Lazarow World-Hike-About

  We continue to immerse ourselves in Spanish culture more and more with each visit. Even while we're in the middle of Atlantic, we still do absorb the culture, but do find we get soaked in it...water? I suppose we sometimes become a little too enthusiastic. We woke early on a Monday and headed for the village of Afur for what turned out to be an exciting climb to the hamlet of Taborno. As we walked out of our apartment, we noticed the parking spaces were still filled. It seemed unusual. We then drove off and observed the roads were quieter than usual. Could it be a public holiday, we wondered?    Jen mentioned it was Presidents' Day in the US; maybe the Spanish have an affinity for Biden. We both smiled...Jen was on top form and early, too. I love her humor when it's not at my expense. The 5-Freeway was relatively quiet, too which was a further clue. After 2 hours climbing, we arrived in Taborno and lo and behold, the bar, restaurant and cafe were closed. Wow, no...

My new favorite photo as Jen smiles in the thick (and steep) of it. To the left and below is a stream and above it is the trail. The destination is left of the mountain in the distance and about another 500 feet higher. Part-way up: The trail passes along an edge with a drop to the ocean. Since we have become horticulturists of some standing, we were easily able to identify this species. We call it a 'yellow flower'.  We were walking along a path, admittedly, a very narrow edge some 2,000 feet above the trailhead when Jen asked whether I was feeling a little ‘jingly, jangly’. Well, I hadn’t heard that expression from her before, but I could figure out what she meant. I also had a real close-up view of her lovely face which expression echoed the sentiment. Her usual feelings in those positions are expressed as ‘shaky’ or plain old nervous. Despite feeling ‘jangly' on the day, she invariably handles those situations with aplomb and will seldom avoid a hike with a dange...

  You have to hand it to the Spanish. Being Europeans, they join their fellow continentals enjoying the sport of cycling, preferably in the mountains. However, out here in the Canaries, they’ve added a twist. To express it differently, they’ve brought a halt to the sport while at the same time, retaining it. Sounds awkward but it makes sense. Jenni has been captivated to such a degree that she not only hikes, but cycles on the same days. In fact, she even undertakes both functions almost simultaneously.    Not long ago, I passed a blunt comment, perhaps without tact (the blunt one’s usually are), when I mentioned that she seemed to be slowing down. I actually thought I was tactful as I did not mention I considered she was becoming somewhat lazy. Strangely, she did not receive the comments as encouragement to try harder—the intended purpose. Being in the Canary Islands, I seemed to mix up the avis species with the rental car’s former slogan and landed in deep trouble. J...