Saturday 17 December

I was awake at 4am this morning chasing a mosquito around the room which I could have done without! Luckily I dispatched it to mosquito heaven and then went back to sleep until 8am when I found Keith admiring the beautiful sunrise in the garden. The sky was a mix of gorgeous blues, pinks and peachy colours with little fluffy clouds catching the new rays.

We all had breakfast, showered and then went back to the Rubicon Marina where there was a market next to the water. It was the sort of market selling jewellery, clothes and island artefacts and the children both bought some little trinkets to take home with them. I treated everyone to a beer/coffee/ice-cream and it was exceedingly pleasant sitting in the sun and watching the world go by. The Marina is definitely my favourite place to be as it’s very pretty, spotlessly clean and has an interesting mix of bars, cafes and shops with some lovely restaurants right on the water’s edge.

Christmas decorations Lanzarote style

 

Before we left to go back to the villa we bought some anti-mosquito plug-ins which should stop the problem of being bitten. It’s only me that’s been attacked, luckily the children have been left alone.

We spent a couple of hours at the villa before Keith went off into the town to watch Newcastle play Swansea at a bar. The plan was that the children and me would go to a café with wifi and then join him later. We drove into the town, managed to find a parking space and walked the short distance to Sandra’s where our Rep told us we could access the internet.

I think I made a bit of a boo-boo in the café as we sat down and waited for one of the staff to come and take our order as I’ve always done in cafes. The waitress eventually took our order for milkshakes and a coffee and gave me the code to get online. Later, when some other people came in they ordered their drinks at the counter which may have explained our hostess’s frosty demeanour! I’m not sure we’ll be going back!

It was great to get onto the internet, if only for a little while, and the children caught up with their friends on Facebook while I checked my emails – all 56 of them!

Afterwards we popped into the Spar where Mikey bought himself a big inflatable ring and a lilo and then we meandered along the front having a look in the shops. It seemed a lot busier with people sitting in the bars and restaurants and soaking up the sun on the benches that faced the sea and I wondered if a cruise ship had docked on the island, bringing a temporary invasion!

Playa Blanca

 Keith was enjoying the football in the Galeria Bar which was set high up overlooking the resort. It was almost empty and the game had about ten minutes to go, but the score of 0-0 was hardly exciting!

Before we got ready to go out in the evening, Keith and I managed to inflate the ring and the lilo for Mikey who had great fun in the pool with them! Traditionally we’ve always had races in the pool with the inflatables so I’m sure both children will get lots of use out of them before the end of the holiday!

We had a drink before dinner in the bar where Keith watched the football and we all agreed it was a lovely place to relax. It has beautiful views over the resort and the harbour and each table had a little candle which made it lovely and cosy. The children chose non-alcoholic cocktails and then found the computers which, for a few euros, gave them access to the internet, so that pleased them!

After our drinks we wandered down to the promenade and were persuaded to go back to the restaurant of our first night – Volcan de Timanfaya. It was only the second night we’d eaten there but we were greeted like old friends by the staff and our waiter gave us girls kisses and hugs which was lovely! I thought it was genuine as well!

We chose nachos with chicken to share as our starters and then Keith opted for the lamb chops again as he’d enjoyed them so much the first time. I felt like a sirloin steak, cooked medium with a mushroom sauce, while the children had pasta. I chose a local wine, El Grifo, to accompany our meal which was a bit tannic. I expected it to soften with the food but it didn’t so we may well steer clear of that one in the future!