Today only in Bogotà, 3825 new covid cases were confirmed.

Ambulance coming and going across the city.

At 17:30 I leave the office, under a light rain. I walk through the overcrowded carrera 7, with people queuing at the bus stops, and the bored policemen standing with their very cute, slightly bored drug-sniffing dogs. I turn left at calle 59 and enter Chapinero’s cobbled, maze-like streets. It’s dusk.

I walk for around half an hour, before going home – after all I have spent my whole day sitting. I cross the colorful university’s church and the empty beer place. I cut through the street where I once talked about religion with a colleague of mine. Some steps up and I end up in a park.

First thing I notice, I see lots of dogs – my neighborhood is full of dogs and in the morning I often bump into dog sitters with more than 6 dogs. I see a group of youth, they’re smoking weed and seem very relaxed. A guy is skateboarding. Some girls are dancing and laughing like you can only do in your thirteens. A young couple is passionately kissing. Some guys are playing basketball, while a dog is going after the ball. I see and feel life around me. It’s powerful.

Only while I’m walking away I realize that none of them is wearing a mask.

How come that it felt so right, that it felt so good? Intimate and normal?

Today only in Bogotà, 3825 new covid cases were confirmed.

Teenagers kissing in the park.

Bogotà, April 26, 2021