I have stopped watching the news….I have dropped all social media, except for my blog, which I try to keep to positive vibes…. there are a lot of folks in the world, who are everyday folks, just trying to provide food and shelter and love……….they are trying to make a living…….keep their kids educated and basically just take care of their families, without an agenda. Me too. I think there is more of us…. Just trying to live our lives….. So, I would like to take the time to focus today on one elderly gent I spotted in the Plaza Nueva, Balboa, Spain.
He walked with his head down…..was he thinking about how many times he had been in this plaza and all the things he had seen here? Was he sad? Was he lonely? Did he live in one of the balcony apartments?…
I’m afraid it’s smack down to earth again with today’s walk. No more high flying in Barcelona, but it was fun while it lasted. I’m having to be much more prosaic, because we are again under restrictions here in the Algarve. Depressing, isn’t it, but I’m determined not to wear a long face. The sky here is mostly blue, the fields are wave upon wave of nodding golden oxalis, and the almond trees are hastening from bud to blossom.
The beaches, with their wide open expanses, are once more closed, which makes me sad and seems to make little sense. But there are compensations. Even after all these years I can still find a strip of unexplored territory, if I try hard enough. And that always makes me smile. The freedom of stepping out into an almost unknown world is purely joyful. A narrow path, between stone walls, has me looking out on a scene I know, but how different it feels from the other side of the field. The oxalis colonise every possible crevice in the wall, and where they don’t intrude another invader creeps in.
The olive trees twist and twine, holding each other up. Yawning holes gape in their trunks, a readymade home for small creatures. I’m astonished to spy a bright pink cistus struggling out through the green. Surely it’s too early! But a heart-shaped hole in the rock makes me smile.
But there is no doubt that Spring is here. An asphodel nods in the breeze. Wisps of cloud drift across the sky, and suddenly a shaft of light illuminates the heavens. A moment of glory, and I gaze, transfixed! The almond blossom flutters shyly and a bird pauses, high on its perch.
A change of scene now for, across a road, the salt marshes stretch, away to the sea. The nearest I can get to the forbidden beaches. And so I wander between the channels of salt water, observing the process which will produce Flor do Sal, the area’s precious salt commodity.
A system of gates and pumps move the water from one channel to the next, in an age old method, culminating in the height of summer with salt crystals. Turning away, I head for home, not yet visible in the distance.
This is my reality now. A far cry from bright lights and big city, but beautiful in its own right. And I’m holding hands across the world with many in the same situation. We’ll get through this together.
It’s funny! Some weeks it just rains walks… or potential walks! If I’ve missed anybody out, I apologise in advance. Just give me a nudge! I now seem to be operating on a fortnightly basis, but I’ve no idea where I’m going next. Planning, hey? Join me on Jo’s Monday walk.
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How spectacular is this, from Sue and Dave? Tempted? Well….. not really! You know I love the sun :
What about that for a view? All of Barcelona at your feet. We’ve hit the heights at Tibidabo’s fairground. If you look hard you can see La Sagrada Famila down there, and all the way out to the harbour. A huge relief that the big dipper wasn’t working that day or I might have been scuppered!
Becky’s flying high and fulfilling a dream of mine today, but I have my feet firmly on the ground. I did have a brief but beautiful boat trip around this harbour though. Almost time for last orders at Squares!
It’s a long day, isn’t it? Do you suppose he’s phoning a friend? Las Ramblas isn’t my favourite part of town, but it wouldn’t be Barcelona without it! Meanwhile, Becky is very uplifting today.
Good morning hobby bloggers and welcome, Restless Jo, to my blog, Always Write. I am honored to have you as a guest on my blog. I met you through my friend Carol, The Eternal Traveler, when I started blogging in 2012. When did you start blogging, Jo?
Where did it all start? I began, very tentatively, to blog in September 2011. I’ve always loved to write, but technology isn’t something I took to with ease. Ask my long suffering husband! He’s my IT ‘expert’ but with no experience of, or interest in, the world of blogging. I simply wanted to tell my travel stories. Once I got the hang of blogging, I wanted to do it ‘my way’.
Note: To find Restless Jo’s current posts enter 2021 in the search box.
Today I’m looking from one piece of Gaudi architecture to another, and up close and personal with these formidable Warriors. I seemed to fool most people with What’s up, Doc? yesterday. It’s my final Gaudi building but I’m not yet done with Barcelona. By my reckoning there are still five days of squares to come. Where next, I wonder?
And so to the last of my Gaudi buildings. You had a peep inside Casa Milá (La Pedrera) on Silent Sunday yesterday, but it is the Warrior Rooftop which is truly spectacular. Scroll down the above link to catch a glimpse of the Butterfly and Flower Courtyards, and of the Gaudi exhibition in the attic. You might recognise the photo below, which would make a good brown for Jude’s Colours. I’m not sure about the warriors- a sort of beigey-brown? You can find a full history of the building in the La Pedrera section of the link. And an open top bus is a great way to see Barcelona.
Plaza Nueva, Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain 
