommentar hinterlassen, oder nutze den Trackback.
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