Since arriving I have been given time to reflect on many things. There is no clutter here, meaning that the pace of life is slow, there is no television or radio. Where I’m staying they work the land and so are at home unless there is errands to run or others who need their assistance. With no schedule, time becomes more flexible and I find myself just relaxing, comfortable with the quiet. I have been able to spend many hours just writing and listening. I have been pretty tired, sleeping in later than usual snuggled under the blankets like I would on a cold winter morning. Each day brings a new adventure, one that is not really planned at least not with me. I am just invited to go along with the family wherever they are heading. I try to go each time so that I can learn more about my surroundings and where I might wish to go on my own sometimes.
There are no street signs on the roads, so it’s easy to get lost with so many small shops selling similar items. Most are like kiosks, not very big, so for me as a passenger I find it easy to get turned around having few big markers along the way. Once I get to the grande merkado, I feel a bit more comfortable, but I find it hard to navigate the streets, although I haven’t spent much time having to do so on my own yet. As I spend more time walking around, which is different from being a passenger in a car, the surroundings will become more familiar.
The food markets are so colourful stacked wth a variety of fruits and vegetables. Pretty much all the produce is organic, but things like strawberries or broccoli are grown the same as in our part of the world and are sprayed, so the family I am staying with stay away from those items. I am getting used to a slightly different diet, one with a variety of beans, eggs and rice or potatoes. It is actually not much different from what I am used to, but I am eating bigger meals and more of them. For me breakfast was a little cereal with fruit and nuts. Lunch varied but it was my main meal of the day, snacking only at night. Here there are often 2 big meals (at least for me), and very nutritious.
Miss Mali and I have been taking walks along the road enjoying the countryside. I feel so good letting her explore, watching her run here and there. I can’t help but wonder what goes through a dog mind as they chase the smells around them. Walking down the hill I was amazed at the agave plants growing on the hillside. I suppose it is normal for them to grow this large, but having never seen them in their natural habitat, I couldn’t help but be facsinated.
The roads are very rough and at times hard to walk on, so I’m glad that I brought a good pair of runners along. There are deep ruts (almost as bad as in Saskatchewan lol) and the roads are quite narrow.
What a great feeling walking down a road that leads to such dramatic scenery. I just know that Mali is so happy when we go on these little adventures and this makes me happy also. As I stood there looking at the mountain a flock of white birds flew up from the lake towards me. I tried to get a picture of them, but the phone camera is not really meant for such long distance shots. I found out that they would be similar to our pelicans, probably of the same family, but they did not look as big from where I was watching.
What a beautiful vista though, a waterfall sounding in the distance as the sun began to set. Time to head back because it gets very dark, very fast here. A beautiful day!!
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