GRAN CANARIA ADVENTURE #2

Friday, Dec 9, 2022, LAS PALMAS 4:35 pm

Shannon and Rick met me in Madrid. We stayed overnight in a small hotel after having soup and salad for dinner at a local restaurant. Raining. Up at 7am and back to the airport to get the plane to Las Palmas. Thank the goddess for wheelchairs! I wouldn’t have been able to do it otherwise. To get the Shannon and Rick I was put on a special van and hurtled through the under belly of the airport to baggage claim where I picked up my pink suitcase. Meeting Shannon and Rick was a most happy event with hugs of love and delight!! They arranged for another wheelchair to take me to the plane to Las Palmas which was another 3-hour flight. The last. I saw the island floating the Atlantic Ocean. It all became real. Landed in Las Palmas. Another wheelchair took me to the car park and Shannon’s car, a grey Renault which came with the job. They have a wonderful apartment that rents for $700 a month. 2 bedroom and 2 baths, big living dining room and kitchen. The ocean is about 100 feet from the apartment. The Playa de Canaria goes along the beach which is filled with surfers. Apparently this is one of the best surfing spots in Europe. A cafe (or terrace) is a few steps from their front door. We had dinner there and the bill was about $21. Spain is very inexpressive. During dinner Rick got a call from Bill (his father who moved to Las Palmas about 3 months earlier). Bill had fallen and was in the hospital. Rick hurried there. The doctors checked him out and other than some bruising he was okay. I was amazed how thin he had gotten. Grief at his wife dying and not eating enough have taken their toll. Still a very interesting guy. We hadn’t seen each other in about 20 years. Jet lag hit me in the night. I awoke about every hour! Felt like the walking dead when I arose. Moving painfully slow. Made myself some tea and toast, checked my phone and replied to people. Rick went for an hour long run while I showered and dressed. When he returned we walked to Bill’s apartment. Small but nice not far from Rick and Shannon’s. He pays $900 a month and another $700 a month for a woman to come in 5 days a week to clean and cook. Thought about how it would be to live here, but after arriving home I decided the Eugne Hotel fit me just fine.