Recreation in time of pandemic.

Greetings friends!!!

Life is sometimes capricious and takes us to roads not traveled and sometimes to the same ones we have traveled. We may have to repeat the lesson because there is something left to learn. It is also likely that old friendships return to our lives because they bring new lessons. In short, life is complicated but we have to live it with all the situations it offers us.

Until recently I was an isolated woman, being a sociable person. I was and always have been cordial and friendly with neighbors but never went beyond a greeting. Nowadays I share some recreational activities with the neighbors.

In December, we created a group of parrandas and aguinaldos; in January we closed singing in the church for the "Paradura del niño". We were planning activities for Carnival but we were in mourning for a neighbor who passed away and we dedicated ourselves to pray to him during a rosary novena.

In order not to stay cold, the men built a "bolas criollas" court which is not yet finished but we have already started to practice and play short games in groups.

Two days ago I made my debut in these practices and it turns out that I did not imagine that I would be good at this game even though I still do not know part of the rules; however during the small games we play we are learning as we go along. Some of the rules are that you must not sit down during the game or leave the court. There are two sets of balls: green and red, with which each team is designated.

Basically the game consists of getting as close as possible to the mingo with balls of the same color. The mingo is a small ball, similar to a golf ball. There are moves called "Arrimes", others called "Boches". The "Arrime" is soft and is done trying to be close to the mingo and the "Boche" is thrown with force with the intention of removing the opponent's ball that is very close to the mingo. The team with the most balls close to the mingo wins.

When they boche the mingo, the structure of the game changes because then the ball where the mingo stops wins.the court is rectangular and the floor must be flat. There are eight balls for each team, divided into two for each team member, at least that's how we are playing it. The place where the foot is placed to throw the ball is called a "v" or "u" shaped object. When the mingo is taken out of the court it is declared a null shot.

The game of bolas criollas dates back many years and is played by both men and women, including youngsters. This popular game gave origin to the expression "A pata e¨mingo" which means that it came close.

This sport, so popular in Venezuela, favors physical activity in the open air and is fundamentally an alternative for recreation.

In the urbanization where I live, the pandemic forced us to join together for recreation. In the afternoon at approximately 4:30 pm to 5:00 pm we are concentrating to practice Bolas Criollas and once night falls and after we all go home, we go down to play dominoes; which is another popular and traditional game but I don't particularly know how to play.

It is clear that the games turn out to be very therapeutic.

Greetings and see you for the next installment.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

The photos are my own, taken with Redmi 9 phone camera