Malaga, without an elevator: the odyssey of living on the 26th floor

"When you reach the top, you're dead," the neighbors from the Martiricos towers, which have up to 30 floors to climb to reach their homes, would say. On the day of the total and historic blackout, to the chaos in communication, schools, workplaces, or shopping centers, was added the ordeal of not being able to use the elevators. Especially for those who live on a high floor, or for people with mobility issues, families with small children and strollers, or the elderly.

In a Málaga without elevators, Dolores Velasco, at 80 years old and with a walker, is one of the affected. "I left my house early, so I was able to go down without a problem. Now I have to climb the four floors to my house, and well, I'll do it as I can, stopping on the landings. This is a torment," commented the woman from Málaga at midday just before going up to her home in the La Trinidad neighborhood.

One of the families from the 26th floor of the Martiricos towers, who went down to buy some food, regretted the subsequent climb: "This is madness, we have to stop a few times because we have no other option but to get home, but we also need to buy some food for today," the neighbors lamented. With a shopping cart, other residents were also coming down from the 9th floor for the second time, since the first time they had not managed to buy anything "due to the huge lines" at the supermarket. "We'll see later how we get it up," they noted.

With his home on the 19th floor, Ricardo Álvarez decided not to risk it and stayed at his parents' house: "Better not to go today and stay with my family, it's not even about climbing the stairs, it's about living on a 19th floor without electricity." One of his neighbors, from the 16th floor, Igor, was going down with the dog in his arms to take it for its daily walk. He took it with humor, but confirmed that the situation in the building "was complicated."

Managers of tourist apartments also lamented the situation when receiving groups and families full of luggage. "The worst thing is telling them they have to climb 20 floors loaded with things and, then, explaining that they won't have electricity in the apartment," one of the workers remarked when welcoming the guests. From tourists to families with babies and strollers, such as Yolanda and José María, who had to go up to a sixth floor in Teatinos with their 5-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter: "This is going to be unbearable."