Living with Shadows (43 page)

No,
the
most
important
thing
is
to
do
what
makes
us
happiest.
What
am
I
waffling
on about?

After
my
shandy,
walked
back
to
the
apartments
feeling
slightly
depressed
in
spite
of
the
sunshine.
Sunbathed,
swam
in
pool,
ate,
showered,
read
paper
and
retired
to
bed—feeling
sad
and
lonely.

9
th
October

Awoke
early.
After
usual
morning
ritual
set
off
to
climb
the
hill.
Quite
isolated
once
I’d
left
the
path,
so
glad
to
see
three
people
not
too
far
ahead
of
me.
As
I
suspected,
spectacular
views
from
the
top
overlooking
Los
Cristianos
to
my
left
with
its
pretty
harbour
full
of
boats,
and
Playa
Americas
to
my
right.
Huge
curved
beaches,
their
golden
sands
contrasting
with
the
brightly
coloured
umbrellas
in
neat
rows.
Sparkling
blue
sea
touching
the
sky
in
the
distance.
I
turn
around
to
see
blue
mountains
capped
with
white
clouds
lining
an
expanse
of
flat
land
that
spreads
out
for
miles.
Sat
a
while
admiring
the
views
and
enjoying
the
breeze.
So
peaceful
and
quiet.
Would
have
been
wonderful
to
share
this
with
Jim.

Walked
down
into
Los
Cristianos
and
stopped
at
a
bar
for
a
cool
drink.
Soon,
a
couple
arrived
followed
by
a
small
boy
aged
about
7
years
old.
The
female
was
petite
and
reminded
me
of
a
small
bird.
She
wore
a
tightly
fitting
blue
dress
and
blue
headscarf
which
hid
all
her
hair.
A
small
white
bag
was
slung
across
her
shoulders.
Her
partner
was
casually
dressed
in
a
sleeveless
white
shirt
and
dark
trousers.
He
looked
quite
hippyish
with
long
dark
hair
and
a
greying
beard.
He
had
a
guitar
and
I
happily
realised
they’d
come
to
serenade
us.
After
a
few
strums,
they
began
their
first
song
in
Spanish.
Standing
side
by
side,
they
sang
in
perfect
harmony.
The
young
boy
looked
nervously
about
him.
Everyone
had
stopped
talking
to
listen
and
a
look
of
relief
crossed
his
face.

For
a
few
brief
moments
everything
around
me
melted
into
something
timeless.
It
was
in
the
music,
the
smell
of
the
sea
and
clear
blue
sky,
and
I
lost
myself
in
the
beauty
of
it.
Suddenly
the
music
stopped,
people
were
clapping
and
the
little
bird
flitted
from
table
to
table
holding
out
a
crocheted
hat.
The
trio
disappeared
as
quickly
as
they
had
arrived
and
everyone
resumed
their
conversations.

I
paid
the
waitress
and
left.

10
th
October

Bored
with
my
own
company
and
walking
up
and
down
the
same
stretch
of
road
forced
me
into
booking
a
trip—an
island
tour.

Caught
the
coach
at
9
am.
Our
guide
informed
us
of
Tenerife’s
history,
invasions
and
so
on,
and
of
its
volcanic
landscape,
among
other
things.
I
found
it
difficult
to
grasp
everything
she
said
as
she
was
Russian
and
her
English
was
not
very
well
pronounced.
Also
she
had
to
repeat
everything
in
German
which
became
rather
tedious
as
she
would
start
her
English
commentary
well
before
we
came
up
to
a
particular
site
which
made
it
difficult
to
locate.

Stopped
off
for
lunch
at
a
restaurant
overlooking
a
beauty
spot,
a
small
town
at
the
bottom
of
a
cliff.
Sat
with
three
ladies
on
holiday
together
and
enjoyed
the
first
proper
conversation
since
I
arrived.
Called
in
at
a
couple
more
places
of
interest
before
jumping
on
a
small
boat
and
heading
out
to
sea
in
search
of
dolphins.
Didn’t
spot
any
dolphins
but
enjoyed
a
couple
of
cups
of
sangria
before
heading
back
for
the
little
fishing
port
and
onto
the
coach.

Back
at
the
apartments
in
time
for
dinner—or
cold
meat
salad
in
my
case.

Sat
on
the
balcony
with
a
glass
of
red
wine
watching
the
sun
set
over
the
sea.
I
remembered
years
ago
when
Jim
and
I
took
Ben
and
Sam
to
Minorca
for
a
holiday.
We
would
sit
out
on
the
balcony
of
our
villa
eating
dinner
and
watching
the
sun
set.
Every
night
Jim
would
say
‘There’ll
be
such
a
sizzle
in
a
minute,’
as
the
sun
dipped
towards
the
sea.
By
the
end
of
the
week,
the
children
said
they
were
glad
to
be
going
home
if
only
to
avoid
another
‘sizzle’!