Today after 7 weeks I ventured into town, as it’s to long to walk my son dropped me off on his way to work, we are now allowed 2 people in a car from the same home, if 1 is in the back seat. It is like a ghost town, banks were open as was a small local veg shop, pharmacy’s, a health food shop, an electro domestic shop with a sign saying collection of pre order only but that was about it. No sign of restaurants making provisions to be able to do collections of ordered food as is permitted, I guess most small businesses will not be spending any money on all the new safety guidelines until we go into the next phase which allows for eating on terraces with distance between tables. To spend money now when they probably wont have enough business to cover the costs is probably not in their best interests.
I did get my new orthopaedic sandals though from a pharmacy, I realised I needed some after my last few days walking, then I headed home along the sea front. There were far more people around than I had seen in the last few days, all walking along the promenade or the beach and mostly wearing masks. The cycle lanes were busy and it reminded me of how badly they had been planned, running not alongside the road but through the middle of the pavement making it difficult for pedestrians to stick to the narrow space allotted, especially today trying to keep a safe distance from those you pass. During normal times they aren’t used much which is a shame, you saw the frustrations of the cyclists today as they whizzed along watching people and hoping they move aside as they saw them coming. Some areas have a very narrow pedestrian path next to the road which is unnerving being so close to the traffic, some areas have a slightly wider path on the other side of the cycle track too but these are still not wide enough for a pushchair and small children walking along with a parent. They are I feel, not safe for cyclists or pedestrians alike with an extremely bad design and working of the space allocated. It does make you wonder who these designers and planners are sometimes, and whether they hold any intelligence or common sense!
There are 6 different routes up hill to home, since being let out again I was on my 4th different route, this one took me past where I used to live and to my pleasure I saw the last few Jacaranda flowers on a couple of trees. All the others trees I have seen had finished blooming so at least I did get to see some now that we have missed their beautiful lilac display lining our streets. I also saw a couple of the tiniest birds I have seen, sitting on their branches and darting about at lightning speed, they seemed to follow me along the road home until I came to the waste ground I cut across. The birds left and I was attacked by so many flying bugs including small locusts/grasshoppers landing on my legs and body, these have all appeared in the last days since the sun has finally arrived as a heatwave!
Tomorrow I think I will stay local to save the walk uphill, after 4 days of doing so today’s felt the toughest although it isn’t, but the temperature is as hot as in July and we really haven’t acclimatized. With 2 routes left to take I have decided that one of them I may not explore at all after looking at it today, maybe I am getting too old for it or maybe I just need to get my fitness level up a little more. Talking of age, today is my birthday and it feels strange being in isolation but at least I did get to go out and buy some new sandals to walk in. I also received a couple of cards surprisingly from the UK and my neighbour left me some fresh nispros fruit from theirCampo land. Also my son walked in with some fresh cakes from the bakery which actually need pre ordering these days, but he managed to sweet talk the staff so nice surprises all round.
I am going to leave to spend the day giving myself some TLC and more than likely a lot of chatter on the phone. Please stay safe and take precautions to protect yourself and loved ones including taking care of your mental health 💜
Growing Old 
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[…] Growing old – easing lock down. 52 Tiny birds not more than 2″ (5-6cm) darting through Jacaranda Trees […]
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