A Walk in the Park

This morning, Celeste and I went to play in a park that is a few blocks from our apartment building. There were no other dogs there, and only a few joggers here and there. Celeste loved it! I let her off her leash to stretch her legs a bit and she really burned rubber. Dancing and leaping to her heart's content, she finally worked the kinks out of her legs and just settled down and ran. She made big circles around me, returning when I called her, then out again to make a few more cirles. On the way home there is another, smaller park, El Parque del Bombero (Fireman's Park) where we played a little more time. This park has a beautiful flower garden and a monument dedicated to firemen. Happily, Celeste showed no interest in racing through the flowers, but when she made the leap from turf to pavement (at full speed), she lost traction and slid across the sidewalk on her back. Hah, no matter, she was up and racing again, no worse for the wear.

Just a few minutes from home, we stopped at a stand on the street, where they sell emolliente. Emolliente is a very popular drink here in Lima. It is the liquid strained from boiled flax seed, mixed with oatstraw infusion. Optional additions to emolliente are lime juice, and infusions of alfalfa and mint. It's primary medicinal use is to soothe the stomach and to aid the gall bladder function. Very warming on a chilly, damp day in Lima.