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13.4.12

LINDA & LOS ABRIGOS


LINDA means “pretty” in Spanish – an appropriate name for my daughter-in-LAW - And of course, L is for LOVE.

LANDING in Tenerife you will see, LURKING in the terminal, LINES of tour operators waiting to LEAD their LAMBS to the coaches and whisk them off to their hotels. Too many of these are all-inclusive these days and consequently the average tourist LEAVES again without catching more than a glimpse of our LOVELY island.
LUCKILY there are some who will venture out, board a bus or hire a car, and LAUNCH themselves into the unknown. It’s almost impossible to get really LOST because if you’re going up there’s Mount Teide as a LANDMARK, and if you’re going down there’s the Atlantic. So LEAVE the beach or the pool for a day and explore - even the most ordinary of towns can be hiding secret treasures behind the tourist façade. For example ---
LOS ABRIGOS is a village near the airport. The seafront has been pesestrianized in recent years, and when you walk past the tiny church you will find, overlooking the small harbour, a wealth of restaurants. It's worth visiting just for the food. There's a langostera in a side street that guarantees your seafood will be fresh, though I'd better warn you - even my OH can't manage more than five langostinos - they're huge.














But to work up
an appetite before you eat, take a stroll up the slope on the far side of the harbour, where you will find a rocky cove with the original landing–place for boats – a LETHAL one-in-three ramp with planks inlaid for purchase. Above the cove, a narrow pathway winds round a house and along the steep cliff-face to the top road.
Steps near the ramp take you past a boat-shed where they still make and repair boats, to a tangle of LITTLE LANES between the houses of the old village that LIE clustered together for protection against the Atlantic winds. My daughter-in-law, who is an artist, took some wonderful photographs of old doors and windows for her thesis.
After this dip into the past you can spend a LEISURELY evening eating your dinner overlooking the harbour, LISTENING to the wavelets LAP the rocks, LAZILY LOOKING at the stars, and watching the LIGHTS reflected in the LIMPID waters.
And this is spooky. When I LOADED this photo of a terrace garden onto my LAPTOP, it asked me “Who is this?” But there’s nobody in the picture. LOOK very closely at the white wall in the front of the picture and you might just see a crack and a spot that could add up to a face – or a ghost?

LABELS ARE LIMITING. What exactly does LITERARY mean in the writing world? We’re advised to check out an agent before submitting, and the word literary has always puzzled me. I write stories – who decides if they’re LITERATURE or not?
Sitting on my computer is a completed book about a young LABOURER-cum-petty criminal who rescues an abused boy, and how the Strange Adoption changes both their LIVES. A professional critic and my writers’ circle say it should definitely be published, but if I can’t fit it into a category, how can I pitch it to an agent?

LASTLY, for anyone who has been missing my Toy Poems – go on the poem page to read about Boofuls the LAVENDER bear.

9 comments:

  1. I think it's quite easy to tell literature from just fiction - it's a bit like silk and cotton. One is better in most ways, but not all. Depends on what you want to do with it. I love literature, I love spare, excellent writing, but if I just want something easy to curl up with then I'd go for...ordinary fiction! the line is very fine sometimes between the two. I don't think it's easily definable.

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  2. Looks lovely there but I'm not sure about the sea food. i can't stand it.

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  3. 'l of a post!

    Didn't know that about Linda.

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  4. "you can spend a LEISURELY evening eating your dinner overlooking the harbour, LISTENING to the wavelets LAP the rocks, LAZILY LOOKING at the stars, and watching the LIGHTS reflected in the LIMPID waters." What a delightful list of a beautiful place.

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  5. Having lived in Spain and a son still residing there this wonderful post was like being home.
    Great pictures.

    Yvonne.

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  6. the literary label confuses me too,Liz. I think they mean it has to be wordy, high brow and ultra intelligent, in other words probably hard going.

    We had a spooky photo moment the other day too. After aiming the camera at one of the Victorian Mansions round Sefton Park it popped up with the face recognition. Can't say we've spotted a ghost as yet but who knows what might have been there that the eye couldn't see but the camera could.

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  7. Liz! My wife & I just love Los Abrigos. The fish restaurants alongside the harbour are superb. We often walk from Silencio, have lunch & walk back. Pity about the 'planes overhead.
    I have a healthy regard for 'ghosts' but I couldn't see it.
    Like you I love literature. I moved from non-fiction to fiction. Some say it should be the reverse view. I love a good story & good prose.

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  8. I tried finding the ghost, but I just couldn't see it.

    Thanks for sharing! Good luck with the rest of the challenge!

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  9. Hey! We're still in it! It's harder than it looks, isn't it, this challenge. Seeing your fab pics makes me homesick for Spain.

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