Felt a bit bad, I was driving and we both turned at the same time to stare at these 2 dark skinned men, just walking down the street minding their own business on a quiet saturday. They saw us stare, of course, as we drove past.
Lanzarote, apart from having a minority of local Spanish people compared with the huge numbers of european tourists, has very few black people - in spite of being only a few miles off africa.
I was made aware of this from the beginning of our arrival in Arecife because the entire contents of our plane walked past 2 African men, with shabby blankets in the transit area, surrounded by up to 12 uniformed and armed (white) Spanish men, the closest of whom were wearing surgical masks.
I know I was speculating about their status as migrants while also being aware of the authorities absurd and demeaning over-reaction.
So I stared at these 2 men on the street, mostly to see if they looked African or maybe Indian. Just to see, because, though I am not particularly interested in or informed about Spanish Canary Island immigration law, I was curious.
I know perfectly well that just staring at these two people wouldn't have told me a thing.