30th oct

This is our fourth day on La Graciosa. It has taken until now for us to rear our heads after passage. We have not done much other than rest, put the boat back together, hand wash a mountain of wee- washing, refill the water tanks etc etc…all whilst watching the girls embrace life tied up to land.

We are in a marina. Of sorts. We are surrounded by colourful,working fishing boats. There is no power supply to the pontoon so we are powered by the solar panel, which has its limitations. We have not been able to easily use and charge devices. We have at least water on the pontoon which helps. Upside; it is very cheap – 8 euros a night. This gives much needed relief to the coffers. We will stay here a while. To be still.

This island is a national park. It is beautiful and wild. The waters are crystal clear. It is quiet. There is not much here other than a few volcanic peaks. Some rugged coastline. Some stunning views. The port town is a collection of low rise white washed buildings set along sandy streets against a skyline of two volcanic peaks. It feels like we are in a legoland western. I just need a legoman cowboy to step out. There are no cars. On some days there has been no electricity to the island. We are far from the congested tacky tourism of Lanzarote (a short boat ride away), whose high volcanic peaks tower over us.

It is perfect for the girls. The local beaches are quiet and sandy with large pools of calm clear water. Both of them can roam around freely. Olive loves picking up ‘wocks’ and throwing them as far as she can. Or lying down in the rock pools searching for treasure. Alfi since arriving is very clearly crawling, pulling herself up to standing wherever she can, standing up for long periods, sitting ramrod straight. She can get up sit down get up again, all on her own without tumbling over. Hoorah! She is as solid as a rock. She is even attempting to climb the companionway steps (impossible given her size but the girl has ambition). Has a week at sea of being unable to move freely motivated her? She is also mouthing her first words…mama. With her hair growing into curls, she at times reminds us of a cross between a podgy cherub and a mini Roman empress. Olive has of her own accord started calling Alfi, Alf. We don’t know why as this is not a name we use. It is sweet…she says ‘there you go Alf’ whilst passing her a toy or her beaker or whatever. Meanwhile, Alfi looks up adoringly with an enormous grin. Their growing relationship is so achingly sweet to witness.

We feel quite disconnected. There is internet. In only one shop, a hamburger joint. To get there involves either a 25 minute walk through sandy streets which invariably conspire against the buggy’s easy passage. Or, quicker, dinghy ride to shore loaded with buggy, papousse etc. Either way it is more than a hop skip and a jump. Once there we eat very cheap greasy food along with the united nations of travellers all armed with laptops, each vying for the power point to recharge. Given all of this we have been delayed in charging our devices and updating the blog. Sadly the connection is not good enough to upload any video. I apologise to family and friends who may have been waiting for a more timely update.

Here are some pics to be going on with….

This is where we are