An almost perfect adventure

The pelargoniums were flowering bright red in the terracotta pots on the small blue tables outside the shop. Ursula, who loved flowers, did not have to coax Richard to sit down for a cold cerveza. There was still forty-five minutes to go before the last bus was leaving for town and they deserved a break after walking around in this small village in the Spanish mountains here on the island of Gran Canaria. Besides, it was stifling hot now in the afternoon sun.

- We close soon, but you still have time for another beer.

The lady from the shop wiped the table and smiled generously. She was dressed in bright colors, and had a white scarf tied around her long black hair. This little village was filled with colors, bright purple from the bougainvillea, golden orange and yellow from the citrus orchards that grew on the sides of the sloping mountain down to the valley where the soft pink hibiscus flowered in the tiny gardens that surrounded the picturesque village. The view from here was like a picture postcard, the olive and citrus orchards and white houses nestled in amongst the green.

- Are you just visiting for the day?

She put two bottles on the table and a small plate of tapas. There were olives, goat cheese and dried figs. The bread roll was cut into small pieces placed around a little bowl of olive oil.

Ursula took a sip from the cold beer and watched the ripples of water running down the bottle. It felt nice and cool in her hand.

- Yes, we came up on the local bus from Las Palmas early this morning and have spent the day walking around the village. It is so beautiful, like an oasis.

- I am glad you are enjoying it here at Mogan. It has been a bit too hot, I think, to walk around at this time of day. She laughed.

- Better in the early morning or evening. Yes?

Richard laughed.

- I know, but there is no stopping her once she sets out on an adventure and it was worth it, even driving on the scary serpentine roads leading up here.

The beer was cold and refreshing and they felt relaxed as they nibbled at the tapas.

- I’ll get another bottle of beer and a bottle of water. Do you want another one?

- Yes, why not.

Ursula had barely finished her drink but felt more comfortable and relaxed than what she had for a long time. It was as if this holiday was healing the pain and anxiety of the long winter at home, giving her a focus on something else besides work and the monotonous everyday routine. They really should adopt this happy hour with tapas at home, she thought as she bit into another black olive.

- You must look in the shop. They have everything from broomsticks to aprons and flour in big barrels, and it smells of thyme, sage, and rosemary.

She was picking at the pelargonium wondering what the secret was to get it to grow so thick.

- I feel too comfortable to move.

The lady waived at her in the door.

- Come and have a look!

It was like stepping back into another time. The wooden floors shone of polish in the afternoon light and on the counter were glass jars with candy, buttons, pencils, screws, and small cake decorations. Everything was neat and tidy and the bundles of herbs that hung from the ceiling tied with colorful ribbons, spread a sweet scent throughout the room. The shelves were stacked with rolls of materials in various patterns, pillows, sheets, and blankets and on the back row were the saucepans, frying pans, storm lanterns and cookery.

- Wow, you sure have everything you could want here. Even clothes!

Ursula fingered on a thin white hand knitted jumper for a minute, tempted to buy it. She looked at the price tag. It was not expensive, and she knew she would not attempt to bargain with it as she did in town. This was different.

- I love this. It would probably fit me.

- You are welcome to try it on if you like.

The lady took the jumper from the coat hanger and handed it to Ursula.

- Come on, try it.

Ursula hesitated as she held it in her hand feeling the material.

- No, I better not, I don’t think I have any room left in my suitcase.

Richard had watched them from the door. He pushed in front of Ursula.

- I think we will have time for another beer before the bus goes, what do you think?

He was already at the counter before she had time to say anything, and she sat down again at the table. It was not long now before the bus would come to pick up the last visitors for the day and they really did not want to miss it.

- Come on, hurry up!

She was anxious to get down the hill to the bus stop while Richard quickly drank the last of his beer. The lady from the shop waived them goodbye as they hurried with their shoulder bags and souvenirs slung over their shoulders.

- We should not have stayed so long! What if we had missed the bus.

Ursula turned to see the bus coming from behind them and waived at the driver to stop. It drove past them down to the bus stop where it pulled over with shrieking brakes. They ran down the hill as fast as they could. It appeared the bus driver was not in any hurry as he was sitting on the step smoking a cigarette.

- Five minutes, he said.

The bus was only half filled, consisting mainly of locals. People were carrying cane cages with chickens or birds in them, and big shopping bags filled with groceries. Ursula guessed they would be getting off at various stops along the way. They had been driving for almost half an hour, not even all the way down to the bottom of the valley when Richard suddenly stood up.

- I must go to the lads’ room, he said.

- But there is no stop here!

- I don’t care. When you got to go, you got to go!

Ursula should have guessed this would happen. Richard always had to run off and relieve himself after drinking beer, and he had had a significant amount up at the little shop back there in Mogan.

He slung his backpack over his shoulder and moved along the isle down towards the driver.

- Emergency, he laughed. Got to take a pee!

The driver looked at him bemused.

- Pee?

- Yes, yes…pee! Go to toilet!

A few passengers in the bus started laughing but most just looked irritated at this slightly hysterical tourist.

- Pee! Somebody said.

- Pee!

- Can’t stop here. Nowhere to stop.

The bus was climbing down the hill towards the citrus orchards, nothing but rocks and cactus growing along the winding road.

- I don’t care! Stop here!

Ursula stood up from her seat.

- God dam it, Richard!

She half screamed now beginning to lose patience. She was not going to stay on the bus alone if Richard got out. The breaks shrieked as the bus pulled over and Richard jumped out.

- Quickly! Get out!

He yelled at Ursula who was standing by the door as the bus started moving and there was no other choice but to jump out of the moving bus leaving her rolling down the hill into the cactus below. She could not even scream, there was nothing to hold on to if you did not want your hands to cut to pieces from the prickly cactus plants. Her fall eventually came to a stop, and she found herself in-between two big thorny cactus. One was pressing against her bottom, and the other wrapped around her leg, she knew if she moved to hastily the thorns would stick into her. She looked up at Richard who stood at the clifftop looking down at her, making a contented sigh as he finished his business.

- Are you all right? He yelled.

- No, she screamed. I am not all right, and I can’t get out of here!

- Just stay there, I’ll help you, babe.

- It’s all your fault.

She could feel the tears coming.

- You and your beers! I could kill you.

Richard was almost out of sight now, and she kept still not knowing what would happen next. He had found a donkey path leading down the hill and was manoeuvring his way towards her. When he finally stood beside her she could grab his hand and pull herself up. She closed her eyes for a moment. She did not want to see this patch of horror into which she had fallen. She felt the pain as another spike cut into her leg. Then a second one and a third. The blood ran down her leg coloring her white linen pants and she had torn the sleeve of her shirt. But Richard somehow managed to pull her free and they climbed back to the path and up the hill. The road was empty. There was no trace of the bus or any other traffic and there was no time to be angry or hurt, it was late in the afternoon, and it would get dark soon. They simply stood there in the middle of the road starring at each other.

- Sorry, he half whispered.

She shook her head but without saying anything. It was as if the carefree day had turned into a nasty incident that none of them had counted with. They hoped the shop was still open, but the locked door and windows told another story.

- What do we do now?

Ursula sat down at one of the tables, everything seemed strangely empty. She looked at the map to see if there was a hotel or a caravan park nearby, but this was only a small village, and the nearest petrol station was miles away.

- Hey, are you all right?

Richard sat down on the footpath leaning on an old stone wall.

- No, she said, I am not all right. My legs are hurting, and I need to wash the blood off.

- Here, take the water bottle!

Richard took a sip of water before handing it over to her.

- I’ll help you.

- But this is all the water we have. Richard, what are we going to do?

They realized they would not get back to their hotel tonight and decided to walk down the main street to see if they could find someone to ask about accommodation. There was not much to see, only a couple of scattered houses well hidden behind walls of flowering bougainvillea or hibiscus, but without any sign of life. They guessed the occupants must be farmers who still had not gotten home from a day on the land. A light shone from one of the houses at the end of the street and Richard stepped in to an overgrown garden where the front door was open. He yelled out but nobody answered. He yelled again and a dog began to bark from far away. “At least somebody heard me,” he muttered. “Was this a ghost town or what?”

- Yes, can I help you?

A woman in her early twenties suddenly appeared from the side of the house. She looked surprised at Richard who stood just in front of the opened door.

- Yes, do you speak English?

- Yes.

- Oh, thank God. We have missed the bus to town and are stuck here.

- We? The girl looked around.

- Oh, my wife and I, she is just outside the gate. Can you help us please. We need some form of transport or accommodation for the night.

- Wait a minute, tell me what is going on.

She turned a tap off and returned with a somewhat cautious look on her face as Ursula entered the gate.

- What happened to your leg?

- It’s a long story.

Ursula began to tell the girl, but she interrupted.

- Let’s get inside before dark, she said. Come this way.

They had not noticed the cold until they entered the house. This stone building was freezing inside, and they soon realized why. Part of a wall was missing leaving a view overlooking the citrus orchards down below. But there was nothing protecting them from the nature outside and the evening chill was rolling in with the mist over the mountain.

- Sit down. I will make you a hot drink and you better wash the blood off your leg. I will show you to the bathroom.

Ursula walked over the pebbles covering the bathroom floor and looked up at the restless brocade of mosaic tiles covering the walls. The girl lit two big candles and showed her the wash basin.

- It’s only cold water. But at least it is water, she said as she handed her a towel.

- Take your time. Oh, and if you want to take off your pants, I can give you a pair to change with. We need to wash them.

It was not long before they were comfortably rugged up in front of the fireplace. The night had come with its dark blanket and covered the mountain and the little village. The stars were sparkling like diamonds in the darkness.

Claudia came from Germany and had lived in the old house for almost a year with her partner Jonas. He was working on one of the nearby farms and she did not expect him home until later in the evening. They had both come as backpackers and fell in love with the beauty and simplicity of rural life in Mogan and decided to stay for a while. The man who owned the orange orchid below gave them the house to live in in exchange for work and Claudia was also making macrame bracelets and lamps to sell at the markets in town. Ursula was impressed by the little beads woven into the delicate threads.

- It’s yours, said Claudia. I think you have earned it.

They both laughed and she opened a bottle of red wine that she mixed with cut up fruit from the orchid. A bean and vegetable stew were warming on the wood stove in the kitchen. It was cozy and they relaxed when Claudia offered them to stay the night in one of the spare rooms. Life here was simple which was what had captured Claudia and Jonas in the first place.

A moped came up the driveway and soon a young man with long blond hair stepped in through the door. He was surprised to find guests in the house and Claudia explained what had happened. He was immediately as ease and was happy to tell them how they also had missed the last bus and decided to stay in Mogan.

- You might just find that you don’t want to go back either, he laughed.

Jonas worked with ornate and delicately carved wood.

- It looks like this place has certainly been good for the creative energy, Richard said.

It could have been the wine, or it could have been the atmosphere, but they did not hesitate to say yes when Claudia and Jonas offered for them to stay for a couple of days.

- I know it’s not the luxury of the resorts down there in town but you might appreciate something different. Besides, it is a chance to get to know life on the island away from tourists.

Ursula looked at Richard who seemed pleased with the idea.

- I’ve got another idea. Why don’t we swap? You could spend a couple of days in our resort in town and we could stay here? What do you think?

Jonas was the first to answer. He looked at Claudia who smiled back at him.

- Well, we must get to the market anyway on Friday and I sure would not mind having a couple of days by the sea for a change. I think it’s a deal!

- Cheers to that!

Stars were bright in the night sky. The chill of the mist rolling in over the mountain forced them all to retire early to bed and Ursula laid surrounded by a cascade of candles comfortably dressed in Claudias flannel pyjamas. She could not remember when she had felt so relaxed. It was as if this place took all her worries away.

- I am sorry Ursula. I guess I messed you up aye. It’s my fault.

Richard stroked her across the cheek.

- There is nothing to be sorry for, quite the opposite. I thank you for that pee,

she laughed, but hey, don’t let it happen again!

- This has been the best evening I have had for a long time, and I am so happy this happened, a most rewarding accident.

They snuggled up together under the thick blankets and listened to the crickets outside.

- Oh, I forgot something.

Richard jumped out of bed and grabbed his packsack.

- Here, this is for you!

He handed her a parcel wrapped in soft silk paper and she slowly began to unfold it. There it was, the white handknitted jumper she had seen earlier today, and the small pearl buttons sparkled in the candlelight.

- What a perfect ending to an “almost” perfect adventure. Thank you, Richard.