Finally Doha. Those of us who arrived in Qatar almost from the other side of the world had a long day on Monday. The trip, with stops in Sao Paulo and Addis Ababa, had it all. We will know more details of that journey that had an involuntarily cinematic touch. The concrete thing is that we have arrived at what will be the home of the World Cup and the group has surfed, from the beginning, a few more obstacles. A broken suitcase was the greatest damage to the entourage. And it ended up being cheap because it could have been worse. Sergio Goicochea, the Goyco, the hero of Italia 90, left the airport with two suitcases less. This is how finally, after almost two days, we moved away from the planes a little and were able to get on the carriages that were waiting for us to spend the night at the hotel.
The first culture shock happened immediately. The streets of Doha have that I don’t know what. Because there are almost no roads, except in neighborhoods and slums. The rest is like being in a Pan-American in the shape of a Moebius strip. There are, or seem to be, hundreds upon hundreds of boulevards and highways crisscrossing the city from one side to the other, forcing you to maintain extreme concentration behind the wheel. You have to go straight and then turn slightly to the right or left to reach your destination. Paved paths open and close with small signs or zebras that sometimes play tricks on the unsuspecting tourist. You must follow the GPS orders as if they were a commandment. A distraction can take you across town and what was just 5 minutes away becomes half an hour away.
Sure, there isn’t a well in the streets. The streets that we have been able to walk are, in reality, alleys that in some parts of the city lead nowhere. Because the capital of sumptuous and intelligent buildings seems to be constantly under construction. For example, in the Msheireb Center district, a thriving city, it is striking to see old houses in ruins of which it is not known whether they are under construction or destroyed.
The lack of people on the streets is also striking. It’s full of cars, but there are no people, the kind you wonder where they go when it rains. It doesn’t rain here either. So it seems logical. You see workers working everywhere, yes. But you hardly see families or children walking on the sidewalks. It seems they all go by car.
We just had to wait until nightfall -although, to be honest, we didn’t have to wait that long as it gets dark at five in the evening- to meet the people around. In La Perla, one of the chicest neighborhoods in Doha where luxury car dealerships and haberdasheries coexist, some little ones in Argentina national team shirts were running around to the rhythm of a local band. If life is about first impressions, it’s worth jumping to a hasty conclusion. Beyond the gigantic images seen in the Downtown towers with players from different teams, La Escaloneta is all the rage. Replicas of the Albicelestes jerseys are on display in clothing stores, not just sports. They beat Brazil’s verdeamarelas by an overwhelming majority, second in the ranking that doesn’t end there anymore. It’s like you aren River-Bouth World. For now of course…
But Argentina is not seen only on the T-shirts. Curious detail to close this game: in a place where shawarma was sold -they are everywhere- and where spices, risotto, walnuts and huge trunks of olives were also sold, we found a very national product. Missionary yerba mate, in 250 gram packs, is also available in Qatar.
Doha. Special delivery.
Source: Clarin
