May 15 continued

After talking over a pizza lunch on Thursday, E and I walked through the little botanic garden. I gave a slice of pizza to a young girl who asked E for money. She looked well taken care of for a beggar-girl and eagerly took the pizza when E offered her our last slice.

The garden doesn´t look like any other botanic garden I´ve been to. According to the tourist bus´s commentary there are plants from all parts of the world in the garden but I didn´t notice this - my time there was more like a leisurely stroll through a city park. The garden consists mainly of dirt pathways through treed grass swathes. The occasional greenhouses strewn about the park were homes for ferns, palms and other leafy things. There were no signs identifying plants and only once did I see a sign - reading ´French garden´.


in the botanic garden

There was no gift shop or cafe but instead a plethora of stray cats, like in the Recoleta cemetery. I had a good old love-in with one tabby who slowly inched further up my lap until its head was nuzzling my neck. I think of cats as creatures that want food rather than affection, so I was surprised at such a display. I would love to live near a park where there is always a cat available to purr on my lap that I neither own nor am responsible for!