I finally left my room a little before noon here and was able to get a map of the city. I wandered around for about 3 hours - mostly in La Parque Carolina. On my walk there I found a cute Panaderia (sp?) and got lunch (which consisted of a ham and cheese sandwich and a Snapple) for $2.40. Then I continued my walk to the park, which was AWESOME. Right when I got there, police went sprinting after 2 young guys. Well, only the one policeman who was in shape was able to keep up - the others fell behind. He ended up catching one of the guys and pulling him to the ground. I decided to keep walking the other direction.
The park was really neat because it was full of people of all ages doing all sorts of things. There were people just reading on the grass, taking a nap, observing the surroundings, exercising, and much more. As I continued on I realized how much I stand out here - my brown hair is so light compared to theirs I might as well be a blond! Not to mention my pasty white skin... Next I came upon the Botanical Gardens and decided to go in there. I saw all different kinds of plants, including cacti and orchids galore. My favorite part was the rose garden though. I have never smelled such sweet roses in my life! I spent quite a bit of time with the roses, smelling all the different ones. Some were heavy scents, some very "floral" and perfumy, but my favorite were the sweet smelling ones. I know my Mom would have appreciated the gardens there, and they certainly did put a smile on my face.
This was my favorite smelling rose
After I left the gardens, I continued on the paths around the park. I walked by an exercise area which is really neat, and a dog run full of lots of dogs. I didn't pet any though because they appeared to be strays and full of fleas. There were little restuarant/food stands every so often, and vendors on bicycle's selling drinks and ice cream. After passing that area, I came upon another playground for kids. I wish I was younger so I could have played on it! There was an old plane turned into a playground/fort with ladders and slides everywhere. They also had old farming and constuction equipment set up for children to play on. Basically instead of using plastic and stuff like we do in the US, they take old things and convert them into play equipment. One little boy who was probably around 5 even climbed to the top of a miniature rock mountain!
I continued my walk and by this point I was regretting having walked so far in one direction because I still had to walk back, but I was determined to get to the edge of the park. I ended up passing soccer games, vollyball games, basketball courts, tennis courts, and more. People were just everywhere! (including the police) I stopped at a convenience store on my way back that was on the edge of the park to get a drink. Then I saw a Porta store (cell phones) and thought I would check that out. However, there were guards with guns and bullet proof vests that wouldn't let me in and spoke so fast I had no idea what they were saying, so I just walked away.
By this time I was hot and tired so I picked the most direct route back to my hotel. Walking along the edge of the park I passed even more stuff if you can believe it! There was a BMX track with people racing - the coolest part of that were the seats on the side to watch: the ground had been shaped to act like a bench - so it was just like a grass covered bench. Then there was a science museum (I may go back to that eventually), a moat with paddleboats that you could ride around in, and a skate park/ramp. It was the never ending park!
BMX Track on the right side of the photo with the grass bench left/center
Finally I made it back to my hotel where I fell asleep for a few hours - just late enough that it was dark out and I didn't want to go find dinner, so granola bars and water and chocolate it is! Tomorrow I am meeting up with three others from my program in Gringolandia in La Mariscal Sucre district (really close to me). Until then, I'm bumming in my room and reading and going to bed early so I can get up and get a good start tomorrow. Goodnight from the equator!
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