Paddling in the Atlantic

After a bit of a disturbed night (there were loud fireworks going off all around the villa) we had a lovely start to the day by opening our presents (all of which were useful for the holiday) and having a cooked breakfast with a glass of Cava each. The sky was a bit cloudy but we pushed on with our plan to go to the Playa de Famara with a picnic.

The journey didn’t take too long (the island is small so you could drive around it in half a day) and before long we could see the towering cliffs that overlook the beach. It’s really a surfer’s paradise as the winds are very strong, creating lovely big waves, and there were quite a few people out in the surf.

The nearby village of Caleta de Famara has a surf school and we also noticed lots of cyclists from the nearby resort of La Santa where a lot of professional athletes go for winter training.

We all paddled in the very cold Atlantic Ocean and Sophie and I made a “stoneman” rather than a traditional snowman! Unfortunately Mikey got very wet by going in much further than he should so we had to return to the car to change his shorts and try and dry him off a bit. The sea here is not recommended for swimming as it can be very rough and today the red flag was flying, although there were a couple of hardy people in! 

It was too windy for our picnic and on the chilly side, so we drove into the village to see if there was a shop open selling tee-shirts. Caleta de Famara is a traditional Lanzarote village of square white houses with green shutters and it was very quiet, which seeing as it was Christmas Day, was not a surprise!

I tried to call my parents who were down in Kent to take Nan out for Christmas lunch but they hadn’t arrived yet. It felt very strange speaking to my Nan who said that the weather in the UK was dull and mild, just how I hate Christmas to be at home.

We made the decision to go to the Costa Teguise, a resort that Keith and I stayed in back in 1995. On the way, mum called me on my mobile so we wished each other Happy Christmas and told her we’d been on the beach. I was a bit worried I’d feel sad speaking to my parents when they were so far away at Christmas but everything was OK and we’re all looking forward to having a meal together on our return, when we can bore them rigid with our holiday tales.

Once in the resort of Costa Teguise we parked the car, found a tee-shirt for Mikey (emblazoned with San Francisco University, oddly enough)  and had a very pleasant and relaxing drink in a bar overlooking the sea. It was so hot at one point that it was beginning to get uncomfortable and it felt about as far from Christmas Day as you could get! Apart from most of the supermarkets being closed, life seems to go on as normal here and the roads were much busier than I’d anticipated.

A drink by the sea on Christmas Day.

We decided to go back to the villa and have our picnic there so within half an hour we back sitting on the terrace with a beer and our picnic of ham and cheese rolls!

We had a shock in the evening when we found our favourite bar closed for the evening! Undeterred we walked on to the Wax Bar to find that all shut up as well. The only other bar we knew of was right around the headland so we ventured into Mollie’s Irish Bar and sat on the terrace overlooking the sea and the marina in the distance. It was fine for a while but it became quite chilly so we moved inside and sat opposite a television which was showing David Gest’s top Christmas songs on MTV! It felt so bizarre listening to the tunes and being somewhere like Lanzarote but it did mean we felt Christmassy for a little while!

We’d booked a table at the Volcan de Timanfaya for 8pm and when we arrived the place was packed to the gunnels! The waiters flew about at top speed, bless them, and the man who usually lurks outside to lure customers in was waiting at the tables as well. We had a good table, though, far enough inside the restaurant to be nice and warm and to have a good view of what was going on.

I’m pleased to say we had an excellent meal and when I think back to the food we had on Christmas Eve and how much it cost, I just feel even angrier. Keith and Sophie shared a starter of chicken with nachos, I chose tomato soup (thick and creamy) and Mikey went for Chicken soup. His large bowl was filled almost to the top!

As it was Christmas I decided on fillet steak for my main course, accompanied by a jacket potato, mushroom sauce and some delicious vegetables. It was probably the best steak I’ve ever had and I could see the chef grilling it on the big barbecue right in front of me. Keith chose what looked like a whole lamb – technically it was a shoulder but it would have fed all four of us easily. Our mains were 12.95 and 13.50 euros respectively, which when I think of the crap we were served the previous night at 22 euros, makes it terrific value for money.

Mikey, ignoring the fact that it was a special Christmas meal, went for a pizza while Sophie had a huge portion of pork ribs. With a bottle of good Rioja, drinks and a dessert of strawberry cheesecake for me, the bill came to 88 euros. We will definitely be back for our last meal of the holiday on Wednesday night.

As always, we called into the ice-cream parlour so the children could have an ice-cream and then it was back to the villa and a quick catch up with the news before bed!