We woke up to another cloudy but intermittently sunny morning. At least it was still warm. At 10.30am we met up with everyone in Reception and went for a walk (turning right). It was a very pleasant walk. It is amazing how much distance and how quickly the time goes when you are chatting as you walk.
At the old town harbour, we stopped to look for fish but they all seemed to be away on their holiday in sunnier climes. There were also noticeably fewer stray cats living in the area these days which pleased Karen.
Then we agreed that we all needed a stop for coffee and headed to NoNo’s or something like that. Everyone bar me had cake with their hot drinks which they all enjoyed even if the service again was a tad aggressive.
The others decided to walk back partly along the beach. As this is not great for Karen’s ankle problem we remained on the promenade. As I could not face the prospect of another crusty baguette for lunch so decided to go to Pinocchio’s for lunch. Karen had an omelette whilst I went for their English Breakfast which was a bargain at 3.9 Euros.
After a quick call into Hiper Dino for hopefully the last time this trip we spent the afternoon on the balcony. It was a real sun trap and I could only manage short spells out there reading the latest Richard Osman book, before seeking shelter inside.
For dinner we met up with Glenn & Al only tonight as the others headed elsewhere for a curry. We had booked a table back at Pinocchio’s and headed there where we put the world to rights whilst eating. Karen finished with her favourite Irish Coffee afterwards which for her is always one the highlights of a trip to Lanzarote.
We then headed to La Ola for a drink whist Glenn & Al went off to meet with the others in a music bar. We really like La Ola even though it was quieter tonight. We had a long discussion about our planned trip to the Caribbean next year and whether we should make any changes to it.
It was disappointing when we got back that the Internet in our room was still not working. It had dropped out early afternoon and I had reported it to Reception but guess that there was no one around to fix it until the morning. Each apartment now has their own router which is an improvement but not when the wired connection from the router goes into a central hub where the internet feed is either not big enough to cope or the balancing software needs constant resetting. I had tried resetting the router myself which in previous days had resolved the problem but not this time.
For whatever reason I had a restless night’s sleep almost as if I had had some caffeine during the evening which I hadn’t. I hate it when I wake in the middle of the night with my mind racing 90 to the dozen. At home I would normally get up and make myself a cuppa and then that would settle me, but I thought it would wake Karen to do so, so instead I read the newspapers on my phone instead and then eventually went back to sleep.
After a quick breakfast we walked to Matagorda again (turning left). The forecast certainly for the morning and early afternoon was for intermittent showers and we wanted to try and at least get there without encountering one. It made for a brisk walk but we made it and again snagged the best outside table at O’Sheas purely by luck. We both ordered brunch which was as good as before. Just as we were able to order our second round of hot drinks the clouds rolled in and a heavy shower started. We relocated inside and got the last free table and ordered it there instead.
We waited for the shower to pass over and started the walk back. The paths were still slippery from the rain so we walked along the cycle path which had much better grip.
Back on the balcony it was a case of being too hot one minute in the sun followed by some rain and then the sun again. The weather this week really has been a let-down. It’s not been cold nor has it stopped us too much but we have never had it like this here.
We both decided that although we have had a good time, we are now both ready to go home. There is only so much turning left or turning right you can do. It all gets a bit samey. We have enjoyed ourselves and needed some chill time but being here once a year for a few days is enough for both of us. Neither of us like laying on a sun bed surrounded by strangers and cheap beer in plastic or sticky loud bars do nothing for us. Good conversation, a good walk and or some culture is more our thing these days but that may just be us getting above ourselves.
Tonight, for our final dinner we headed off to the ‘Good Old Days’ restaurant, themed on the 70’s run by a British family. It would never work in Gorleston. The food was properly home cooked and they had ‘real’ chips. I really enjoyed my steak & ale pie but Karen was less enamoured with her Fish & Chips or the place itself for reasons she couldn’t explain. I liked it though. For some reason though the owners felt the need to put on live music every night in quite a small space. Admittedly it was chilled but unnecessary and so we left. The others headed in a taxi to old town whilst we wandered over the road and had our last drink at La Ola.
We chatted about why anyone would ever contemplate running a business here. The price of drinks must mean they are making only a few cents on each one. They are open for probably 14 hours a day and some days must barely cover their costs. Not one for me to invest in and so I’m out.
Back in the apartment we had a cuppa, cleared up and headed off to bed for the final time this trip.
And so that is our week in Lanzarote over for this year. Not quite what we had anticipated with me being poorly for the first couple of days or the mixed weather but it has been OK. We have liked having others here to chat to from time to time and suspect we will be back next year at some point.
What a lovely blog…..