Bogota Journal: Rain

The rainy season seems to have begun.  Yesterday it was constant from about 11 am and on.  Rather like Vancouver rain but at times very heavy.  My goal was to walk to a second hand bookstore, eventually, in Chapinero.  I stopped in the natural food cafe because the rain was getting even too heavy for my big fat umbrella so I harboured there with a coffee and spent an hour or so on a drawing.  I ended up having some pleasant conversations with a couple of other customers, one a mature man in a well cut suit and tie (they're not all snobs).  Nice people and a lot of people here seem to like my art.  I have always been a bit indifferent.  I feel sometimes like a fat little white duck that lays golden eggs.  Here comes another one QUACK!!!!! and then I kind of look at it, forget about it and get on with the business of laying another one.

I proceeded from there to Michel Patiserrie, the snooty French place, made myself comfy with coffee and croissant (you get tonnes of jam!), spent another hour with my current drawing (it's a golden headed quetzal, a native bird in Colombia.  Here's a google image. )

It´s almost finished and it's drawing number four here.  I'm hoping to complete maybe six in Bogota.  This for me is the real high point of being here, besides meeting some really great people.  I can devote hours every day to my art.  It's wonderful. After this I walked under rain the remaining distance to Chapinero, bought a couple of books and advised one of the staff or owner, perhaps, about resources for practicing English in Bogota, recommending to her Jorge's group that I have been participating in Saturdays.

The streets in this city, because of poor drainage, are converted with every rainfall into a network of lakes and rivers.  It was kind of fun going about in this weather and I was surprised by how much energy I had.  On the way back it was something different and the thin mountain air really got to me and I really had to drag my heiney back walking very slowly at times to Pasadena.  At least I got back alive.  I love oxygen.