Off to TENERIFE

Friday 9 January.

 

We had Ewan at home all day today, but he watched his videos, Pooh Bear and the animated film 'Frozen' all day. Rhys was his usual happy self, Moira has been trying to wean him on to more solid foods. She tried mashed banana and thin porridge but he didn't like them and just spat it out. In the afternoon she eventually got him eating yoghurt and he seemed to like that.

 

After breakfast I was going to charge the batteries for the camera before we left but couldn't find the charger. The plug and cable were in the case but not the part where the battery goes in; that bit must have fallen out when Moira was packing. She emptied out the case and bags but it was nowhere. While Moira repacked everything I went into Amazon on the computer to see if we could get a new one. They had them but didn't deliver to the Canaries. Margaret phoned Curries and Maplan but they didn't carry them in stock, they would have to order them especially. In the end Margaret phoned Justin and he ordered one from Amazon and they will post it on to is when they get it.

 

I managed to download another couple of programmes from last night's TV on to the Notebook. Moira then finished off packing and checked the weights of all the bags on Margaret's scale. They were all within Ryan Air's baggage limits. For the rest of the day we didn't do anything, the weather was miserable and wet again. We stayed in and played with the kids, read and I managed a crossword in the 'Telegraph'

 

About 4pm Moira heated a pizza in the oven and we had that for our dinner with a beer. Justin got back from work just after 4pm and we quickly got the luggage into the car and we were off. It took Margaret 90 minutes to get us to the Holiday Inn near Bristol airport. She knew a way to the airport to avoid any heavy traffic. We were all booked in and the room paid for previously over the Internet so there was no hanging about, they don't require us to show a passport or ID in the UK. We intended to get to the airport at about 4:30 am in the morning but the shuttle at that time was full, we booked on the 5am one, it is only 10 minutes to the airport according to the receptionist.

 

Once in our room Moira struggled to get into the Internet even though it only required her to enter her email address. At the same time I battled to get the TV working, the controller required an electronics degree to work it. Eventually after a lot of cursing and trial and error I got it tuned in. 'Eggheads' was on and after that we had 'Mash' then 'Mastermind'. I then discovered that a new series of the 'Now Show' had started on Radio 4. I got it on 'catch up' on the iPad but it wasn't as good as previous series. When that finished we got to sleep, we are up at 4am for breakfast before catching the shuttle to the airport and off to Tenerife.

 

 

Saturday 10 January.

 

The alarm woke us up at 4am and after a quick shower it was along to the dining room for breakfast. It was a help-your-self buffet, continental type; we had muesli, yoghurt and fruit, toast and coffee. There was large crowd waiting to get on the 4:30am shuttle and it seem to get there on time and was quickly away. When we finished we went back to the room and finished packing, also catching up on the news from the TV.

 

It only took 10 minutes as the receptionist at the hotel said and we got our case booked into the hold without any problem. That is more than can be said about going through security. They ended up emptying out the small rucksack that I was carrying, I don't know what they thought I had but all they found was a tub of hand cream which they confiscated. There was a ridiculous hold up getting through with long queues at all the channels. There had been a terrorist attack at a satirical newspapers offices in Paris this week with a number of people being shot. This resulted in an enormous manhunt in France and I think there must have been a security alert at all airports resulting in them going over the top.

 

The plane left on time and it was a 4 hour flight to Tenerife. It was quite comfortable the seat next to me was empty so there was plenty of elbow room. The sun was coming up in the east as we headed south and the blinding rays were coming through the window opposite making in annoying at first. We bought a cup of coffee, there isn't anything free on Ryan Air, and it was horrible.

 

We arrived in Tenerife on time and as we got off the plane the sun was trying shine through a hazy sky and it was hot; this was what we had come for. After picking up our case from the carousel we made our way out and the guy from the resort was waiting with a sign, 'Mr James Mrs Moira'. We were soon on our way to Puerto Santiago. It took about 45 minutes and it was a pleasant drive along the coast after leaving the motorway. The resort was Jardines del Mar and there was a supermarket right outside he gate. The block of flats were in an arc round the swimming pool and it looked very nice. The guy who drove us there was the owner of the flat and his wife was waiting for us to arrive. After doing the paperwork I paid the money for the three months, €2000 and we were on our own.

Moira started unpacking while I checked out the TV and found that we can get BBC 1 and 2 plus ITV and a load of Spanish channels. After emptying the bags we headed for the supermarket to stock up with food, enough to at least feed us for a few days. Back at the flat we had lunch out on the veranda in the warm sunshine overlooking the pool. We had a nice baguette with some pâté and Camembert cheese.

 

Then we found another problem, we didn't have the adaptors to convert our plugs to the Spanish electrical sockets and Moira had left the charger for her phone at Margaret's. Another thing was WiFi, we had to get and pay for a code the site office. Moira went to the office to get a code while I watched the TV, there was World Championship darts on. The office wasn't open, we forgot about the Spanish siesta, but the supermarket was still open where she managed to get electrical adaptors, so one problem solved.

 

Mid-afternoon we went for a walk along the front. The coastal road was quite undulating so it will be a good tester when I begin running tomorrow. There was a Chinese shop, the type in Spain that sells everything and this one did. They had a cable that fitted Moira's phone with a USB plug on the other end. We tried it by plugging into the USB slot on their computer and it started charging the phone. Another problem solved. Later there was a camera shop and I asked about a charger for my camera, he said he had them. If there is any trouble getting the one from Margaret and Justin I can get one here.

 

The town along the front looked like a typical seaside resort with lots of bars and restaurants. The restaurants were of different types and there were a couple of Indian ones. The beach is in a large bay and the peculiar thing is the colour of the sand, it is black. This is due to the volcanic nature of the island and there is a large volcano in the centre that it is possible to climb. The beach was crowded with people sunbathing and a number in swimming. We didn't walk very far being tired after our early start this morning and soon headed back. The office for the WiFi code still wasn't open.

 

I was back in time for the football results on the TV, Morton won for a change. Moira made a nice chicken curry for dinner and we had iced cream which we bought at the supermarket. After washing up we watched some TV but decided to get to bed early, our eyes were closing and we were dropping off to sleep on the couch. It was 9 pm when we turned in and soon sleeping. The complex was very quiet and nothing disturbed us during the night.

 

 

 

 

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