More Lanzagrotty time

What else did we get up to whilst enjoying the warmth and sun? Well, you have to visit El Golfo to watch the waves crashing against the coastline:

We also walked the other way from the hotel to the huge lighthouse with the rather ugly radar platform that was added to it after completion:

It was so nice to be wandering around at night in short sleeved tops, enjoying views like this whilst the UK was suffering from a procession of gales and rain:

Puerto Calero is always worth a look too. This rather purposeful craft took our fancy:

A serious passagemaker as you can see from her blog Astra blog.  At the time of writing she was on the market for a cool 2 million Euros. Her navigation setup is almost identical to ours, just a later and larger version of the Simrad autopilot. We resisted calling the selling broker, knowing how much cleaning etc our little 47 footer involves. 

Both ends of power boating were in display. The  "hard as nails" passage maker Astra was next to a Fairline posing machine with a naff name:

We had some amusement when the tourist submarine was towed back into the marina as usual but the crew got the tow rope caught in the sub's systems. Two guys were busy prodding and poking away with a boathook whilst the passengers were being disembarked:

and eventually they released the big loop, which you can see floating happily:

Even so called professionals get it very wrong at times, that made us feel so much better about our boating mistakes. 

Our last excursion was to LaGomar, the amazing place built into a volcanic wall, inspired by the famous artist Cesar Manrique. The "metalwork" is so inventive and amusing:

and the residents have quite a cool poolside area, sculpted into the rock:

We love the tunnel linking the underground areas to the main pool. Full of water with little steps to keep you focussed (and hopefully dry) as you pass through:

The setting is just mind blowing:

with the main accommodation high up in the rockface:

We were sad to return to the UK as the weather back home was truly dire. Rain and wind. We landed just as a gale was blowing through and stood freezing in the baggage reclaim at Bournemouth airport. Why it takes them so long to unload the only plane that was arriving is beyond us as there seemed to be plenty of folks out on the tarmac. Still, a way better place to travel from than Gatwick!

Before driving back to the boat, we had an overnight stop and then met Anne and Izzy the doglet for a quick coffee. Cafe Nero were selling a "mince pie flavour dog chew". It seemed to work for Izzy - after one piece her focus on the rest was intense and optimistic:

Amazingly for the last working day prior to Xmas, the trip back along the motorway was not too busy. For once, our timing was good. We were back afloat and ready to do battle with Xmas.