I lost my friend.
Because Harold the hedgehog is more than a cuddly toy. Sure, he is a cuddly toy. He came to our house almost twenty years ago. Yuri and Timur played with him when he was young. He moved with us from England to Fuerteventura and then to Gran Canaria. With time, his formerly straight hair (which supposed to represent needles) became afro-textured, probably because we live so close to Africa. During the last two years, he was my travelling buddy. He lived in Valencia and Santander, accompanied me to Finland and to the USA and to countless walks and concerts (he’s been to Chick Corea, Canteca de Macao, Chambao and Amparanoia, among others). And now he’s gone.
How could that happen? On 7 January, we went with Arawak on La Ruta del Cartero, from Risco de Agaete to La Aldea de San Nicolás. I made the last photo of Harold at Sabina de Tirma, probably the oldest juniper tree (Juniperus turbinata) in Canary Islands. Seeing me with Harold, our wonderful guide kindly offered to take the picture of us together, something that I refused at the moment... Why? I don’t know. I didn’t even ask Harold if he minded to take a picture with me. Maybe he wanted to.
Or maybe he just wanted to stay there on his own. One gets tired of non-stop travel, you know. I could have lost him in Barcelona, Bilbao, Frankfurt, Helsinki, Madrid or Ponta Delgada. But no. He has chosen a life close to nature, to the sea, to the mountains... and to us, I keep hoping.
I realised that he was lost somewhere around Cueva Nueva. By that time, there was no way going back to look for him. Needless to say, I haven’t enjoyed the rest of the walk as much as I could have. Which is a shame, because the route is breathtakingly beautiful.
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| Sunbathing... |
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| ...and travelling by boat... |
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| ...going to concerts...
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| ...and playing caixa in a samba band... |
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| ...blending in... |
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| ...and standing out... |
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| ...looking for friends... |
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| ...and talking to his friend... |
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| ...relaxing in sauna... |
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| ...and keeping his feet dry... |
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| ...climbing the trees... |
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| ...taking a peek through the Ojos del Diablo... |
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| ...and doing what he does the best — flying! |
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| With Timur and Tamara... |
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| ...with the cuddly toy family... |
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| ...and on his own... |
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| This is the last photo of Harold I made |
Harold is a resourceful hedgehog, Tamara said, he’ll find the way. Or at least he’ll find a new home.
I still hope that somebody finds him, reads this (or this) post and lets me know that Harold is safe.
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