e mail。 He did not have the pretext of climate to hasten their return because nature had endowed him with a colonial liver which resisted the drowsiness of siesta time and water that had vinegar worms in it。 He liked the native cooking so much that once he ate eighty…two iguana eggs at one sitting。 Amaranta ？rsula； on the other hand； had brought in by train fish and shellfish in boxes of ice； canned meats and preserved fruits； which were the only things she could eat； and she still dressed in European style and received designs by mail in spite of the fact that she had no place to go and no one to visit and by that time her husband was not in a mood to appreciate her short skirts； her tilted felt hat； and her seven…strand necklaces。 Her secret seemed to lie in the fact that she always found a way to keep busy； resolving domestic problems that she herself had created； and doing a poor job on a thousand things which she would fix on the following day with a pernicious diligence that made one think of Fernanda and the hereditary vice of making something just to unmake it。 Her festive genius was still so alive then that when she received new records she would invite Gaston to stay in the parlor until very late to practice the dance steps that her schoolmates described to her in sketches and they would generally end up making love on the Viennese rocking chairs or on the bare floor。 The only thing that she needed to be pletely happy was the birth of her children； but she respected the pact she had made with her husband not to have any until they had been married for five years。
Looking for something to fill his idle hours with； Gaston became accustomed to spending the morning in Melquíades？room with the shy Aureliano。 He took pleasure in recalling with him the most hidden corners of his country； which Aureliano knew as if he had spent much time there。 When Gaston asked him what he had done to obtain knowledge that was not in the encyclopedia； he received the same answer as Jos？Arcadio： “Everything Is known。？In addition to Sanskrit he had learned English and French and a little Latin and Greek。 Since he went out every afternoon at that time and Amaranta ？rsula had set aside a weekly sum for him for his personal expenses； his room looked like a branch of the wise Catalonian’s bookstore。 He read avidly until late at night； although from the manner in which he referred to his reading； Gaston thought that he did not buy the books in order to learn but to verify the truth of his knowledge； and that none of them interested him more than the parchments； to which he dedicated most of his time in the morning。 Both Gaston and his wife would have liked to incorporate him into the family life； but Aureliano was a hermetic man with a cloud of mystery that time was making denser。 It was such an unfathomable condition that Gaston failed in his efforts to bee intimate with him and had to seek other pastimes for his idle hours。 It was around that time that he conceived the idea of establishing an airmail service。
It was not a new project。 Actually； he had it fairly well advanced when he met Amaranta ？rsula； except that it was not for Macondo； but for the Belgian Congo； where his family had investments in palm oil。 The marriage and the decision to spend a few months in Macondo to please his wife had obliged him to postpone it。 But when he saw that Amaranta ？rsula was determined to organize a mission for public improvement and even laughed at him when he hinted at the possibility of returning； he understood that things were going to take a long time and he reestablished contact with his forgotten partners in Brussels； thinking that it was just as well to be a pioneer in the Caribbean as in Africa。 While his steps were progressing he prepared a landing field in the old enchanted region which at that time looked like a plain of crushed flintstone； and he studied the wind direction； the geography of the coastal region； and the best routes for aerial navigation； without knowing that his diligence； so similar to that of Mr。 Herbert； was filling the town with the dangerous suspicion that his plan was not to set up routes but to plant banana trees。 Enthusiastic over the idea that； after all； might justify his permanent establishment in Macondo； he took several trips to the capital of the province； met with authorities； obtained licenses； and drew up contracts for exclusive rights。 In the meantime he maintained a correspondence with his partners in Brussels which resembled that of Fernanda with the invisible doctors； and he finally convinced them to ship the first airplane under the care of an expert mechanic； who would assemble it in the nearest port and fly it to Macondo。 One year after his first meditations and meteorological calculations； trusting in the repeated promises of his correspondents； he had acquired the habit of strolling through the streets； looking at the sky； hanging onto the sound of the breeze in hopes that the airplane would appear。
Although she had not noticed it； the return of Amaranta ？rsula had brought on a radical change in Aureliano’s life。 After the death of Jos？Arcadio he had bee a regular customer at the wise Catalonian’s bookstore。 Also； the freedom that he enjoyed then and the time at his disposal awoke in him a certain curiosity about the town； which he came to know without any surprise。 He went through the dusty and solitary streets； examining with scientific interest the inside of houses in ruin； the metal screens on the windows broken by rust and the dying birds； and the inhabitants bowed down by memories。 He tried to reconstruct in his imagination the annihilated splendor of the old banana…pany town； whose dry swimming pool was filled to the brim with rotting men’s and women’s shoes； and in the houses of which； destroyed by rye grass； he found the skeleton of a German shepherd dog still tied to a ring by a steel chain and a telephone that was ringing； ringing； ringing until he picked it up and an anguished and distant woman spoke in English； and he said yes； that the strike was over； that three thousand dead people had been thrown into the sea； that the banana pany had left； and that Macondo finally had peace after many years。 Those wanderings led him to the prostrate red…light district； where in other times bundles of banknotes had been burned to liven up the revels； and which at that time was a maze of streets more afflicted and miserable than the others； with a few red lights still burning and with deserted dance halls adorned with the remnants of wreaths； where the pale； fat widows of no one； the French great…grandmothers and the Babylonian matriarchs； were still waiting beside their photographs。 Aureliano could not find anyone who remembered his family； not even Colonel Aureliano Buendía； except for the oldest of the West Indian Negroes； an old man whose cottony hair gave him the look of a photographic negative and who was still singing the mournful sunset psalms in the door of his house。 Aureliano would talk to him in the tortured Papiamento that he had learned in a few weeks and sometimes he would share his chicken…head soup； prepared by the great…granddaughter； with him。 She was a large black woman