Sun, Camera, Action ...

 

Very much had lift off on the activity front today, all started with a pre - arranged swimming lesson that actually was the original basis of the location of this trip. I had looked around last year for a coach who would be able to offer some swimming lessons to the absolute novice (me) which I could combine with a trip abroad. Flirted a bit with Thailand but settled on Lanzarote as a nearer and cheaper option, with a number of other trips in the offing for the year ahead.

So alarm set and with a little bit of trepidation I set off for my first day at school, whatsapping my coach to assure him of my presence and to get the meet location confirmed (obvs the pool).  That might sound odd but we had already had a bit of rapport and miscommunication over the last few months. It peaked back in December when I got a message at work in Bristol from him telling me he was down at the pool waiting for me. Getting to Costa Teguise at such notice impossible, and he had booked December rather than February, we did all laugh about that.

As it turned out it wasn't Jojo today but his faithful companion Kimbo who had the job of teaching me to swim all over again, 50 years of bad habits to remedy. Am sure if you'd thrown Bambi in the water he would have looked better than me, flailing about as he tried to undo whatever has passed for front crawl in my life to date and start me from scratch. Lets say running and cycling don't require thinking, swimming at this point does, and overthinking my weakness at the best of times, did nothing for co-ordination. But we had to start somewhere, and the Olympic Pool in Barcelo Active Resort was a pretty decent backdrop.

That done it was the 800m stroll back to our appartment to see if Chrissi was awake. We had chosen the location well, not that we had much choice, as Airbnb hosts had cancelled our original booking quite recently (much to our annoyance) and there weren't a huge amount left, but the swimming gods (poseidon, atlantis?) were smiling on us, and this choice is great.

Next on the list for today was hiring bikes to extend the net further than Costa Teguise which I think its fair to say we did all we needed to do with yesterday.  (blog here, I didn't share as was not all that exciting but regulars may want to take a look) Chatted with the bike hire bloke and 60 Euros for a days hire of a hybrid for me and electric for Chrissi.  This the perfect combination for us to be able to both do some cycling but mainly do some exploring.

We headed south out of Costa Teguise. I feel this trip best suits a flyover on Strava to provide the big picture but I will certainly offer some edited highlights and thoughts as to what we saw and did.  Arrecife, the Islands capital is only around 4 miles away, and the cycle tracks absolute perfection, with only one climb of note onto a headland before gliding down into the town.  Passed the more industrial dock part at first, one large cruise liner in berth, and then into the more residential outskirts.

The centre feels like a hotchpotch of marinas, roads, old and new buildings, sculptures, parkland and beach.  Take your pick, something for everyone, we didn't stop too much on the way out, as we had a destination point at about 12 miles and had determined that was to be the lunch pit stop.  One massive stretch of coast around the resort of Playa Honda, felt a bit more upmarket there, and you were supposed to get off your bikes and walk.  I'm glad we didn't as it stretched for 2 miles and would have really eaten into our day, although subsequently reading about fines mean we probably got a bit lucky, although we were shouted at once!

Next on our trip, and the definite highlight of the day was Arrecife Airport. The cycle path basically runs alongside the run way albeit with a security fence separating the two key vehicles.  The planes taking off and landing next to us were quite exhilarating.

We made it to our turning point Matagoda where plenty of cafes and bars to choose from alongside the expanse of white beach.  We found one where we could cwtch up to our bikes and not have to lock them away. I sampled a lovely iberian ham roll followed by a strawberries and cream ice cream.  Yes, full beach mode.

On the way back we definitely made a few more stops. First up the airport again, this time end of runway shot ass they blasted overhead amazing.  Able to wave at the pilot, although some bloke next to us did give the finger to the Ryan Air driver as he went overhead. Must have had a bad experience.

We tried to do the right thing and cirumvent Playa Honda on the way back, one hell of a diversion that still only took us part way and we had to 'break the law' for the rest before getting back to the outskirts of Arrecife. In the distance we could see the largest building in the town, the Hotel Grand Arrecife, done before building regulations said that no single building could be more than seven stories. Those are the kinds of facts that keep bringing you back to this blog eh?

skyscraper?

In the town itself we were able to take in the old harbour, pulling up to a cafe where I had the best milkshake I have had a in a good while.  Lovely views of the many boats bobbing around, and able to get a good bridge photo, a staple on most of our trips abroad.

The last few miles north went quite smoothly, although sore posteriors reminded me how little cycling I have been doing, bike fit I am not. So add to swimming incompetence and mediocre running and I have a shout of being the worlds worst triathalete.  We did see a famous wreck on the way back and I was glad it was not me.  Just to prove that to myself I did complete the hattrick today and went out for a little 5K run, I had heard tell of a trail to a nearby extinct volcano 'Tahiche' so I went and found the start of that .. maybe one for a walk later in the week, but at least I'd done the groundwork and got a nice dormant volcano view at nearly sunset.

A bit of balcony time after that, san gria tonights drink of choice, its almost a soft drink?  Discussed our food options for the night, nothing immediately landed. Limitations in many for Chrissis vegetarian tastes, and after a little wander, we had a moment of clarity. When in Spain, don't just drink san gria, but eat tapas. The perfect food for the person who doesn't know what they want .. you can have loads of picky bits, but good ones, not the Iceland boxed sets.  And I was able to have an octopus (well octopii actually) in lovely tangy, vinegary sauce with salad and some beautiful gran canarian potatos, and still take a few bits of tapas, potatas bravas of course, some mushrooms, grilled cheese, but didn't touch Chrissis tortilla (spanish omlette), which was a meal in itself.

We didn't think we were hungry but it turns out we had worked up an appetite. Highly recommend the bar Los Amigos, off the beaten track, seemed to have a few locals in, good chilled ambience. Perfect.  Strolled back along the darkened boardwalk, hardly a soul about, they either go to bed early where we are staying, or all flocked down to the resort centre to party the night away. We went to bed!