2004-02 Gran Canaria: Playa del Inglés beach

It's time for the weekly frueshoppe get-together. Here Isaac has taken to Heinz, and they walk along the Playa del Inglés beach promenade to the Mozart Café II. Isaac is so adaptable: he loves the people here and feels so comfortable and accepted that he switches gears between his immediate extended family at home to this group as we travel. It's very, very nice to see. At the far left of the photo are the group members already waiting for us.

We're seated at a café which is along one terminus of the promenade. The sand dunes of this corner of the island can be seen in the background. The group is heavily into their freshly-squeezed papaya-orange juices, with the occasional caffè con leche and cerveza making it to the menu.

Our family playing at the two-item playground in the middle of the promenade. Sadly, the municipality seems to be uninterested in maintaining any of the play structures in both playgrounds we've used. The see-saw still sports the broken seat we noticed last year. And this year one of the climbing structure's main support cables has broken, and no upkeep can be noticed. (I take it as understood that when one erects a structure made of heavy-duty climbing ropes into a sunny and salty environment one realizes that the ultraviolet radiation and abrasive crystals will take their toll, and that replacement will be soon due.)

Lila really enjoys Isaac's patter on the see-saw, her screaming peals of laughter music to our ears.

Isaac high atop the climbing structure, thrilled with the ascent. The broken rope begins at the right edge of the picture.

Whilst Lila enjoys the beach, Isaac has become one with the breaking waves. We spent two hours running in and out of the surf. I had the same physique as Isaac does, but he's much better with cold water. I was unhappy after a few moments, but he keeps on going and going.

Here we are back on the promenade, at the point closest to the climbing structure, facing the Cerveceria Frankfurt. This is our traditional watering hole, and sure enough, one of the waiters announces [in broken English] as we approach "hey, I know you from another year". We chat for a bit in a mixture of Spanish, German, and English. Then we find a table, and get down to business.

Paella: that's what I'm in search of. Today's offering is a bit light on the seafood, and perhaps not the best the restaurant has ever had, but it satisfies. Isaac's pizza margharita is pretty good too.

Now our beach play begins in earnest. I demonstrate sand castle building to Isaac, who has some experience in sandboxes but little along the water's edge. He took quite a liking to it...

...until he gets bored with it, gets wet and rolls around in the sand, and runs around as "sandy boy". We repeat the wetting and rolling ad infiniteum (or at least ad neauseum).

Lila, resplendent in her new two-piece bikini, of which she's very proud, supervises the goings-on.

Tomorrow we get re-acquainted with Maspalomas.

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