Lake Atitlan, Guatemala
There are many great Spanish words to be tagged L for this week’s Story Alphabet. Although many people claim that they know little Spanish, they will most likely know some of these words! Through the magic of technology, this post will sail out of the starting gate while I am en route to Guayaquil to meet my friend Barbara!
lago near Mindo Ecuador
L is for lago/lake (Above) L is for leche (Below)
Cafe Con Leche, Anyone?
We were all amused when Nicolas dubbed the riverhouse, “Casa Loca.”
“Esta Casa Es Loca!”
Most of you know the word for moon: Luna. Full moon is luna llena. Remember that the double l sounds like a Y.
Luna llena sets at dawn
Most likely, all WordPress bloggers love books/libros! Ah, to hold a book in one’s hands and savor the words – THAT is becoming a lost art. Today is like a blank page in a book; what will you scribble on your page of Life for today?
The Mola Series – Guest Book/Libro
A pencil is called a lapiz; a pen is lapicero.
Lapiz – Pencil
I enjoy using a sharp Ebony drawing pencil! (above) Drawing can be an emotional balm. It is there where I am at peace; my mind grows still, and my concept of time slows to a dream-like state between being fully awake and asleep.
Below: Here’s a fun way to illustrate latitud zero! One becomes fully aware of one’s gps position on earth when one foot is in the northern hemisphere, and the other is in the southern zone!
LATITUDE ZERO: One foot in the northern hemisphere; one foot in the southern one!
Then we have the double l words:
Lluvia – Rain, rain and more rain! Life in the tropics comes with lots of rain. Without the rain, we’d not have the lush green tropical plants!
Llamas at Hacienda Guachala – Cayambe Ecuador
Did you know that the llamas are cousins of the camels?
Another fun word in Spanish is llave. Oh my! Marie lost her “Yah-vees” in the sand! Or she almost lost her keys in the sand!
I hope that you enjoyed this sampling of Spanish words that begin with the letter L. Enjoy more “L” images at Frizztext’s post!
Z
Zeebra Designs & Destinations 
And who can forget the wonderful song, “Cielito lindo”? And of course the feminine, Linda – which also happens to be my name! How a Swedish-Irish lass from Iowa ended up with a Spanish name I’ll never know – except my mother said it was the most unusual name she could find. She’d never known anyone named Linda, so Linda I became!
hey from a restaurant in guayaquil! what a great comment, and yes, lovely linda Linda, you’ve added one more word to this list! i always love to hear a native spanish speaker exclaim, “Que linda! (o lindo!)” they pronounce that ‘lin’ part with such elegance! i am sure that your mother heard that same elegance when she decided on that for your name.
so this breakfast buffet has pan de yucca (yum) and potatos au gratin with bacon, shrimp/fish ceviche, three fruits, guanabana juice (or watermelon or orange) and so many more amazing treats. no, i’m not on the farm anymore, i’m in the city, and sticker shock continues to remind me that i love the city, but my place is back in the briar patch!
thanks so much for a great comment! i’ll be getting back to the comments soon, but am about to head to the MAAC museum.
z
I certainly enjoyed this post…but most specially the latitude zero image…was that you in the picture? I felt something when I saw that picture, I felt I had to go there some day in the near future, just the idea of being in “latitude zero” I think I read something into it, I gave it a meaning that has nothing to do with geography… You say you love to here Spanish speakers say the word LINDA… Well, I LOVE to read about how non-natives appreciate our language…me llena de orgullo e infinita alegría, gracias Z por sentir ese aprecio por nuestra lengua y por expresarlo tan alegremente, te mando un abrazo, Alexandra
what a beautiful comment! forgive me for taking so long for answering! tonight we have a bit of rain, and the internet is being kind, so i am slowly catching up!
how sweet that you love how non-natives appreciate your language! there are many nuances of the spanish language that are special. they roll off the tongue with such – uniqueness! there are many words that i prefer in spanish – over english, so i am one who mixes the two languages when speaking in english!
z
Aaajajajaaa, I know what you mean I also use Spanglish because there are certain words that come to mind faster in English so as to not stop my train of thought I mix them as I go along…my students enjoy it and it keeps them alert since they never know when a ‘switch’ is coming…big hug
Since I´m an avid birdwatcher, I like the photo with the binoculars! Many thanks for the beautiful images.
thanks, and i loved your post today with that same effect!
once i looked at a snake through binoculars, and it looked like an anaconda! when i put the binoculars down and looked at the snake again, it seemed tiny!
z
Hi L!
I love the sound of the L
The dove (by my side) thought, as well…
Paloma, hermoso nombre para ave y para mujer. Recuerdo a la primera mujer que amé: Leila. Su padre hablaba francés, ella era de Marsella pero con un nombre que la acompañaba y sin duda la hacía más bella.
Caminando un día por la playa de Puerto Cayo encuentro una piedra triangular en la arena, era hermosa! se adaptaba tan bien a mi mano que no tuve problemas para llevarla a mi casa (simplemente se dejó llevar). Un día, no se cómo, descubrí que era caliza (limestone?) y se podía tallar con un pequeño destornillador, sucedió todo muy de prisa, la piedra se fue convirtiendo en un lienzo que (pintado en relieve) mostraba un paisaje (landscape) de montañas triangulares iguales a la forma de la piedra.
Un poco quizás para alardear, al día siguiente llevé la piedra a la escuela para seguir puliéndola, (en realidad quería que Leila la viera) pero ella, no sólo la vió, sino que grabó sobre la cara posterior una Luna y una Estrella, que según me dijo, era el significado de Leila. Ella fue mi musa mucho tiempo, la he recordado por un momento pensando en esta hermosa letra. Gracias L.
Thanks Z.
my dear friend!
that is so beautiful! thank you so much for sharing that! the word ‘Paloma” makes me think of that beautiful song, ‘coo-ca-roo-ca-coo…. pa-lo-ma….’ you surely know what song i am talking about!
just returned from meeting my friend barbara in guayaquil yesterday and reached jama mid afternoon today.
will you and your family be in manta – probably so since ‘little bit’ will be appearing any day now – right?
i am so proud to call you my friend!
love,
lisa/z
Lovely post as always Lisa! Love the Spanish words too! 🙂
and now it’s time for M… manabi (the province where i live) mango hmmm, neither is really a spanish word that applies – i’ll keep thinking on this one! z
Can hardly wait Lisa! 🙂 For me, M is for Montana where we go tomorrow for a family Spring Break ski trip! M is for mountains which I love! M is for Melancon, my last name! M is for Max, my son’s name. 🙂 nicole
by all means, you should contribute, or perhaps you have.. i’m so behind, but wow, is the floor ever looking amazing!!!!
buen viaje!
z
A fun post, as always, and so many gorgeous photos. The mountains, that luna llena, the llamas and the Casa Loca. OK, I went back and put the extra “l” in llama. I need the full immersion course!
yes, this was a fun post! thanks so much for your fun feedback! z
L yes. I enjoyed it. :>) Take care Z, BTG
thanks so much! and now it’s time for M!
Hi Lisa — back again after so many weeks away from visiting some of my favorite bloggers. I love this post, an easy intro to some Spanish words and the awesome photos to go with them. I also felt something like a tug in my solar plexus when I looked at the Latitude Zero image. I’m not sure it was a clear “want to go there” but I did feel quite attracted to that image of standing on the equator with a foot in each hemisphere. Thank you so much, Alia
hey thanks! i tried to reply to your comment about green and it kept kicking back. i’ll try here: “you are right about green being a soothing image. i visited last weekend with a gentleman who has red/green color deficiency. i always count my blessings that i can see colors! ”
i am so glad that you enjoyed this post, and especially the part about ‘\latitude zero.’ there truly is some magic here.. i hope that one day you’ll get to experience it! z
Lovely lovely lovely. I like lapiz.the best. The word lapiz sounds so much nicer than pencil and makes me want to write lots of lovely cursive l letters all over a blank page.
how nice, and you’re right!
the art of calligraphy is almost a lost art as well. we should work on keeping it alive!
z
Calligraphy; that’s heavenly. I don’t do calligraphy but I always try to write beautifully.
well you would be a natural! before i moved to central america, i often gave those interested a crash course in calligraphy for addressing christmas cards and such. it’s really quite easy to master a cursive script.
z
LATITUDE ZERO: One foot in the northern hemisphere; one foot in the southern one! – you perfectly visualized your broad band heart: from the Mississippi to South America
si, thanks! it’s nice to have one foot planted in one hemisphere and one in the other! i highly recommend it to all !
Thanks for the Spanish llesson!
con mucho gusto= it’s my pleasure.
z
Loved the Spanish lesson and the vibrant photos. I too loved the image of having one foot in the northern hemispere and one in the south. Tiene una maravillosa visita con Barbara amiga. 🙂
bvuen:) s dias!
her flight arrived on time, and we made it to the riverhouse yesterday before sunset.
we’ve had our alkaline-hibiscus tea w fresh mint and lemon, and now are negating it with cafe sin leche while watching the birdlife awaken on the river!!!
z
I can only imagine the sight (insert heavy sigh here). 🙂
Yes, I’ll have a cup of “Cafe Con Leche”. It’s one of my favorites, Sometimes I have a delicious cup and just make it my dessert.
that sounds nice – cafe con leche for dessert!
thanks! z
Love it ! For some reason it’s become one of my favorites..I had to keep going back and looking at the photos..travel safe dear friend and enjoy your visit with Barbara siempre..
grrrrrrrrrracias! yes, we’ll have a good visit. the hole was cut in the concrete wall for the door to the studio/bodega. tomorrow we’ll clean the ‘polvo’ and prepare to paint on tuesday.
z
did you know “LLAMA” also means flame, oh the full moon it´s my favorite much better when is above to the ocean! great post. 😀
no, i did not know that llama means flame! grrrrrrrrrracias for that! yes, the full moon is always great when reflected on the water! thanks so much! lisa/z
Haha! Loved this post. My first Spanish word was llave. I was always losing my keys. “Tienes llave?” my husband would ask. Then there is llámame,( call me) which I was always getting mixed up with amame.(love me) That caused some weird looks when I asked the hardware store to amame. 🙂
ja-ja on the amame at the hardware store! long ago i went to the hardware store, reached into my jeans pocket for the small screws to show what size i needed.. and i pulled out the lipstick! the guys surely groaned when i walked through the door, as it was always a game of charades! z
beautiful photos, libros is my favorite word, the fist word I could think is labios (lips)
those llamas are beautiful, did not know they were cousins with the camel, they say we learn a thing every day
hey amiga
lo siento, i’m just catching up on comments. thanks so much, and yes, libro is a special word.. have you noticed that the younger generation doesn’t seem to have such a love for the written word?
now it’s time for M.. hmmmm. that one has to incubate a bit longer!
z
Excellent thoughts on the Letter L. i love the alphabet challenge that Frizz gives us. It is fascinatinng to see where peopel go with it. This one is nicely done. i enjoyed it very much especially since I do speak Spanish.
Isadora
here my entry … http://insidethemindofisadora.wordpress.com/2013/03/16/nurture-yourself-imagine-love/
great post, and great song by JJ, though it’s too slow tonight to play the entire youtube. in the morning i’ll return and enjoy with faster connection speed – i hope!
z
I thoroughly enjoy your alphabet series. I have a very basic knowledge of Spanish and like to challenge myself by recalling the meaning of a word before I see your explanation.
thanks louis! i’m so glad that you use the post as a challenge to keep your mind sharp! it’s time for m, which needs a bit more incubation!
any suggestions?!
Maybe, ‘tomorrow’!!
Beautiful photos to match the beautiful sounds! You are right I only didn’t know Libro & Lapiz/ Lapicero! And you forgot Lisa 😀
hey amiga
i saw this while i was travelling and got a chuckle! thanks so much, and you are right.. l for lisa!
now i wonder whose name starts with an m?!!!!