We put in an informal bid for the land we liked. It’s far lower than the seller is asking, but it’s what we can currently afford. The chances are that he’ll say no, in which case we will see how regretful we are. And if he says yes, we will consider whether to move on […]
Changes
A message was received today, and it looks like the Gentleman Friend’s childhood home may be sold. It is sad for him, as it is not only the place he grew up, it’s in fact the literal place where he was born, in the smaller room on the first floor. It is a lovely house, […]
New class
Today I had two sets of classes: one with my first Spanish teacher and a second with a different one I am trying out this week. It’s not been the most successful run thus far, but I think the second teacher will do for my time in Puerto Viejo. I was extraordinarily lucky, I think, […]
Unforced error
I went for my first class yesterday. I have to admit, I have my doubts about it. It is run by an American woman who is fluent in Spanish, but her style of teaching is very much of a unversity class, heavily dependent upon grammar terms and memorising conditions when one form is used or […]
Cloud forests are very lovely
Our first trip to the cloud forests. We went to a canopy walk, a very lengthy (and expensive) one. Rather busier and less wild than I would like, at least the paths and so on — the forest itself was spectacular. We didn’t see any animals but we’d have to come with a guide to […]
Those I’ll never see again
For some reason dogs seem to like me. This is not exactly reciprocated, as I don’t particularly like keeping pets, and especially indoor dogs, but I don’t mind dogs as long as they aren’t noisy and boistrous. Anyway, the dog at my Spanish school really seems to like me, but in a rather sweet way […]
Long ago battle
Today is a public holiday in the middle of feria season so the soundstage came into its own last night. Not only that, there were street parties everywhere, including at least two directly outside our window. Over the course of the evening the sound swelled, the salsa from the stage and all the different types […]
Unconscionable
An unconscionably late post. (Soon I will run out of embarrassed titles for late posts and then there will be a reckoning). Not much has happened in the past week. I have been going for my lessons and finding out a little more about Colombian history and life in Laureles from my teacher. It’s a […]
Back to school
This morning was my first Spanish class in Medellin. I left early so that I could bumble my way through buying a notebook – aside from feeble Spanish, my ear is not used to the Colombian accent and I have enough trouble shifting from British to American English. Then to find an ATM to withdraw […]
Farewells
Last day in Oaxaca. I’ve been feeling rather sad. The city is overflowing with people and cars and dancers and music and excitement, which is making it feel like I’ll really miss out but also the city is starting to be unrecognisable. There are vast tents set up on some streets, and filled with stalls […]