Turista

I got my first chance to wander around town as a tourist on my own this morning. Paula and her sister Lola were going to visit her mother in a nursing home three blocks from Lola´s house (I went with them yesterday) and I was free until this afternoon´s lunch.

I had a quick chicken and avocado sandwich for breakfast with a cup of Nescafe and headed out at the crack of 10:30am... A short three block walk took me to the beach and a lefthand turn had me heading south towards downtown. Since no self-respecting beach lover would think of arriving at their Saturday night party or club before 11pm or leave before 4:00am - the beach was, not surprisingly, pretty empty - except for the horsey odor from the scores of Victorias (horsedrawn carriages that are found all over town). And an occasional stray dog walking along the beachside sidewalk with a distinct air of having a place to go.

Downtown was equally quiet on this Sunday morning with fewer Victorias, but more mongrels. The legion of municipal employees standout in the morning as they go about their duties cleaning the beach of last night´s bottles and trash, sweeping the streets with brooms made of wood and straw, and sweeping the water in the gutters towards the drains. Parking attendants prowl their assigned block helping parkers by standing next to the driver´s window and waving their hands (which is usually totally ignored by the driver) as the driver parallel parks. They receive a small tip for this service along with the chore of watching the car until the driver´s return.

In the main square, Plaza Vergara, families fresh from church parade past my shady park bench. Organ grinders - with a fortune telling bird in place of the usual monkey - crank through their tunes spasmodically (see picture) while a beer bellied Chilean passes in a bright Britany Spears tee shirt (sorry, no picture...).