Canary cool

 When Tamar first said we should go to the Canary Islands for this 12-week chapter of our travels, I chuckled - it seemed a bit mythical, somewhere off the coast of Africa, the sort of place one washes up after a hurricane. But here we are, and after three weeks we are beautifully settled into this island lifestyle.

It's one of the most laid-back places we've been, mostly for the better. Sophia goes to an outdoor gymnastics club overlooking a wide spread of fields, surrounded by cacti and grapevines; there's a trampoline on the compound's roof (which has a low wall) and Sophia opted against doing handstands on the balance beam because it "kind of wobbles". At the climbing gym, you just point out the loose holds and the guy will cheerfully come over with the screwdriver to tighten it. Tova was let into the surfing class despite not knowing anything about surfing, because "she's not afraid." The librarian calls me guapo and never checks our ID. 

Tamar and I have been walking out to the northern part of La Isleta in the morning before it gets too hot; there's a colony of feral cats, weird crumbling bunkers from WWII that appear to still be inhabited, and a lovely single-track that passes by a look-out point with the obligatory cross. Las Palmas is on a big beautiful bay, and as we walk we get a sweeping view of the whole city and the scenery on the opposite side of the bay. We haven't made it inland to the mountains and dunes, but it'll surely be lovely when we do. 

Yesterday we baked a cake for four Irish girls because they beat our kids at Capture the Flag on Saturday; our cake was rather flat, since the girls chose a dish that was twice the appropriate size, but enough whipped cream and fresh strawberries will redeem just about anything. Then they played Cheat and Manila and hide-and-seek (Tova moved the armoire and hid behind it, decisively winning), and regrouped later in the day on the beach. There we also ran into the climbing family (also Irish), and it all got rather social. 

Our life is definitely on a slower track for a little while, which we're all happy about after the pell-mell travel of March and April. The next two months promise to be both mellow and memorable, always a good combination :)

Down near the concert hall, Canteras Beach turns to black sand

They're happy to be here!

The lovely view from our northern peninsula

Imagining having to go back to school

Zadie has gotten a lot braver!

Sophia had to try this one about 20 times before she managed it