Saturday 14 March 2020

Hair and Fuerteventura


Mr Igor and I really enjoyed Fuerteventura. It was very windy and very much a desert island, just like we had been "warned", but it was very enjoyable.


Impressive nature, so much history, really great food and a constant pleasant warmth in the air. Not too much, not too little.


I honestly didn't think it was possible that one island could have so many different types of beaches!
Golden sand, black sand, red sand, grey sand, beige sand... And let's not forget about the popcorn beaches! We found two smaller deposits along the beach in Corralejo and of course the bigger, famous one a 5 km hike away.


I did my best at protecting my hair from the near-constant sun and wind with SPF, protective styles and headwraps in different styles.


Of course the access to really nice pools and a really nice spa didn't make it better. 


I could feel how dry my skin got from the chlorine...


But still... Worth it!


But the real problem was with the water in the pipes. The water in Fuerteventura is seawater, with the salt removed and treated somehow. I've been trying to find any actual data on how it's been treated and what is left in the water, but with no luck. All I can say is that it smelled... Strange.
Something slightly like chlorine, except not. Almost sort of like ozone. I think it was mostly the smell that bothered me about it, my skin and hair seemed surprisingly okay. A little dry, but that was to be expected. No major hissyfits from either the diva Hair or the chaotic mental patient I call my skin.


One thing is subjecting my skin and hair to wind, sand in the wind, sunlight and poolwater, but not being able to get rid of it by washing in good, clean water? Not good. I seriously considering using some of our bottled drinking water for it, but that felt like too much trouble. I figured I should just enjoy the vacation and deal with it once I got back home to our super clean, very natural water instead. My hair should bounce right back after a treatment or two.


We met JP and Sue of JP in Fuerteventura
(First shoutout at the timestamp. We're not featured in the video though)
Wonderful, sweet people!

 

I also met my nemesis!
Complete with creepy, unblinking eyes in his poop-emoji-shaped face, boxing glove-hands and kneeless legs with webbed feet.

9 comments:

  1. So glad you had a good time. The sunlight will be a great health enhancement. And a bit of a smile even! Be well, stay healthy, rock on. ♥

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    1. It was awesome :) And so nice to see some actual sunlight for once. It was pretty strange to feel the "strength" in the sun again after the winter! At least spring is slowly coming around here now, so hopefully I'll see more sunlight here too.

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  2. I laughed out loud at the picture with you and your nemesis there!

    How are you doing? I remember you writing that you commute between Sweden and Denmark, is that still possible for you? I think Denmark was very smart to close the border to Germany early and ask people to stay home, we should have done the same here much earlier.

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    1. Haha, thank you :) It was pretty funny to pose with that weird creepy thing. We got some funny looks from the other tourists, but... Worth it!
      Ah, yes, I do. I'm actually surprised that Germany haven't done the same yet, but it seems there is a hilariously strange difference from country to country. Especially when it comes to how you expect them to handle it and how they actually do? For instance, Sweden, "The Moral Superpower (tm)" decided to leave it up to the individual schools if they want to shut down or not. Like... Uh? What good is that, and who the hell would want that kind of responsibilities, especially if you have no training or education in this kind of situation? Weird.
      It's not a problem for me to commute though. I'm a Danish citizen, so they have let me through without as much as a second glace every time. I have just shown my pink Danish drivers license and that have been enough, but I'm also "armed" with the yellow Swedish ID, the blue EU ID and my work ID. Just to make sure there would be no issue, work also sent me a hilariously, overly self-important letter certifying how important it is that I, lady Igor of much important importance, can go to work unhindered and that my job is a matter of high importance. I'm thinking of having it framed when all this is over, just for the hilarious, over the top phrasing of it all.....

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    2. Well, that's something :D Wish i had a fancy letter, but... uhm. I have a laptop.
      My employer ordered everybody who can to work from home, worldwide, long before Germany took any official action. But then, I also work in a field that can easily be done from everywhere, no need for an office.

      For some strange reason the border to Denmark is now controlled, same with France, Czech Republic, Austria and Poland.
      But I live right at the Dutch and Belgian border (i can walk there in under 5 minutes) and they are still open. No clue what that should do then, as people from all countries here regularly shop in the other countries, have doctors there, etc.

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    3. I love the pompousness of it! It's so awesome XD
      Your employer is way smarter than most places :) Good thing you work for a place that can think for itself and make wise decisions on their own!
      Mr Igor's theory on the not-closed Swedish borders is that Sweden has backed itself into a weird corner with the declarations of how evil and racist and evuhlz borders are and how they shouldn't exist in the first place so everyone and anyone can wander into Sweden for free money, free drivers licenses, free abortions and free places to live, no questions asked, and if you like border control then you are evuhl and probably a racist Dane anyways (not even exaggerating here, sadly) so they have now made it impossible to even entertain the thought of closing the borders. I think he might be on to something.
      LOL I talked to a Dutch friend on facebook yesterday and she said people are hoarding from the coffeeshops! #Uniquely_Dutch_Problems
      It must be pretty weird to live so close to the borders and seeing what is happening :)

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  3. I'm so glad you were able to get away and enjoy some sun and sand! I'm hoping you are home and safe given everything going on in the world atm.

    Question: Where did you get that bag? My Mom is planning to travel and is looking for a good cross body bag that fits a lot. (obviously she won't be going anywhere this year). Any brand name or place you got it? Would you recommend it as a good travel bag?

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    1. It was a perfect vacation :) We came back a while ago, so we managed to get settled back in before everything got too weird, so that was good.
      I got it off Zalando. Not sure if they ship to Canada?
      The brand is called Kipling and I like it a lot! The fabric is pretty solid, but also so soft that it "slouches" and deflates when it's not so full. Good, thick strap that doesn't dig into the shoulder too much. Plenty of pockets too. I even washed it without problems, which was nice since a bottle of sunscreen exploded inside XD

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    2. So, some Googling leads me to believe this Kipling model is called Gabbie. Not really sure what colour mine is in? There are like five and they're all in grey-blue-black shades

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