Love at Last!!

Between blizzards, deathly icicles, potential broken hips, and frostbite, Estonia in March has become an inhospitable environment. After brief consideration, my friend Trudee and I decided to flee the frozen tundra for friendlier lands. This meant traveling as far south as possible on a limited budget. Thanks to cheap internet-based services, cunning, patience, and a 5 hour game of "travel agents" played by Trudee and I, we booked an amazing trip to the Canary Islands. For those of you who don't know where these Islands are, take out your map and locate Africa. Then move to the west coast and find Morocco. To the west of Morocco are the small Canary Islands. Our island was Lanzarote. The actual trip was 2 nights in Madrid, and 5 in Costa Teguise, Lanzarote. It doesn't get much cooler than that.

We returned two days ago to Estonia where there is still ice and snow on the ground as well as fear of ice shards from above, but we are re-charged and willing to take the risk. In addition, March is over half-way through, and April has got to be better! Please!!!!

So to provide a contrast, the weather on Lanzarote averaged about 72 degrees while we were there, no precipitation of any kind, and sunny. We also happend to arrive the weekend of Costa Teguise's Carnival celebration = parade, parties, dancing...fun. We ate like pigs, lounged by the pool under the sun, and danced the night away...basically paradise...and I'm tan.

For a little geological background, the Canary Islands are a chain of volcanic islands, much like Hawaii. A local company offers tours of the island and the Timanfaya national park, Spains second most visited park. It takes you through lava fields, craters, geothermic areas, and best of all, a camel ride!

Brave adventurers that we are, Trudee and I could not pass up an opportunity to ride these beasts of burden. We named our camel "Mittens", and our neighbors behind us were riding "Bitsy". The camels form a chain of about 8 or 10 animals, 2 riders per camel. Each camel is chained to the rear of the one in front of it. About 1/3 of the way into our ride, I started to feel something against my back. Turning around, I realized that Bitsy had begun to burrow her nose into my back. We began going uphill, so Bitsy had to back off a bit, however, unlike the other camels, she started to breathe very heavily. I could feel her camel breath on my neck, and her inhilations practically pulled my skin back. If it weren't for the muzzle on her mouth, I'm sure I would have recieved a few camel kisses!

After mastering the hill, Bitsy returned to my backside, and we finished the ride in this tender embrace. When we returned to the bus, our guide informed us that Camels are very sensitive to smell, so if people had put on too much perfume or aftershave, it attracted the camels. I was wearing a tanktop, it was hot, and I was sweating off my deodorant. I think that Bitsy and I had something special though. I felt it, and I'm pretty sure she did too. I think she was sad to see me go. Camels have very good memories, so perhaps if I return to Lanzarote we will visit one another. I will never forget Bitsy and our little affair at the "Plains of Tranquility".

As I mentioned before, I am now back in Estonia. I cannot show off my tan to anyone as we still have to bundle up considerably to go outside, but in the privacy of my apartment, I can look upon my brownish skin and think fondly of my tropical tryst.

By the way, if anyone wants to see pictures of my vacation or any other photos of Estonia and Europe, shoot me an e-mail! Take Care and remember you never know where you're going to find love.