Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Breaking the Law

After unloading some of our personals, and changing out of flight-wear into something more comfortable, the first afternoon is spent strolling around the Playa Blanca village. There isn't really much to see, and it doesn't seem like the busiest tourist spot in the world. Which is good. The majority of tourists seem to be British. We decided to go for our first lunch in a restaurant by the seaside promenade, having some fresh fish and boiled potatoes canaries style (with lots of salt, and some mojo sauce).

After the lunch we stacked up piles and piles of food at a local supermarket, with the intention to do a lot of home cooking while here. Things get a little rough while exiting out of the parking facility. Our rental car is climbing up a very steep ramp, when all of a sudden either Johannes or the gearbox abruptly malfunctions. In any case, we start going backwards, and pretty much take out the barrier gate behind us. We sort of slide down through it going... well, backwards. Surprisingly enough, the manly looking parking attendant doesn't seem too bothered. He just walks on over and jolts the gate back into more or less its original shape. He does, however, motion towards us with gestures that can only be interpreted as: "Ever driven a car before?" Finally, Johannes manages to take hold of the blue Opel once more, and we quickly flee the scene of the crime. At least we have a full week to come up with a good explanation for any possible scratches.

It's already dark when we get back to the villa. Johannes and Kari start building up our studio in the living room. We've traveled pretty light this time around, at least in comparison with our last recording travels to Portugal in 2005 (when we took off with over 200 kilos of gear). While the fellas get on with the build-up, I decide to make friends with the kitchen by putting together a big feta cheese salad. The producers run into some unexpected trouble with an audio interface that refuses to work, and things are off to kind of a rough start. But Kari and Johannes decide they'll worry about it tomorrow, and quickly climb into the hot tub out on the terrace. The pitch black sky is an amazing sight at night. You can see a gazillion stars.

Coming here, to the Canary Islands of all places, has been such an absurd idea from the get go, that it was hard to imagine what it would feel like once we've arrived. Well, clearly this place is no touristic inferno, far from it. It's a quiet small island beside the African continent with some of the most beautiful rugged landscapes you can think of. There is no doubt that a week from now, we will leave this place loaded with inspiration and motivation for the last couple of months ahead. And with a well-deserved refill of Vitamin D. And if the record sounds as good as we feel right now, then it's all been worth it.

Johannes and Kari exit the jacuzzi for a light evening meal of sausages and salad. After that it's finally bedtime. This day has seemed like an eternity. Turn off the lights (and disconnect the cables).

Tommy

6 comments:

  1. Hianoa kuulla kuulumisia reissun päältä... lisää näitä tulossa toivottavasti! Jonna

    ReplyDelete
  2. great work guys... a very nice site also. keep it up!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jonna: Lisää on tulossa... paljon. :)

    Tim: Thanks a lot!

    Kari

    ReplyDelete
  4. Siistiä että vastailette täällä noin aktiivisesti. Milloin on luvassa ensimmäinen sinkku?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Suurinpiirtein maaliskuun puoliväliin tähdätään sinkun kanssa...

    Kari

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ok, odotan innolla!

    ReplyDelete