22-23rd of July
M is for Maspalomas, movies and Mogan. In that order. Decided to to take a taxi to Maspalomas. I wanted to take more pictures of the dunes and the nature reserve, Ex was in search of his cigars, Mish had no choice but to come with us. It was hot. Not exactly like back home, where for the second week in a row temperatures reach 35-38 C easily, but still not the best time for walking. As I “age”, find it more difficult to cope with heat, but the cold months of winter are even worse for me. Basically I spend the time from November till March in a constant shivering mode,except the time I spend in hot tubs, in front of the roaring fire or with someone who can warm my heart up in a heartbeat.
Now I know where to order cigars if I decided to pick up this costly, unhealthy habit of Mish’s dad. Nice lady with a nice shop, he bought a whole box of Romeo & Juliet, or something like that. She warned him not to buy cigars from unsealed boxes, might be Cuban, but home made, not the original. Didn’t care much for this, found a Canarian cookery book, was browsing through the recipes. I am the only one in the family who loves the local potato dish, and the sauces. Mish was trying to find a dream catcher with his name on, Michael was the closest. His name is an Arabic one, most people pronounce it wrong. Mishal, with a long A. His father wanted him to have a name that will help him blend in wherever life might take him. After all, it could be Michael in France, or pronounced it differently a guy from the U.S. A child of a Hungarian mum, Kuwaiti father, attending English schools, traveling all over the world, I am pretty sure that, he will be a real cosmopolitan guy inshaallah ( with God’s willing in Arabic). So far he hasn’t experienced anything bad, keeping him away from the news on purpose, let him enjoy his childhood as long as he can. It’s natural for him that almost everyone in his class comes from different countries. No cultural, religious or political differences come between them yet.
Hearing English, German,French, Spanish or Portuguese doesn’t bother him,pretty good at picking up new words. Walking along the beach he tried to figure out the languages he could hear. It was so crowded, so many families with kids, most of them foreigners. Saw one breastfeeding her baby out in the sun, she couldn’t have been more than 6 weeks old. So brave. I am way too protective, ex and some others think overprotective. Sun protection, hat, plenty of water, umbrella, name it, we do it. But who am I to judge others.
Got my dune photos, took loads from every angle imaginable, ex was happy with his cigars, even Mish, he got a headphone. Was time to head back to the hotel.
M is for movies. We picked Maleficient. It was great. We ended up watching it in A’s bedroom, he had black out curtains. Was so weird, all 3 of us on the bed, watching it together. Haven’t been this close to him for years. The funniest, or more like saddest thing of all is that we had to get divorced to start being a family, to spend time together. He was always busy working, far away from us, meeting 3-4 times a year max didn’t help. He did his best, and I am forever grateful for everything I have. After a few years you do realize that no amount of money will make you happy if you are alone, if at the end of the day there is no one to discuss the day’s happenings with. We have Mishal however, and nothing beats having a kid. Too bad I’ve got only one. But I don’t want to dwell on sad things.
Another first was the outdoor movie theater in Maspalomas on a Thursday night. Comfy sofa, cool breeze coming from the ocean, a film that was supposed to start after sunset. Somehow it just didn’t want to set. Watched “Kingsman”, glad we tried it. I am not going to rave about the pizza or about the quality of the movie, didn’t t have expectations, so we walked away pretty happy, with a child peacefully sleeping in the taxi on the way home.
The following evening we went back to Mogan, a fishing village or is it a town? Beautiful old buildings, with bougainvillea creeping everywhere , different hues of pink, purple, white and peach. You walk across little bridges that go over the canals, they call it the “Venice of Gran Canaria”. Lots of boats, small yachts, tons of restaurants. Mainly serving local food, “fresh catch of the day with canary potatoes”, Italian and all the “basic” foods that Europeans are used to. Even saw strudel at one place. Walked past these old buildings, most of them are being rented. “560€/week, for two weeks or more price can be negotiable” said one sign. So charming, not the way we travel, but wouldn’t mind trying it out with friends. Very family oriented, playgrounds for kids, nice clean beach, and the way the last rays of sunshine reflect upon the coppery striped rocks ( mountains)
around it, takes your breath away. At least mine. Great food at a restaurant, next to the beach,a real strong mojito, giant garlicky prawns, olives, soft Canarian cheeses grilled….I could go on and on. These days I am enjoying food way too much. Sitting with a Magnum white ice cream in bed Mish’s words brought me back to reality. ” Mummy, you are eating way too much ice cream these days, don’t get fat!”
He is right, maybe I am overcompensating for things missing from my life?