Un Buen Dia En La Playa
Barefoot on the beach again...
On Monday I suggested to Anadi that we drive across the island to Isos Sandy beach. I have developed a desire to run on the sand - without shoes - since I rediscovered its healing properties running along the firm sandy shoreline of Famara, with the tide far out.
The sand of Isos was not so firm!
But the beach was all our own, surrounded by sandy dunes, the waves crashed beside us, and the wind whipped all around; another beach popular with windsurfers in the summer.
But not another soul there on Monday.
We ran to the end and back again, then right to the other end, 'let's chant' I said... So we squatted down by the water's edge together and sang 'Nam Myoho Renge kyo' 108 times, our voices mingling with the wind, the waves, the swooping birds... Standing up (my legs a bit stiff and achy at first from the position!) we ran back, stripped off our running kit, and dived into the waves...
Two others then appeared from the dunes, where they had propped their bikes, and the woman, with the tan of a cyclist who has cycled many miles, dived in too.
We all laughed as the waves tumbled us and crashed over us, delighting in the spirit of the surf.
I am loving running barefoot again... And wearing barefoot shoes when the surfaces are more challenging... I am building up my running, having taken tentative steps into the world of bare feet since September... Today I ran around the football pitch here in Ipsos...
It is a rather overgrown field, full of pebbles and weeds and today it was running with small rivers too, because it rained all night long!
We ran ten laps, and I strode one end and one straight, and then jogged the rest. I am experiencing a reduction in aches and pains, and my movement is freer, better than before...
As I wrote in my last blog, I am not recommending 'Barefoot is best', but for me it is feeling free!
I did order some 'Nike frees' expecting them to be there when I returned to the UK in October, but they never arrived and so instead of re ordering, I received my money back and carried on 'Vivobarefoot' shod instead.
After Anadi and I had run around the football pitch we ran back along the seafront, the rain coming down in torrents, but the temperature gauge above the pharmacy still recorded 17 degrees, warm delightful rain.
More crashing waves, but the joy of this sea is not to be missed because of a bit of rain. It felt warm in the water and although the streets here are empty and everyone is in winter coats, we were not put off....!
I am learning Spanish (slowly slowly) slightly an odd feeling when in Switzerland and now Greece.I keep wanting to greet and thank everyone in Spanish...
I have been meaning to start watching Spanish films ever since it was recommended as a good way to help me learn...
My first Spanish film yesterday was too tragic for words and and I didn't learn much Spanish... Lots of loss and death and sadness, quite a lot of sex, beautifully shot scenes and wonderful music and not a lot of words...!
I have now discovered another site that has interviews and soap operas etc and this is now becoming my new world!
I have a teacher called Maricarmen, who I met in Spain in August and we now meet on Skype once a week. I like her a lot and she is one of the main reasons I will persevere...
I look forward to meeting with her each week and therefore I must do the three things necessary to learn Espanol...The three things necessary to master any skill...
Practica Practica practica!
