A Little Pandemic Adventure
O.k. first off – yes, it’s been a while since I last pecked here (more than 3 months to be exact). Three months and boatloads of adventures in new foreign lands, I might add (Rwanda, Uganda and Ethiopia).
Indeed, a goodly while, and stranger still – given that I (like most all of us around the entire globe) have been shut-in under a mandatory “Quedate en Casa” (“Stay at Home”) for more than 3 straight weeks now – I surely can’t say I’ve not had plenty of idle time on my hands here.
In any case, a goodly spell w/o a peep from the TravelnLass. Sorry. But I AM here now, today, finally. Right here at your service, with a crazy little tale of Corona virus folly. Just a little somethin’ to maybe cheer you all up a tad. Or at least a quick diversion from the same ol’ same ol’ that we’ve all been coping with lately.
A single tale, from a single lass, in a single small corner of a globe that is presently earnestly hunkered down trying its level best to stay healthy. This – is how my day went down today:
Now THAT was quite the little hyper-ventilating adventure!
My Prize(s): A precious bag of flour (the “Ruffles” were simply a small reward to soothe my shut-in sanity)
My quest was humble. All I hoped to do today was snag a small bag of flour to make a new recipe for waffles (this silly recipe for “Waffle Corn Dogs” if you must know). But amid a mandatory “Quedate en Casa” (with – most importantly – a 2 pm to 5 am curfew), alas, I made a series of grave tactical errors.
Mistake #1 – Like an idiot, I left mi casa late-ish (considering the 2 pm curfew), and worse – I didn’t bring my phone to keep track of the time.
Mistake #2 – I could have just walked 2 blocks to the nearby Supermercado, but… as this shut-in situation limits the exercise I normally get (not to mention, encourages me to eat twice the carbs/sweets that I normally eat), I suddenly opted to instead walk to the more distant (by more than a mile) AKÍ store.
Mistake #3 – The AKÍ store was closed when I arrived ( 🙁 ) prompting me to consider… what the H-!-! time was it anyway! I didn’t know how close it might be to 2 pm of course (see Mistake #1), so I swiftly turned around and hurried back towards mi casa.
Mistake #4 – Along the way… I spied a tiny open tienda, and asked if they had any “harina” (“flour”). YESSS! They did, so I entered the dark/cavernous little shop and swiftly paid for it and asked what time it was. Yikes! 1:45!!!
Still… I was nearly halfway home so I figured I could make it back to Casa Dyannita by the 2 pm curfew if I stepped up the pace a bit (not overly easy to do with a mask over your nose and mouth at 8,400+ feet). Nonetheless, off I hurried in (what I thought was) the direction of home (are you um, getting a hint as to what mistake #5 was?)
Mistake #5 – Yup, I got turned around in that little tienda (something I’m wont to do in the best of times, and especially when all the shops are shuttered so everything looks unfamiliar/different. So off I hurried… in the WRONG direction!
Indeed, nearly 5 blocks out of my way – in the opposite direction of casa-sweet-casa! The streets were pretty much deserted of course, but finally I spotted a family unloading groceries at their door, and asked “¿Dónde está la nueva catedral?” (Where’s the New Cathedral? – the icon of El Centro just 4 blocks from my apartment). Happily they set me in the correct direction and I hurried on.
But within minutes – I heard SIRENS all over El Centro – no doubt the municipal policia dragging the streets for stray interlopers breaking the curfew – like ME!!!
Needless to say, I picked up the pace and hopped my sorry-ass as fast as I could, darting around corners dodging army vehicles blaring bull-horns to get “QUEDATE EN CASA!”
lol, I felt like a CRIMINAL evading the FBI for heaven’s sake! And as I ran, I was desperately searching through the bank of Spanish vocabulary in my head in order to spit out the phrase “How much is bail?” when they slammed shut the bars on the door of my cell!
Turns out it’s “¿Cuánto es la fianza?” so the good news is – I learned a new Spanish word! 😉
Long story, short? I didn’t make it inside my door (with my precious “harina”) until 2:16, but at least I didn’t end up in the Cuenca Clink – whew!
Salud Segura to All of you out there, and por favor…
STAY HOME!!!
P. S. lol, turns out – according to Google translate that “Rizadas” in the pic above doesn’t translate to “Ruffles” after all. Google says “rizadas” means “kinky”, which of course – only adds to the fun of eating them! 🙂
About the Author
Dyanne Off-the-beaten-path travel is my passion,and I’ve always lived life “like-a-kid-in-a-candy-store” – eager to sample as many flavors as I can. Indeed, my life motto has long been: This ain’t a dress rehearsal, folks!
You might also like...
The TravelnLass Emerges! (And a Photo Recap of East Africa) →
Continuously Wandering the Globe… →
JAPAN: A 15 Day Adventure in the Land of the Rising Sun →
Off-the-beaten-path travel is my passion, and I’ve always lived life “like a kid in a candy store” – eager to sample as many flavors as I can. Indeed, my life motto has long been:
Glad you’re inside and okay. I didn’t look at the blog for a while, ‘cuz you hadn’t said anything for longer than that and was about ready to email you to see if everything was hunky dory. Thought I’d check the blog first and there you are, head inside, legs weaker and wondering where the weight is coming from 😉
Thanks for thinking of me Ted. Yes everything is about as “hunky dory” here as it can be given the pandemic. And yes too – more than a month now of mandatory “quedate en casa” has added a few pounds and weakened these ol’ knees a tad for lack of my usual exercise. Small price to pay in order to #flattenthecurve. My heart goes out to those who are risking their lives to save the many that are dying. ;(
I could picture you scurrying through the streets and laughed out loud that you were wondering what the word for “bail” was in Spanish. You have no idea how much I identified with your simple statement, “I got turned around …” as my conversation with myself anytime I leave the house is “remember your phone” which helps for both the clock and google maps! Here in Portugal, we’ve been under National Emergency orders since March 13th with the beaches closed, outside time discouraged, trips limited to the grocery/pharmacy/doctor, fines being issued for any group gathering and now, for the Easter holidays, the promise of being asked for something to prove your address so that you remain in your own municipality. However, it all seems like such a small thing to do to help keep someone else (and ourselves) healthy and ease the strain for those in the medical community and our other essential workers. Stay well and I look forward to reading about your African adventures whenever you start pecking away again!
Yes Anita – that ol’ “…turned around” thing has long been a nemesis for me. It’s a wonder I’ve not gotten lost forever in one of the many strange places that I’ve wandered w/o a clue as to where I was, nor where my hotel was. 😉
And yes too – such small sacrifices staying-put in our cosy casitas, compared to those who are risking their lives (and their loved ones’ lives!) working on the front lines. Never thought I’d see such a thing in my lifetime. All we can do is each do our part to #flattenthecurve by “quedate en casa” for as long as it takes…
Oh my, quite the heart-stopping adventure!
Good to “hear” from you Ruth! Where are you these days – still somewhere in what – Eastern Europe? Hope all is well there, and with your family in England, yes?
Always nice to keep in touch with old friends from Vietnam. You were instrumental in encouraging/inspiring me to head to Saigon to take the CELTA. My, but we’ve both scooted on to other corners of the globe, haven’t we!