It feels like a lifetime ago that i wrote the last post, over the past month our lives have shifted and we have grown in feeling like we were hesitatingly accepting tenerife to falling in love. We fell into a rhythm in Santa Cruz, during the week Jacob mostly bunkered down by the kids school while i stayed home working and started cooking some homemade meals that we all were craving. I took up boxing with Lily a few times a week and got a much needed haircut. When i went for the hiarcut was oen of the few times on this trip I have felt judged for my nomadic composure- i would say I rarely wear makeup, wear the same Lululemon outfit and have let my hair run wild. The hairdresser must have asked me a hundred times if i ever brush my hair and brought over the 3 nearby hairdressers to see what a mop my hair was- i was like dude just chop it off- and he did! But I'm loving the short hair, no matter how wild i must look now without any hairgel or anything in it. Over the weekend our routine begain as we spent one day as a family exploring and one day with Lily and Jose going to a different beach. Our families immediately meshed together- so much so that the kids referred to their kids as their cousins and I had to explain that they were friends, even though it feels like family! Adira in her adira ways even coaxed Lily to take her home with her when she was going to shower for dinner- and then Adira proceeded to tell Lily she was going to take a bubble bath while Lily showered and got into the bath:) Since hanging with them we all also began to try new foods- such as tiny clams that you pop into your mouth that the kids find so fun!
After a month in Santa Cruz we packed up our white washed apartment, stored our belongings in Lily's apartment and headed to visit a nearby Island Lanzarote and its sister Island- Graciosa. If Tenerife is lush, with many microcimates and like a tiny continent of desert, beach and mountain- lanzarote is like the moon- brown, sandy, volcanic- and other wordly. We spent the first day on a 3 hour hike to a volcano crater- which while i was proud of the kids for doing, totally wore us all out and i was so cranky afterwards (I dont know it was worth it with kids in tow). That afternoon we went to these incredible caves that are designed by a local artist who has installations throughout lanzarote- it was one of the most creative pieces combining nature and art I have ever seen.
END of the Hike!
That night we took a ferry out to Graciosa- an island that only allows cars for its very few residents. Think fire island but in Europe- and we stayed at the end of the island with only 16 houses, no stores or restaurants. The view from our house was totally incredible- we could walk right out to the beach with clear water- shiloh found some kids fishing and joined them- one of them while fishing caught an octopus who then attached itself onto the kids arm when they reeled it in and the whole family had to work on releasing her arm (which was unharmed) before they set out to roast and eat the octopus! We were living next door to a group of 9 men who come there every year for a weekend away from their families, and our kids loved popping over and hanging out with them because they gave them chocolate bars and enjoyed the spanglish banter they engaged in with them. Shiloh borrowed one of their Stand Up Paddleboards and we set out for about an hour on the ocean. The ocean gets very deep very quickly here, and the currents are strong, so I wouldnt let him go to far- but his ability to stably paddleboard for so long is pretty impressive. At one point one of the men came out to check on us, and shiloh was like- we are fine, just enjoying the ocean, and his reply - "wow this is a strong kid" was pretty spot on. We went on a short hike from our house, but otherwise just hung around. Our last day in lanzarote, I was so exhausted from the travel and being cranky with everyone that I decided we should just go to the hotel and hang there. The hotel itself was like being in an ethnography of working class middle aged british families- with big buffets, sterile walls, and fun accents-glad to experience it but mostly happy to head home :)
View from our AirBNB in Graciosa
When we got back to Tenerife, we moved into our new home- in La Laguna, about a 20 minute walk from the kids school- into a passive house with a tiny pool and backyard- and we are in heaven. The weather is much cooler than santa cruz so each dip in the pool feels like an ice plunge, but the open layout with views of the mountains and palm trees is amazing, and we are just about 10 minutes walk into city center which is a UNESCO heritage site, with charming pedestrian only streets. Since we have been here Jacob and I have done some daytime date hikes to pretty incredible places, and as a family we visited some natural pools and farms. The first hike Jacob and I went on we left our house without any jackets, and arrived 20 minutes later in the mountain where it was cold! When we got out of the car, we decided it would be torture to hike so we got back in and drove to a restaurant in a small town. Upon arriving we pulled up behind a couple exiting to start a hike. Jacob in his very jacob way charmed them with some small talk about being dutch and asked them if they knew where we could buy a jacket (knowing there was no where)- and they said well we do have an extra- and he was like really how amazing! Next thing I knew I was wearing a strangers sweatshirt (which he promised wasnt infested iwth bedbugs) and we were all hiking on a hidden path together with this couple on a cliffside hike. We ended the hike eating fancy duck at the most adorable french restaurant in this teeny town-
The kids are doing really well, the each have made a few friends at school, and are taking more to Spanish. At night they often like to play a game where everyone says a Spanish word and tries to see if everyone else knows it. They are also playing more together- the other day we were playing a board game and i turned to them both and said how cool is this- just a few months ago Adira couldn't do this! Their favorite games by far are building forts and running around the perimeter of our house knocking on the front door and running away again. Its been a blessing not having afterschool activities and not running around at all- we are just enjoying slower living. I find myself now struggling to figure out how to find that balance back home in Brooklyn where the after school activities seem to be the best around, and yet I know our lives are easier without running around so much. Its almost like living near the best bakery in town, figuring out not how to overindulge.
This past weekend was our last weekend with Lily's family as next week Jacob's parents come, and they have family coming. We had an epic 24 hours together- we left the kids with a sitter and went out the 4 of us- staying out until midnight was sooo late for us and Lily was like that's it?? but we stayed up talking until 2am and the next day hung around and then went to the beach. The kids surfed, played in the sand and in some natural pools and we ended with a lovely seafood small town dinner- as had become our tradition every sunday with them. We have been more flexible about letting the kids stay out late, we are ok if they are a bit late to school and so is the school- and have less prepping for the week to do since we can go food shopping etc during the day as we have more time! Our goodbyes were tearful- this is definitely the closest connection we have made as a family on our trip- Adira on the way home said "this is the saddest day of my life...even sadder than my birthday party" to which we all could not help laughing and still dont understand what she means- other than maybe that they were both so amazing and had to come to an end?? We will miss them and our weekly beach day trips so much- but are hopeful we can meet up together and travel in the future
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