Long view of pleasant narco cop who walks the park witih his beautiful Shepherd
This little guy wants to switch toys
Shoes came off before allowed on the slide
I woke up this morning with a clear feeling that my condition was improved. That lasted through most of the morning .........then as the day wore on I began to be not so sure. But now I've just eaten a bowl of Raman and feel quite good. It's just the recurrence (or lack of disappearance) of the cough that irritates me. I'll do another early to bed and I really think it will keep inching forward in the right direction.
I had huevos rancheros this morning at the "100% Natural" restaurant which is around the corner from my hotel and across the street from Llano Park, one of the best people watching places in town. I had a green health drink and then a cup of coffee at the end to prolong the experience of looking out the window at the people walking around and into the park. While I watched, a man began putting down a tarp on the cement surrounding one side of the large southernmost fountain in the park. I was a bit curious as to what was going to happen there but didn't think much more about it. When I left the restaurant, walked across the street and entered the park, I had the answer to my wonderment. That man with the tarp had installed a huge, inflatable, double sided, almost vertical slide playground. There were children (mostly small) climbing up a central stairway, and at the top, they turned to the right or to the left and then went swishing down a steep slide with great glee. I sat down on a bench and watched them from one side and then I moved to the fountain and watched from there. Each place offered a whole new perspective. Back to the bench for a long time. There is endless entertainment in just such a little scene. A street vender with all kinds of food moved in quite near me and that just added to the complexity of things to watch. Then two beautiful young pre-teenage girls sat on the bench across the way from me. They were so engrossed in conversation and earnest about it all, I could hardly keep from staring. First, one had a large, thick book in her hand and sometimes it would be passed to the other to share a paragraph. And then, lo and behold, they each had a copy of the same book. How I wished I could have known what reading they were so deeply into. Just to add to the scene, two pigeons began walking around the vendor and in front of the girls with heads cocking forward and back in unison. I always find pigeons beautiful but these two had the most exquisite blend of iridescent purple and blue feathers on the necks I wished my camera hadn't just run out of battery while I was photographing the little ones.
I could have watched the pigeons, girls and the sliding small people forever if I hadn't begun to tire and feel the need to get back to my room and its comforts. Good that I did because I wasn't back five minutes before a friend from the previous week's class came to visit me. She volunteers for Envia, the group that is centered at my language school and gives tours to outer villages. On each of these tours they visit at least three women who are hoping for monetary assistance in the form of a micro loan to aid them in the formation of a small business. The tour costs 650 pesos per person and that money all goes to the making of those loans. A really good cause to say the least.
One last word about that visit to the park and the view of it from the restaurant. You know, we all hear about the "poor" dogs. Well, I have to tell you that when you live in a city and frequent a place like Llano Park, you get a different perspective. Of course, you all know I adopted one such poor little guy who now lives happily in my (I should say his) home. But the dogs that go walking past you at the park, mostly on leash are a very different story. Every possible breed. Many washed and brushed to show dog perfection. I was passed by what looked like brother and sister Golden Retrievers that looked like they had just come from the groomer. Gorgeous. So there are always two sides to a story.
My camera is charging as I bring this to a close. I promise I'll transfer some pics to this post from it tomorrow. Hope you all had a good weekend. (Just emptied the card — Pics to be added momentarily)
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