Over the last two weeks on the Canary Islands, I’ve been on a relentless mission to find a canary. There are supposedly thousands of them on the islands, but after scouring every nook and cranny on two islands, I had yet to spot one. I knew my traveling companions were getting tired of my obsession when I overheard them plotting to go to a pet shop and buy a caged canary for me, just to fulfill my need to see a canary in the Canaries.
Last night, I noticed on eBird (a birding database) that someone had reported a canary sighting in a location way north of where I was. The next morning, after a two-hour ride on three buses, I was standing in the exact spot. And my fellow birder didn’t steer me wrong. I spotted not just one canary, but at least half a dozen. And what a beautiful sight they were!
Back at the hotel, I celebrated my achievement by buying my travel mates a round of drinks at happy hour. Mine was a canary-colored pina colada. 🙂 I had threatened to not leave the island until I found a canary, so I think everyone was just relieved that that particular obstacle to boarding the ship had been resolved…
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