In an attempt to avoid the depressing grey UK winter weather and to get some warmth into our bones, we did the "almost usual" pilgrimage to Lanzagrotty. It involved a trip to Hythe, taking Mrs Toddler to the hospital and then a stupidly early start to get to Bournemouth airport for the first of the three flights leaving that day. Yes, three. Wildly busy place.
Playa Blanca and the Rubicon Palace hotel were as nice as ever and most of the controls on our 66 thousand kilometer VW Polo hire car seemed to work. All was well. Since we'd not been there in many years, we became proper tourists and visited Timanfaya - the volcano area where you get a great coach trip around the craters:
and various holes in the lava rock from the last eruption that was many years ago:
Seeing how a few lichens and little bushes have managed to make a foothold in the rocky landscape always amazes us, Nature is pretty resilient it seems. Back at the visitor centre you have to see the chicken being cooked over the heat from the volcano and the tourist special of making steam:
It was good to see that area again.
We managed a few good walks despite the crew having a grumbling hip. Someone near the Marina Rubicon has one of the strangest "garden" layouts we've ever seen:
where anything they can put their hands on seems to have a role in making the outside space look more and more ridiculous - or should that be entertaining:
It should probably be entertaining but we are getting too old and crotchety to appreciate the artistry involved we fear.
A trip to Arrecife the capital is always good. The marina there had a most eclectic collection of craft including this one that proves having lots of money doesn't mean you have lots of taste when you pick the hull colour of your yacht:
No photoshopping was involved in the colours above....
A trip to the cafe on the 17th floor of the one tower block hotel is always a must do, not because the coffee and cake is especially great, it is just for the views:
We had been fortunate to bump into a lovely couple of folks when checking in to the hotel and spent a fair amount of time chatting with them. As we had a hire car, they got loaded into the rather cosy back seat of the elderly Polo and carted off to El Golfo so they could admire the little lagoon area that has been turned bright green by some overactive algae:
Kind of distinctive. Unfortunately, we arrived at the time there were 5 tourist coaches in the car park with the resulting mass of humanity shuffling around the place and looking generally lost. Luckily things thinned out so that we could properly enjoy a coffee and cake stop there in relative quiet.
We also dragged the poor folks with us to Puerto Calero where the coffee and cake thing was repeated. This rather expensive and decidedly fast looking yacht was high and dry - get the size of her from the "little" car underneath:
Our social activities also included visiting the Dutch couple that we met last year in Marina Rubicon who were having a sea trial on a lovely Nordhavn 52 (stretched version of our boat). They duly bought the boat and have been using her a lot and sorting out several upgrades. It was lovely to catch up and see their progress:
Of course, two weeks goes way too quickly. We soon ended up back in Bournemouth airport, feeling the cold and waiting an age for the bags to be delivered from the one plane that had landed. Baggage reclaim is always freezing and painfully slow there. From our rather nice Lanzarote hotel, to the Premier Inn at Ringwood was quite a change but the staff were great and Anne (Izzy the dog's owner) joined us so a good homecoming was enjoyed. Izzy has a new role, modelling for Xmas cards:
Not sure is the antlers suit her but.... The card kicked off Xmas well.
