Wow, that was quick!

Well, I finally got my napolitana de chocolate from La Mallorquina (http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Mallorquina). I had actually been a little afraid I’d be disappointed, but it was every bit as decadently rich and flaky and gooey-chocolately as I remembered…mmmmmm.

As much as I enjoy my goodies, I can’t eat a whole napolitana all at once. G can do it, but it’s just too much for me, so I savor part of it, put it away, take a few more bites maybe a half hour later, and then finish it off an hour or more after that. This method does effectively prolong the pleasure, as well.

I’m sure glad we don’t have anything like that at home; if we did, it wouldn’t take long before I’d be as wide as I am tall!

I spent a good part of yesterday afternoon enjoying La Plaza Mayor and Sol, listening to various street musicians—ranging in style from a harpist playing classical music to a mariachi band to a bass/drum/clarinet jazz combo—and wandering around the narrow, winding streets and alleys with their myriad of little cafes/restaurants and shops stuffed impossibly full of items for sale: souvenirs, clothing, whatever.

As I was leaving La Mallorquina, I noticed about a half dozen young men (early 20s?) in the process of laying out merchandise for display on the ground. Each one had a piece of canvas about a meter square (notice I didn’t say “yard”) and they laid them out in a neat line, perhaps a foot from the edge of the next one. One was arranging sunglasses in precise rows on his piece of cloth, the next was doing the same with women’s wallets and small purses (and already starting to dicker with a young woman over the price of one), a third with what appeared to be DVDs/movies, and so on.

What caught my attention, though, was that criss-crossing each canvas square were two pieces of cord, each one attached to diagonal corners of the cloth, forming an X, and knotted in the middle where they crossed. It was clear the design would allow the owner to easily scoop up all the items at once, in which case the canvas would then function as a sort of bag or satchel and, thus, equally obvious the merchandise itself was suspect and the young men weren’t supposed to be there.

Sometime later, I happened to pass by the same place and saw them doing exactly the same thing—again just setting out their merchandise in neat rows. Amused, I decided to wait and see how long the process took. People were leaning against a wall a few yards away and I headed towards an open space against the wall, turning myself around to back into it. As I got close, I half turned my head to gauge how far away I still was and that’s when it happened.

You know how a flock of birds will suddenly take to the air in a flutter of wings and warning squawks? Or you’ve seen movies of gazelles or whatever grazing on the savannah and the next thing you know the entire herd is thundering off into the distance? Well, this was essentially the same thing.

As I started to turn my head and shift my weight to lean back against the wall, I heard a sort of muffled yelp, but even as I spun my head back around I was too late to catch the action. All that I saw was the last one disappearing around the corner, canvas bag not quite yet completely slung over his shoulder. It couldn’t have taken much more than a second—literally!

G says the majority of them are probably here illegally, but the real issue is that if they’re caught, their goods are confiscated.

Wow, were they ever quick, though! An amazing display of coordination, agility, and speed. It really should be considered for an Olympic event or something.

And, as frequently happens with the birds in my backyard, I never did figure out what spooked them.