Sand in every crevice

Friday, 05.03.2021

At the beginning of this week, we surprised ourselves and rescheduled our flight again. I had originally assumed that we would be returning home in mid-March, but after being able to change our new return flight, which was booked directly through Lufthansa, for free on some days, we pondered. Fate then took care of the rest when we were offered our old favorite apartment from the first month at a cheap price, starting from the day we have to leave the current apartment. I am especially drawn to the thought of my garden slowly returning home, and the anticipation of watching the first little plants grow. But that can wait, and in the meantime, we are enjoying the sun here.

Monday to Thursday was dominated by work, and Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday each had a video conference with friends and family back home. Today, I have organized a private surfing lesson with Max, who has been living on Fuerteventura for seven years and teaches surfing. My last lesson with a teacher was in 2012 when I surfed for the first time in Costa Rica. After that, I only rented boards and tried it on my own every few years in France or Spain. As a result, I can paddle quite well, but unfortunately, I still can't surf. We have already been in the water a few times here, but I just can't catch a clean green wave.

With Max, we drive to Punta Blanca, where the waves look pretty good, but it's super crowded. The wind is also against us, and the current is always strong here, so we have to paddle constantly to avoid drifting away. But before that, Max refreshes our theory, and I realize that I don't remember how to surf anymore... I catch a few waves quite well, but I can only stand up on one and a half waves. Most of the time, I have to avoid other surfers. Ben goes back out after an hour, I continue to struggle a little longer, and after two hours of paddling with my last bit of strength, I make it back to the shore. After that, I'm completely exhausted and so frozen that I can only feel my toes again in the hot shower at home. I'm not really satisfied with the lesson, mainly because the spot and conditions didn't really suit me today, but the theory at the beginning was really helpful. I realized again that I have quite a bit of respect for the waves, and some of them really took me and washed me away. Let's see if I continue to pursue it or give up at some point.

There is also a completely different story going on, which I need to explain a bit. In the first apartment in our current complex (Bristol Sunset Beach), we had a terrace in the backyard enclosed by high walls. Every night, a cat screamed its head off until Ben started feeding it. We also caught a glimpse of the little, fearful cat, and she even let us touch her while eating, but obviously she was very hungry. On the day of moving to another apartment (with a nicer terrace in the inner courtyard), the penny dropped. The cat is stuck in the backyard and can't get over the high walls. The property management said they can't do anything about it, and the situation haunted us for days. A few days ago, Ben took the initiative and contacted the local animal welfare organization, which connected us with Lynne, a British helper here in Corralejo. She came over immediately and took a look at the situation. We could look into the backyard through the windows in the laundry room, but only discovered the cat crouching in a corner when we rang the residents' apartments and searched their terraces. Lynne had a cat trap with her, which we set up in one of the gardens. Yesterday, the little one went into the trap, and in the evening, Lynne came to take her away for now. She was quite scared but also visibly enjoyed the attention when she was being stroked.

Saturday, 06.03.2021

I'm completely exhausted from the busy week of work and the strenuous surfing lesson yesterday, so I stay in bed until noon. But of course, I always need to know everything and in the afternoon, I drag my tired butt back to my kite surf school in Corralejo for another session on the sea. The boat ride out is really beautiful today, but the return trip was quite bumpy against the waves. An excellent, strong, steady wind of about 20 knots is blowing over the water, and a 7-meter kite is enough for me to get on the board without much effort. The riding goes pretty well, but I keep falling off (riding downwind) and can't get back to the starting point. But my instructors, Filip and Stefano, give me some good tips to at least understand my mistakes. And it's getting better bit by bit. I wouldn't claim that I can ride against the wind yet, but we're getting closer to it. It was definitely fun today, with the super nice conditions.

There is also news about our little foundling. The kitten has already been neutered and today, Lynne dewormed and defleaed her. But since she doesn't have room for the little one anymore, we got her back tonight and are nursing her for now. After a little shyness, she becomes quite trusting and is especially endlessly hungry and thirsty. The petite black kitty is very skinny and bony, dirty, and smells pretty bad. But by the end of the evening, she happily lets us stroke her and relaxes with us in the room while watching TV. We set up a temporary litter box and will keep her in the apartment until tomorrow, then we'll see what happens next.

Sunday, 07.03.2021

At noon, we get some more things for the cat because unfortunately, she's a little banana and we can't release her again with a clear conscience. After waiting a while at the bus station, we get on the only public bus; the departure times are not really transparent. On the whole island, there are 18 bus lines with only about 5 stops each. About 6 km further south, we get off at the hotels that were built in the middle of the beautiful, otherwise untouched dune landscape, and stroll along the beach from there towards the south. There aren't many people around because the wind is blowing strong today. It would be a perfect day for kite surfing. We watch a few kite surfers for a while and wish we could handle it as well as they do. Every 30 meters, there is a walkable, waist-high stone circle in the sand that serves as a windbreak. We also find one to sunbathe and rest a bit, but it's still cool - and there's no escaping the sprinkle of sand in every crevice during this experience. After sufficient relaxation, we slowly walk back through the dunes and take some nice, sandy photos along the way. The bus back to Corralejo makes us wait for a long time, and we stand shivering in the wind with sweaters and long pants while the sky boasts a beautiful sunset.

Back in the apartment, I had big plans in the kitchen because I found ready-made gyoza dough in an Asian supermarket and had been wanting to try it for a while. So I spend almost an hour chopping vegetables while the dough thaws, until my back starts to hurt and the hunger becomes unbearable. Impatiently, Ben provides the solution and throws ready-made burger patties in the pan. That was a delicious burger. As for the gyoza, Future-Lena will take care of that. Good night.

Calendar week 10

On Monday, I finished making the gyoza. They were delicious and not so much work anymore. I used the remaining vegetable filling for rice on Tuesday. So the effort was worth it, only my timing wasn't ideal. Our foster cat initially caused us great concern because she was leaking urine while lying down, not grooming herself, and behaving generally apathetic. As if she didn't know how to cat. No instincts at all. After a few days of feeding, stroking, combing, and cleaning with a washcloth, it actually gets better; she becomes house-trained again and regains her confidence (and cat behavior). On Thursday evening, we were brave and left the terrace door open. The kitty watched it for 5 minutes, then walked outside. We could still stroke and feed her in front of the terrace, then we left her to her fate. I think she will find her way around the complex just fine. There is only one other cat, and food is always available.

Sunday was supposed to be the (second) departure, but instead, we had to move again. We're going back to our first apartment a bit further out for another three weeks, where we felt much more comfortable and at home. This time, luckily, we don't have to drag all our luggage through the city because we have a rental car to drive to the lagoon for kite surfing on Saturday. It was fun again, and each time we learn a little more. Ben is almost as good as me, even though he had much less instruction. He can already (better) ride waves, snowboard, and windsurf, so it's a bit easier for him.

While we were waiting in the rental car with our luggage for the check-in at the new old apartment on Sunday, we took a look at a few places along the coast and inland, which was really nice. On the way back, we always chose the option suggested by the navigation system that would take a few minutes longer. That led us through beautiful, remote areas. After unpacking our belongings again, we had to go out again (the rental car was already paid for) and found a stone labyrinth near El Cotillo, as well as a landowner. A funny, eccentric guy who rents out a few very simple huts on his piece of land and builds stone walls here on Fuerteventura as his main job. He has so much to do that he even has an assistant.