It’s 3.30 pm. and I’m sitting by the pool with my computer.  I’m in the cloisters of a 16th century courtyard, surrounded by bougainvilleas and bright blue pots festooned with sunflowers.

I almost hyperventilated this morning when we arrived. This place is so beautiful. Embroideries, paintings, flowers and pottery amid the courtyards and corridors of the building. We could hear the sounds of Gregorian chants as we ate breakfast… I investigated but I couldn’t find the source.

Considering that this was a monastery for several centuries it was quite fitting.

Our room wasn’t ready so we set off for the weekly market…. OH my goodness, it covers acres and acres. The refreshing thing was that it was a market for locals, as there are not many tourists here. We walked past pigs trussed for sale, the haggling over the sale of goats, fruit that I have never seen before , and just about anything you need for the house.

We bought a pottery jug from some of the Indigenous women….. goodness knows how we’ll get it home, but I wanted the opportunity for photograph them. in their embroidered pinnies…..!!! this is why we came down here, to look at dying with pigment dyes and the embroidery and handicrafts…. The pinnies shown in the top two photos are part of the costume worn by the local women here…. each one is hand embroidered.