Epiblog

Drinks tend to be sold in glass bottles rather than in plastic ones, although outdoors the glasses are not made of glass but of a very good but similar product – acrylic?

People dressed smart casual in the dining room, especially n the evening

Make sure you go to the Open Mall Centro Comercial in Arrecife. It's the one with Primark in it. Free parking, very pleasant place.  There is another one with a similar name and it’s very lacking

Generally shops give you free bags when you buy something

There are no USB sockets on TUI planes

The TUI app was very good

Buses here take cards, contrary to what it says on social media

If we stayed here again it would be better to request a room with a pool view. We had a side sea view and got some noise from the delivery vans on a morning when our patio door was open

In order to get a prime spot on the half open terrace for dinner people started queuing at 6.15 for a 6.30pm start!

People didn't go crazy reserving sunbeds but nevertheless you need to get some earlyish if possible to get the most shady spots

Smoking outside is allowed but only in designated places.  We did however see some examples of ‘wild’ smoking!

Our Last Days

Some photos to some - please bear with me ....

Once we had given the car back we spent each day at the hotel.

Our usual pattern would be to have a lazy breakfast to set us  up until it was time for our evening meal and retreat from our sunbeds to the bar area when the 'animateur' appeared to play his loud music near to where we liked to sit while some of the guests did aqua aerobics or stretching in the pool and so on.  At the bar we would then have a drink and sometimes a sandwich.

Then we would return to our sunbeds with our books and music until it was time to get ready for dinner and have an aperitif at the bar beforehand.

Some thoughts on our stay here -

Fuerteventura is only seven nautical miles away from Playa Blanca and yet it’s almost always invisible in a haze which makes it look just a little mysterious

A few things have happened to us along the way while we’ve been here –

A few days in and we got trapped in the lift with another couple. It seems that we had arrived at our chosen floor but that the lift door had decided not to open.  I can’t remember ever being stuck in a lift before and it was a little daunting, especially as the lift is the warmest place in the hotel! We pressed the emergency button and shortly afterwards the door duly opened and we were greeted by a smiling technician wielding a box spanner and we were free.

When we had been here a week we went back to our room just before teatime to find that neither of our digital room key cards would work.  We suspected that the hotel thought we were only here for a week rather than for the 11 nights we had booked.  We went down to Reception to be told that they had been disabled at 1pm that day.  The receptionist than asked us how long we wanted to stay for which we thought was a rather odd question and she then reprogrammed them.  Telling us that they were disabled at 1pm was rather helpful.  Check out time here is 12 noon which in itself is helpful, but it suggests that we could finally leave the room on our last day just before 1pm and get away with it.  It seems we won’t be picked up until 6pm so we will be refugees for long.

It rained at one point.  How dare it?! We were driving round with the roof off and some dark clouds appeared. We’ve seen that at times in the past, but nothing comes of it. Then suddenly spits and spots started to fall on our skin.  I then had to switch the wipers on. Just as I decided that I needed to pull over and put the roof back, it stopped and that was it. And we’ve had that happen before now.

The other thing that happened was that the convertible roof of our hire car, a mini convertible made of course by BMW would randomly start to open or close on its own. We never established the cause of this but we did conclude that the whole mechanism was rather crude compared to what we’re used to at home!

When we first came to Lanzarote in 1988 there were stray cats everywhere. We were told that a sterilisation programme was under way and in subsequent years to number of cats slowly decreased.  Our hotel here seems to have two resident strays, one a very slim one and the other who definitely looks pregnant. We asked a waitress at the bar if they were strays as they both look well fed and she confirmed that they were.  I asked who fed them and she said it was people who lived near the hotel.  That seems odd as our hotel doesn’t seem to have any private housing in the area!

There are three outdoor pools here – two main pools and one smaller Jacuzzi pool. One of the main pools is supposedly heated but both are just slightly on the chilly side whilst the Jacuzzi pool is definitely heated but only to about 22C.  With all the solar panels abounding on all the hotel rooftops here you would imagine that they could have the water warmer if they wanted.  When we return in February we were pleased to read that our hotel then which has one main pool and one children’s pool has the main pool heated in the winter until the end of March.

They have a ‘lifeguard/pool attendant here which most hotels don’t have and it seems that he switches the Jacuzzi action on and off at what seem like random times and he finishes work at 6pm, so after that it seems you’re on your own!  There are no pool hours as such.

Day 8: Thursday 12 September

This was our last day with the car and we'd been everywhere we had planned to go so we decided to have a look at Playa Quemada which was  a beach we had never seen before and which was quite close but, apart from a nice view, there wasn't a lot there and the beach was mainly stony.

The wind today was unbelievably strong, probably the windiest we've ever known in all our years of visiting this island. It has been almost like a minor hurricane without the rain. The wind was whistling and we half expected Heathcliffe to appear 🤣.

We then thought we'd have a look at Deiland, the shopping centre at Playa Honda which we used to visit several years ago. Before that we went to Playa Honda itself with its lovely prom and views of the planes taking off and landing at Arrecife. It was still extremely windy and there was a bit of a sand storm so we didn't linger too long.  It was also a beach without any bars or restaurants, so lovely as a beach but it’s clearly not a tourist attraction.

Deiland had certainly had an upgrade since we were last here and we spent half an hour or so looking around.

We then went back to Puerto Calero for a final visit. We firstly had a milk shake at Cafe de la Playa, a cafe run by a couple of ladies from the UK and then we went to our favourite place, El Tomate, for tapas and a beer.

Dinner was late as we were so full after lunch. We couldn't manage much, but did make sure we left enough room for profiteroles dipped in the chocolate fountain.

At Playa Quemada

Playa Honda, on the Arrecife side oof the airport

Deiland Shopping Centre

Day 7: Wednesday 11 September

Today was loosely designated a shopping day so we set off to Arrecife to the 'Centro Commercial' which we had seen described on TripAdvisor as 'a little gem'.  Having found our way into the extremely quiet underground car park and then into the shopping centre which had no shops, we soon realised we were in the wrong place. Google maps then directed us to the correct mall - the 'Open Mall Centro Commercial'. This really was a little gem with several shops including a very nice Primark.

We then headed to Matagorda and Elizabeth had fun shopping in the little gift shop which Mike and Marion had enjoyed earlier in the year. It was then time for a quick drink before going to Puerto Calero again to investigate the hotels there and to have an ice cream in El Tomate. We then returned to the hotel for a long overdue pitcher of sangria.

When we arrived last Thursday we were told we could have an a la carte dinner one evening and that was scheduled for tonight. We were greeted with a glass of cava and then were invited to order a 4-course dinner. The food was delicious but the portions were huge and we virtually waddled out of the dining room when we had finished eating.

 

Just like with the Pandora shop a few days ago, it was only a matter of time before Elizabeth sniffed this place out!

Shopping centre without a roof!

Marion may well remember this place

Yellow Submarine - glass bottomed craft. €56.05 a trip!

Tomato soup

Day 6: Tuesday 10 September

We had arranged to collect our hire car at 9am. Unsurprisingly for Spain, it was late but the Cicar staff member was excited to tell us that we had a free upgrade from an Opel Corsa to a Mini Cooper convertible. We perhaps did not share her enthusiasm as we felt that our days of being in a slightly cramped racing car are long gone!

We set off for Costa Teguise with the roof open and the wind in our hair (eat your heart out Bridget Jones 🤣). It seems that the wind in Lanzarote makes every day a bad hair day and an open top car makes it even worse!

We have visited Costa Teguise a couple of times in the past and have never been all that impressed but we thought we should give it another chance. It took us ages to find where we wanted to be. We had a walk along the prom but, whilst the beach looked very nice, overall we still weren't impressed.  It was bitty and there was graffiti everywhere.

Our next stop was a complete contrast - the classy marina at Puerto Calero. We have always loved this place and today it confirmed for us that we still do. We were amazed to find that there was quite a substantial market taking place which we had never seen before. We later discovered it operates only on Tuesdays and Fridays.  The stalls looked to be a cut above many others we've seen in Spain with items priced and people being allowed to browse hassle- free. We don't think we've been here since 2011 and it has developed quite a bit since then.

We were ready for a beer and a bite to eat so we wandered past all the eateries and opted for El Tomate which we have visited before. We wanted to have tapas and thoroughly enjoyed the selection we chose. We will very likely be back before we have to hand in our car.  It was then time to return to the hotel to chill. The satnav in the car is a bit unreliable but we did eventually find the hotel.

Costa Teguise

Puerto Calero

Market days are Tuesdays and Fridays (0900 to 1400)

But the lovely perfume shop and the Pandora shop which used to be here have now gone

Tapas, a lovely snack, but some snack. Fish croquettes, patatas Canarias, anchovies vinaigrette and garlic bread

Lanzarote's answer to Monaco!

And then the market was gone!