The Guadalajara Reporter

Has the era of the useful telephone book come to an end

My Coolpix camera was beginning to show signs of its age and I suspected it might freeze on me completely one day, no doubt right in the middle of some momentous event I was covering for the Guadalajara Reporter. Such a possibility was, of course, completely unthinkable, so I turned to Google to check out the prices of the new Coolpix AW100, which is waterproof and drop-proof with a built-in GPS: the perfect camera for a dangerous cliff-hanging trail or an underground river.

“This camera probably costs twice as much in Mexico as in the States,” I told my wife Susy, “but just in case, I’ll call up a few shops here in Guadalajara.”

I started out by dialing the “Information” number, 040, to get the telephone numbers of Best Buy and Laboratorios Julio, which I know sell a variety of cameras. Getting through, however, turned out to be a laborious process, as half the time 040 seems to be busy or “not home.” I finally got the phone numbers I was seeking, but to my surprise, when I called each of them, I got the message, “este número no existe” (This number does not exist.)

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