Colombia 11

So far, not a hugely eventful day here in Madrid Cundinamarca.  Which is rather nice.  Can't have every day buzzing with excitement and magic realism intensity, now, can we, Gentle Reader?  All that overstimulation can be bad for the skin.  Not great for the digestion, either.  Nor one's sense of everyday reality.

Alonso's at work today, so I hung out here in the apartment live streaming CBC, to stay in touch with all the excitement in Vancouver, while developing a new drawing, then I headed out for a walk.  First I stopped in the local internet store to thank the young man who sold me the new charger cable and to assure him that it's all working lovely.  I did this partly because I was a bit of a hardass with him (and he deserved it!). then I stopped at the local pharmacy because I'd run out of band aids and
Alonso didn't have any (thanks to me, he has some now).   It turns out that I didn't know the correct word in Spanish for band aid and the pharmacist brought out some rolls of bandages, so, I had to take off my shoe and pull down my sock to show him the bandage on my blister.  So, now I have band aids.  I also cut my thumb last night while cooking dinner, and in the old part of town, I was seated in a cafe the cut started bleeding slightly, so as discreetly as possible, with my hands under the table, I disinfected the wound with hand sanitizer, then applied one of the band aids I'd just bought and Bob's your uncle. 

While in the same café, three gentlemen came in, and suddenly ther4 were three sets of admiring eyes fixed on my artwork.  I have to admit that while this was flattering, I also felt a bit disconcerted.  Here's an image of the bird I am working on.  It´s called a fairy bluebird and they live in Southeast Asia.



I was also wandering on some of the side streets of Madrid, which are very quiet.  There is hardly any traffic anywhere, and there is a certain charm about the many ramshackle looking buildings, especially the brightly painted ones.

https://www.google.com/maps/@4.735757,-74.2591658,3a,75y,278.2h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1seBz3ExYqU-cnN8qB5v18hA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!12b1?rapsrc=apiv3

https://www.google.com/maps/@4.7359571,-74.2592503,3a,75y,278.2h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sszGovKyNyaDIrshim_M0Jg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!12b1?rapsrc=apiv3

https://www.google.com/maps/@4.7362991,-74.2595605,3a,75y,278.2h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sr4dapPAq76OdhA5w66MzXA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!12b1?rapsrc=apiv3

People seem to be and feel very safe in these neighbourhoods.  I noticed a little girl of about five or six in a school uniform walking alone and singing.

On my way to the mall I ended up chatting and walking with a gentleman around my age.  His name is Orlando and he owns a cake shop and bakery nearby that he invited me to visit.  I told him I would try to check it out tomorrow.  Now that I'm home (and Alonso's apartment has come to feel very much like home), I had a good nap, ate and am basically relaxing.  See you later.