Some of my long-time readers will know that I love to take pictures from the airplane when I get a chance. I did on the
flight to Lanzarote as you can see here. This actually came out pretty good. The windows in the airplane were really dirty.
So why did we pick Lanzarote? Well, it turns out that living in England with kids has its drawbacks when it comes to
holidays. You see, there really isn't anywhere close and safe where you can get a beach holiday. The Mediterranean is seasonal,
you see. You can't go to Greece or Spain or the south of France and expect to sit out on the beach in hot weather. Lanzarote
isn't really hot either, but the sun is very strong here and the daytime temperature is in the low 20s (low 70s in Fahrenheit.
There is a bit of wind, although it hasn't been too bad since we've been here.
The wind, you see, comes from Africa. For those of you in the United States this is easy to understand. When hurricane
season comes around, you know how they always talk about the tropical waves that flow east out of Africa and eventually wind
up as tropical storms or hurricanes after they've crossed the Atlantic? Well, those waves pass right over Lanzarote.
It's a small island - part of the Canary Island chain. Katherine here is looking east out over the sea. The Sahara
desert is about 100km (60mi) away. In fact, the reason Lanzarote has white sand beaches on the eastern shores is due to the
Saharan sand blowing across the water and landing here. It's a volcanic island so most of the beaches are dark volcanic rock.
"Hot lava," as Katherine says.
Here's a 'grab shot' of my girls doing art projects whilst waiting for Alexander to finish his nap.
It's a pretty nice resort. It's located in Costa Teguise - just a short drive north of the capital Arrecife. The airplane
photo shows the cost just south of Arrecife on final approach to the airport. We got a two bedroom, self-catered room - critical
with a couple of kids.
Yesterday was a total wash. We got to the resort around 2PM and did a little swimming at the 'Mai Tai' bar and pool.
But, typical of me, I only got about two hours of sleep the night before and so I was knackered.
Today was much better, although it started with a bang. We got a crib and stuff for Alex, but the layout of the room is such
that we just can't hear the kids if they have a problem. So instead of the kids in one room and the grownups in another, it's
Daddy and Katherine and Mommy and Alex. The kids love it. Kara and I, well, not so much. I mean, I love sleeping with Katherine,
but, but, but. Never mind.
Anyway, this morning Katherine got up before me and went to hang out with Kara and Alex. I was lying in bed mostly asleep
wondering how I was going to get up. Kara ducked into the room and told me to keep an ear out because she had to go to the
bathroom or something. About 30 seconds after she left I heard the tremendous crash of a plate hitting the tile floor. So
I had to do a superhero bolt out of bed and into the kitchen. It's the second thing we've broken. Tile floors and kitchens,
well, I don't like 'em. So Alex is standing in the middle of a pile of broken plate and I scoop him up. Then I take stock
of the situation.
I am barely awake and in my underwear. I realize I'm freezing cold. Kara is still doing her business. I have no socks
on, so I can't actually move around very well either. It did get better after this.
One thing I will say about Lanzarote is that the shopping is such a change from the UK. Stores stay open until 10 or
so every night. I went out at 9PM and managed to buy sunglasses, Pepcid AC and a circular polarizer for my camera. Unbelievable.
And much of the stuff is sold by barter, so the listed price is meaningless. Kara and I have both had our barter experience,
but there'll be more so I'll wait.
The other interesting thing about being here is that people do not automatically assume you are American. Here, I'm assumed
to be English. I was thinking about this and it makes sense. I can't tell the difference between the Spanish spoken by a Spaniard
or a Mexican, so why should a Spaniard be able to distinguish UK English versus American English?
The downside of this is that when I tell people I'm American, they immediately say, "George Bush." Which is really annoying
because I have extremely strong feelings about the guy and they are not happy feelings. One guy, Johnny, who I bought the
sunglasses from saw me on the street today and called out, "George Bush!" intending it to be a clever nickname. I almost threw
up. I gotta stop telling people I'm American.
And finally, sunset today from the Tropic of Cancer. It's actually technically a terrible photograph, but there's only
so much you can do when you only have five minutes to run out and catch a photo whilst Katherine is watching a show before
bed and you have to run back and sing songs.
