Not feeling well on TENERIFE.

Monday 16 March.

I was feeling worse than when I went to bed last night. My throat was still sore, my nose raw and my body was aching all over. I got up to make a cup of tea then get ready for our trip to Santa Cruz but decided I wasn't fit enough for a day out and went back to bed. I stayed there all morning. Moira made the breakfast then I dozed off for an hour. Later Moira went out shopping while I read my book.

I got up and went out on to the veranda for lunch and listened to Jeremy Vine on the radio. It was from Glasgow and they were questioning the influence the SNP will have in Westminster after the election in May if they hold the balance of power. He interviewed Alex Salmond and I said to Moira that Vine would have to get up early in the morning to catch him out with his inane questions.

After lunch I was still feeing sore and couldn't get comfortable on the chairs on the veranda and went back to bed to lie down to read. I am enjoying my book and nearly finished it when I got to bed later. I watched the early quizzes and the later Monday ones then got to bed early to read for a while before getting to sleep. I'm hoping I will feel better in the morning and be able to go on our trip.

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A good gym workout on TENERIFE.

Sunday 15 March.

 

Gym today:

 

4 laps of the basketball court with 2x4 kg dumbbells. This time doing curls as I walked briskly.

10x25 sit-ups.

7x25 reps bench press machine with 20 kg.

3x25 reps on leg splits machine with 40 kg.

10x10 reps hip extensions.

5x25 reps leg press machine with 50 kg.

3x20 reps seated rowing with 20 kg.

100 twists.

3x12 reps preacher curls with 10 kg barbell.

3x20 reps tricep pull downs with bar with 25 kg.

 

It was a nice day again but there were some clouds about that were quite dark over the hills behind the town. The slight breeze that was blowing was also a bit chilly. Moira made our weekly bacon, sausage and eggs and I watched 'Match of the Day' on TV while having my breakfast. Moira was feeling lazy this morning and I put the radio on through the iPad for her before I headed to the gym.

 

It was another day of lighter weights but with lots of reps. It was again a hard workout and my different warm up around the court perimeter did the job and worked most of the muscles in my body. The gym wasn't very busy so there wasn't any trouble getting on to the machines. I was back at the flat in time for lunch and we had it outside on the veranda. It was a lot warmer there and around the pool area which is sheltered from any wind it is a sun trap.

 

The afternoon was spent sitting outside reading and listening to the radio which was up to the normal high standard of music for a Sunday. My book was the Aline Templeton one, 'Evil for Evil', that I downloaded from the library and is very good. Tonight we stayed on the veranda and had our dinner there before the sun started setting and it cooled down.

 

We continued listening to the radio until 'Countryfile' came on the TV. 'Call the Midwife' finished last week and there was a reality programme on now looking for a singer, 'The Voice', we didn't watch it but I continued reading instead. Later we watched the second episode of 'Poldark' which was very good. I wasn't feeling very well in the evening, my throat was sore and my nose was feeling raw. I thought it might be hay fever again, Moira gave me a pain killer to take and also an anti-histamine pill before getting to bed.

 

 

 

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It's getting hotter on TENERIFE.

Saturday 14 March.

 

Gym today:

3 supersets of curls, front raises and side raises with 2x2kg dumbbells to warm up.

Walked round the perimeter of the basketball court twice carrying 2x10 kg dumbbells.

Lat pull downs: 3x20 reps with 35 kg.

Kneeling bends for abs with rope: 3x20 reps with 60 kg.

Tricep pull downs with rope: 3x20 reps with 30 kg.

Leg extensions: 3x20 reps with 25 kg.

Hamstring curls: 3x20 reps with 20 kg.

Side arm raises machine: 3x20 reps with 15kg.

Preacher curl machine: 3x20 reps with 25 kg.

 

Moira was beginning to feel a lot better and she was able to move about a lot more freely. She is going to take it easy for another couple of days and we are planning to take our long delayed trip to Santa Cruz on Monday.

 

After making a cup of tea we downloaded the newspaper and lay in bed reading until about 8am when I got up and made the breakfast. There wasn't any hurry to get to the gym this morning as it didn't open until 10 am at the week-end. I started the prize crossword in the 'Telegraph' and managed to complete and submit it before we went out.

 

We walked to the gym where Moira left me to have a longer walk. I had my shirt off again, the weather was even warmer today. At the gym I decided to reduce the weights I use and increase the reps. See above. It turned out to be quite a tough workout and right from the start with my walk around the outside area with 10 kg in each hand I was feeling the 'burn' I my muscles.

 

I got back at lunch time and we listened to the 'News Quiz' on the radio while having our sandwiches. In the afternoon we sat outside on the veranda reading. It was quite warm and when I began getting too hot I went down for a swim. The pool is getting nice temperature and I enjoyed a good swim, completing about half a dozen laps before coming up for a shower.

 

Not good news for Morton when the football results came on, they lost 2-1 to Airdrie. I think they are going to blow their chances of promotion. After the results it was the Calcutta Cup rugby International between England and Scotland. Scotland played well in the first half and at the interval were leading 13-10. But in the second half they were rubbish and at the end lost 25-13.

 

In the evening there was another in the scientific series, this one about the development of sound recording and transmission. It was very good and this series is well done. After that I turned over for the lottery quiz, the contestants didn't win anything. I'm quite pleased when they don't win anything on this BBC quiz programmes, hopefully it keeps the licence fee down. I went to bed afterwards and read my book for a while before getting to sleep.

 

 

 

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Short beach walk again on TENERIFE.

Friday 13 March.

 

We went out for a walk after breakfast again this morning. The weather was beautiful once more and soon my t-shirt was off as we walk along through the town. It was out by the dirt road next to the beach again, this time going a bit further. We took the lane through the banana plantation to the tarred road on the edge of Alcala then turned down to the esplanade. We headed back by the other track and Moira had to take care over the part where there is a bit of slight scrambling. Her back was much better this morning and she certainly didn't want to fall again. It was 9 am when we started out and the beach area was fairly quiet with not many walkers out yet. Also there weren't many campervans and tents now, and with the sea being very calm with little or no wind the surfers weren't out today either. We managed a steady brisk pace all the way and Moira appears to be recovering quickly now.

 

Not a big surf today.

 

 

On the way back through town Moira stopped at Mercadona for bread while I carried on up the hill to the gym. I wasn't feeling too good and should have given my workout a miss but I continued regardless. My throat was a bit sore and I wasn't too energetic. I started off with a warm up with the light dumbbells then worked on my arms and shoulders. Even though I was feeling down I still got up to some big weights before finishing off with a few sets of crunches before heading home.

 

In the afternoon I didn't bother with a swim today, still not feeling great. We just sat out on the veranda after lunch in the nice warm sunshine. Moira did some more work inserting photographs into her album while I finished my book and did the crossword in the 'Telegraph'. I downloaded another book to read from the library, an Aline Templeton detective novel, but the iPad ran out of power before I could start reading it.

 

It was the normal hour or so of TV before dinner. Suzy phoned on FaceTime just as the quiz show the 'Chase' was starting and we had Hollie eating her dinner to watch instead. Later after 'Mastermind' all that was on was the charity telethon 'Comic Relief'. I watched it until it was time for bed. There were a lot of firms that made donations and this got them a plug on BBC, probably a cheap way to advertise.

 

It was much quieter tonight when we got to bed and we both slept very well.

 

 

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Walking, gyming and swimming on TENERIFE.

Thursday 12 March.

Gym today:

Heel raises; 4 sets of 20's weight max 50 kg

Sit-ups 60reps, crunches 2x30, stretching.

Dumbbell swings; 3 sets weight max 10kg.

Incline bench press; 4 sets weight max 20 kg.

Standing dumbbell flies; 3 sets weight max 2x7.5 kg.

Cable station : 4 sets forward push weight max 2x20 kg

3 sets standing curls weight max 2x15 kg

3 sets upright rowing with rope max wt 35kg

Turntable twists; 100 reps.

Moira had a good night's sleep and the pain in her back is slowly beginning to ease though she is still suffering when she turns or coughs. After breakfast we decide to go for another short walk, this time to Los Gigantes. I intended going to the gym on the way back and took my sweat towel with me.

It was another lovely hot day, even at 9am when we set out and I soon had my t-shirt off to work on my tan again. We walked down to the small beach at the other side of the hill and along the coast path. On the second path going towards the bus station in Los Gigantes we cut down to the sea to have a look at the natural rock pool that's used for swimming. The only road we found that went down came to a dead end at a locked gate and there weren't any signs to indicate when it opened. We turned back and into the town.

Rock pool at bottom of cliff.

Los Gigantes beach.

Just before reaching the harbour we cut along the street to the beach at the other side of the harbour wall. Moira had kept telling me she had never been to this beach area before but when we reached it she then remembered it. There was only one man having a walk along the beach, nobody swimming or sunbathing. We headed back up though the town and up the hill to the Lidl roundabout. We then took the contour road along the top of the hill to the gym where I left to do my workout while Moira continued home.

I was quite well warmed up after our walk and got straight into my serious exercises. Details of the workout are shown above and the weights I am using are starting to get a lot heavier than a few weeks ago. I took my t-shirt off when I left the gym for the walk back. Moira was waiting for me outside the supermarket at the gate with a bottle of water and some cartons of milk for me to carry up the stairs. It was another good workout!

Our pool area.

In the afternoon after lunch Moira worked on her photo album while I went for a swim. The water was lovely and I did a few more lengths of crawl than yesterday before coming up for a shower. I then spent the rest of the afternoon reading and doing yesterday's crossword. There was something wrong with the Internet we couldn't get connected this morning. Moira went into the office on the way out and they said they knew about the problem and somebody was on the way to repair it, but it still wasn't working. I put my MP3 player on with some music to listen to as we couldn't get the radio.

After the early evening quizzes the only thing that was on the TV was football from Goodison Park, Everton v Dynamo Kiev. Before it came on we got the Internet back and were able to download today's paper. I also quickly published my blog which I had already prepared. The football wasn't very good, Everton won 2-1; they tend to keep playing the ball backwards or square, they don't seem to realise that the objective is scoring goals and you can't do that unless the ball is in or close to the opponent's penalty area.

Moira had gone to bed early to get away from the football and was reading when I got in. We got to sleep but were wakened by people outside in the pool area making a noise just after 11pm. This went on until about mid-night when it quietened down and we got back to sleep again.

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Had a swim in the pool on TENERIFE.

Wednesday 11 March.

Moira slept quite well on her back all night. This caused her to snore a bit but I was only disturbed once. It was later, after 7 am when we wakened and I got up to make a cup of tea then breakfast. Moira was feeling a lot better after a good night's sleep and decided to go out for a little walk. I accompanied her and took my towel to go to the gym on our way back.

We left about 10 am and headed to the end of town and down to the dirt road beside the beach that goes to Alcala. We didn't go as far as that but turned round at the point after the second house. The weather was beautiful and its beginning to get very hot. I had my t-shirt off as I walk to try and catch a tan before we return home next month. At the point we stopped to watch the surfers, they were actually body-boarders. The waves were quite large and they were managing to get a good ride for some distance. On the beach were a couple of white sea birds and a brown one that looked like a duck. These were the first birds we have seen other than the hosts of pigeons that seem to predominate. I took a photograph of the 'duck' to see if we could identify it later.

Body-boarder on the surf

There's a brown duck somewhere!

The coast back to Puerto Santiago.

We walked back and Moira was managing fine, her back was still painful but not so bad to prevent her walking at a reasonable pace. She continued along the main street just after Mercadona supermarket while I took the back road up to the top of the hill and the gym. I had to get my t-shirt on again they don't like you training without one on.

I warmed up with the light dumbbells then it was a workout for my arms. I did curls with heavier dumbbells and preacher curls on the bench. For triceps it was dips with my feet on a big ball and then rope pull downs. I did some squats against the wall with a big ball while holding a 15 kg plate then a few sets of leg presses. After some crunches it was time to go, a good hour's workout. I took my t-shirt off again to get more sun on the walk back to the flat. Moira was waiting to let me in at the gate.

After lunch Moira wanted to make a photo album from the photographs taken on our trek to Rome. She wanted to get it printed but the Tesco programme she used before wasn't very user friendly so I downloaded a rival Lidl set-up to try. It wasn't compatible with the iPad and I had to put it on to the Notebook. This was quite convenient anyway as all the photographs were there in Picasa. Once it was on the laptop Moira began to insert the photographs and she said it was quite straight forward and easier than the Tesco version.

With the weather being so nice and warm I decided to have a swim in the pool. There were a number of people down there mostly sunbathing. I was a bit wary when getting in expecting it to be still cold but it was just right. I was in for about 15 minutes and swam a few lengths of crawl. When I came up to the flat I had a shower then went out on the veranda and read my Brian Cox book until the quizzes came on the TV.

In the evening after dinner we had the final part of the series about the suffragettes and 'right's of women'. It was very good and interesting. After that there was the 'People's Strictly Come Dancing'. This was for the 'Comic Relief' charity and the people dancing with the professionals were either disabled or had faced some sort of misfortune; a soldier had lost his leg and now wore a blade like the SA runner, another had two children who were autistic. It was a bit of a nonsense especially with the judges who reckoned that they were all marvellous even though some of the dancing was pretty poor. They had Anton du Beck as a judge in place of Craig who was in Australia. I think Craig would have commented on the quality of dancers disabled or not, he doesn't pull his punches!

We went to bed at 10 pm and Moira was able to sleep on her side tonight; the pain is beginning to ease.

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Taking it easy again on TENERIFE.

Tuesday 10 March.

Moira didn't sleep very well last night because of the pain every time she moved from side to side. About 5 am she lay on her back and managed to get some sleep. She was still sleeping when I got up at 7 am to make a cup of tea. We decided she was going to have another easy day. After breakfast when I went to the gym she walked with me and carried on to the pharmacy for more pain killers. They told her that she may have broken or cracked a rib and gave her more pills and an anti-inflammatory cream. Also she was told it would take time and if it didn't improve in a week she would then have to see the doctor. We settled on having an easy week and there would be no serious walking until there was a big improvement.

At the gym I was warmed up with the walk up the hill in the warm sunshine. I started off with some leg exercises, extensions and curls. I have managed to increase the weights for these exercises by about 100% since I started at the gym two months ago. After that I spent my time with free weights for my chest and shoulders before finishing off with about 15 minutes doing crunches for my abs. Moira was at the gate to let me in after I walked back.

It was an easy afternoon relaxing on the veranda to rest Moira's back. We listened to the radio while having lunch then I worked on editing my VF write-ups. The weather was perfect again and it is now getting very warm, the pool area was very busy with sunbathers and swimmers. I'm reading a book by Brian Cox, the physicist and TV's scientific pin-up boy, about Einstein's famous formula e=mc*. I find it very difficult to follow not only because of the theory but it is badly written.

In the evening after the quizzes and dinner there wasn't anything on the box we wanted to watch. I put on the Freeview recorder and I had an Inspector Lindley mystery in the library of programmes I had recorded. Surprisingly we hadn't seen it before, the detection methods were a bit unbelievable but it was all right.

We got to bed at 10 pm and Moira was feeling not too bad, the painkillers and cream were working. She decided that she was going to sleep on her back tonight.

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