Same as last week: no going out allowed except for the bakery and the supermarket and such. I drove my car just once during the week, because I wanted to go the post office in the neighbourhood where we lived until September 2018 to check my box there, and to buy some stuff at a nearby Aldi. This is about 4 km from where we live now, and it is the farthest I have strayed from home since March 14th. So another week of trying to make a silk purse from sow’s ear.
14_1
Our social contact was limited to our friend Eliot’s son Lucas. He lives just a couple of hundred meters away from us, and one day my wife asked him to stop by while walking his dog so that she could give him a “care package” of groceries, all while maintaining the 2 meter distance:
14_2
My empty street, again, but for once with a human–the distant dog walker is just about to pass my house:
14_3
Staying with the animal theme, this dog looks a bit like my late Cheeta, and I always enjoy seeing him looking down on me when I pass this building a bit down our street:
14_4
The cats have the run of the place. They are still fed by people, and are not afraid of humans. This one was grooming and completely ignoring me:
14_5
Once he was satisfied with his appearance, he deigned to look at me:
14_6
Another kitty:
14_7
A sneaked walk to our beach on a rainy morning. The only sign of life is the fishing boat in the distance:
14_8
The beach itself and the paseo, empty, rainy and sad:
14_9
My big outing was to Playa San Juan, the neighbourhood where we used to live. It is a lively neighbourhood with many shops, most of which are closed now. The central avenue, Avenida Vicente Ramos where I used to walk Cheeta, was deserted:
14_10
On the way back, I drove along the beach and stopped briefly for a couple of snaps of emptiness, greyness but also a splash of colour:
14_11
14_12
14_13
Back to my immediate neighbourhood, some pictures from a morning walk. The façade of a tobacco shop that has since moved to a nicer location 200 meters away:
14_14
Light and shadow:
14_15
There is a dirt road behind our house. Strictly speaking, these two dog walkers are violating the rules. You are allowed to walk the dog, but alone:
14_16
An unpleasant sign of the times. It is true that the virus was most likely brought here by some of our many visitors; but on the other hand, our economy depends on tourism, so this sentiment is quite short-sighted:
14_17
The remainder of this week’s blog is from home. Some pretty flowers with rain drops in my garden:
14_18
Since I cannot ride my bicycles anyway, my wife has covered them up to protect them against the occasional rain we have been having:
14_19
The weather has turned nice now, and since our gardener is not allowed to come (and I hate gardening), my wife has been tending to the plants, in this case my late mother’s cactus:
14_20
The cactus has not bloomed for some time but it looks like it is getting ready to do so again:
14_21
14_22
I drove to a supermarket a few km away because they have a better beer selection than the local one. On the way I was stopped by police and admonished not to stray so far from my home again; but as a useful by-product, I scored three bottles of this precious commodity:
14_23
So, confined at home we have plenty of time to cook good food. One evening, my wife made vegetarian Vietnamese-style spring rolls:
14_24
14_25
And one glorious day, my wife decided to make a seafood-and-vegetable paella using our outdoor kitchen:
14_26
Checking on the rice, always a critical parameter when making paella:
14_27
Laying the table. This was a late lunch or early dinner, around 6 p.m. The weather was glorious and we ate outside:
14_28
Ready to serve:
14_29
Appetiser, boquerones fritos. We also had a nice salad. This is the Mediterranean food at its best:
14_30
Ready to eat in our prison:
