Beach Holidays

Montego Bay - November 2024

Tenerife - Hotel Troya - August 2024

Thursday 1st August - Keith drives us to EMA from noon. We get settled in the bar. Annette buys Holly a rather good smart game ZZT, involving fitting coloured shapes in a frame. Fly on time at 15:25. Holly is great for the first hour then she gets a migraine. Holly feels sick for the last hour of the flight. The coach from the airport takes at least an hour to drop us at the Hotel Troya, we are last to be dropped off. We are in room 104, overlooking the entertainment area. The singer is rather loud, till 11:30pm. I walk to Subway on Veronica strip with Holly. We walk out to get more beer from the 24 hour corner shop.

Friday 2nd - The room is nice and quiet when the singer stops. It is also very dark, and the air con is good. I sleep well. Annette goes down at 7:30 and puts some towels down. We go down for breakfast at 8:30pm. I enjoy the yogurt and chocolate bread. Holly is keen to get into the pool. We are in from 10am. Annette goes out to Subway for lunch. I have the Italian BMT again, great. Foam party in the pool, Holly and I are in the pool all day. Annette is on the sun bed. By the end of the day my shoulders are very warm, and Holly has tan marks on her back. I am using P20 again this year. We play with the float and inflatable surfboard. I talk with Holly about front crawl breathing, she tells me that she blows bubbles all the time when underwater. I try it and I may be able to do it. Holly shows me the difference between frog, star, solider and breaststroke legs. Down for dinner at 8pm. Food is good. In bed from 10:30pm. Holly is still dancing on the balcony.

Saturday 3rd - I sleep well again. Breakfast from 8:30am. We get gear on and walk out of the hotel and across the road to Playa de Troya II. I decide to wear shorts and bring my phone. As we walk onto the beach Gurmi wants an Octopus referral, I am very fast off the mark and bag £50. We find some great shade directly under the Monkey club. We all enjoy playing in the waves. At 12:30 we come back to the hotel and shower. Walk out to McDonalds for Holly to have nuggets. We try the Monkey club, but it is full. Walk to restaurant Mania. Annette is very happy with eight massive king prawns. I have a large bowl of tortellini. We have a large boot of beer each. Holly is desperate to go in the pool in the afternoon, but it does not work out, Holly is tired, and a bit burnt. The afternoon drags a little. We eat at 8pm. Annette has a bowl of pork crackling, very nice. There is a dreadful singer on, Annette thinks that she is 70 years old.

Sunday 4th - Annette feels sick from too many pork scratching. Awake from 9am, I get nice birthday cards from Holly and Annette. Also a couple of Koala Bay t shirts. Ellie the elephant goes missing from the room. We are on Playa de Troya II again from 11am. Holly has got a new surfboard. The waves are a bit calmer to start with, but then are some really big ones as high tide comes at 2:30pm. I dive through the waves for the first time. I also get knocked over a couple of times and also winded by a wave. We come back and have a nice shower and get clean. We go to Monkey club for a drink. Watch as they put out red flags on the beach. Move on to Mania again, Holly has another crepe with chocolate sauce. We then go back on the beach. Holly goes in again, has great fun. No mention of going in the pool. Eat at about 7:30. I have chicken fingers and chips. Annette has a few lamp chops, it is English night. I walk from 9:30pm. Head north, past Fanabe, go further that previously. Walk for an hour and then turn round. Very glad to take off my shoes when I get back, I am very warm. I nip out for water and chocolate at midnight.

Monday 5th - We are a bit later for breakfast. We walk down to our usual place on Troya beach. We all enjoy playing in the sea. At about high tide a large wave knocks me over and my sunglasses come off. We look for them, but there is no the chance, the sea is rough. Back in the room, Keith finds my prescription, I walk down to Los Cristianos. The optician does not open till 5pm. I explore a little. The shop only seems to do designer frames, she does not understand that my normal glasses have no brand. Annette and Holly go on the Petite Train, very uncomfortable. I meet them back at the hotel and we go in the pool from 6 till 7:30 pm. It is Mexican night for dinner, the salsa is fantastic. We walk along towards Fanabe, get as far as the harbour.

Tuesday 6th - Holly wants to do something different. We start by walking to the Kuala Lumpur shop. Holly and I sit outside. Holly says to me, this is not the different that I wanted. We hire a two seat mobility scooter. I look like a total knob on it. It does not really work for three of us, so Annette goes to the usual beach, and Holly and I go off to explore. We have to go inland to avoid the steps by the Casino. We go past the Santa Maria. Holly is hungry so we go McDonald's near Fanabe beach. We drive north all the way along the coast. Arrive in the fishing village, La Caleta, at the end. We stop for a drink in Sublime. We come back and meet Annette in the Casino bar. Nice position looking out over Playa Bobo. Holly does a fair amount of breaststroke sea swimming between us. I drive the vehicle and the three of us back to the Troya. We go for an early lunch. The three of us drive to Los Cristianos to collect my glasses, I like them, Annette is not so keen. Annette is uncomfortable and decides to walk back. Holly and I carry on. I had forgotten how much further it is. We go under the tunnel and just keep going, we get to the end of the road. We are back for 10pm. There is a very good acrobatics act on stage. We have a drink and watch it.

Wednesday 7th - Annette wants to tidy the room so she sends us to the pool. Holly is a bit board. We go up to the top floor to look at the view. We also have a look at the adults only pool. Holly and I take the mobility scooter back for 11:30am. We walk to Casino beach again. I swim out to a large rock just below the surface. There are lots of fish. Holly wants to swim to it but does not have quite enough confidence. We walk back to Troya beach. I use the googles to search for my sunglasses, I cannot see theme. I sit in the shade for a bit. At about 3pm, we have a look in McDonalds, but is queuing out of the door. We cross the road and go in Papagayo. I have a very nice Caesar salad, Annette has tempura prawns. We then move with our drinks to one of the cabins, Djerba, overlooking the sea. We walk back to Casino beach. Holly wants to see the fish. She lies on the blow up surfboard and I drag her out. We see plenty of fish, I have about 30 round my feet at one point. Annette has had too much sun and goes to the Casino bar again. We walk out of the hotel and Holly and I play with her spinning light thing, until I break the elastic launcher. We play Dobble and Go Fish back in the room.

Thursday 8th - After breakfast we go straight to the water sports place on Troya beach and book parascending, 12:30 is the first slot available. We go and play on the beach for a while. There is a bit of a delay because one of the boats is broken. We go on a transfer boat from Troya to near the harbour, he goes much faster that required. We transfer to another taxi and wait a bit longer. We eventually transfer onto the main boat with four other pairs. We have the black and yellow canopy. I wear my new sunglasses. We go third, we have great views along the coast, mostly to the north. I point out a few things to Holly, mainly five star hotels. Annette has been waiting a long time for us to come back. Holly laughs and chats all the time. We go to Mania bar to tell Mummy all about it. We have Serrano ham with garlic bread. Holly has a large chocolate crepe again. We walk back to the hotel to try and make a plan. In the end we walk down to see Darius at the Jet Ski centre again. We book Loro Parque for tomorrow. Holly and I have a little time in the pool to cool down.

Friday 9th - We have an early breakfast and then walk up to the Ole hotel for 8:30am. The bus is a bit late. We are the last to get on and it is full. We drive toward Santa Cruz along the motorway. We cross over the ridge of the island, 2000 feet, lots of green vegetation, quite misty. When we arrive we rush past a few animals and go straight into the Dolphin show. We go straight from there to the Orca show, we get separated on the way. A lot of people get very wet. We have a short break for drinks and then walk through past the parrots, lions, leopards, gorillas, etc. Holly feels sick after we walk through the smoking area. Walk round and see some more animals, bats, penguins, alligators. We get in for the 4pm sea lion show. The bus leaves on time at 4:30, they don't turn on the air conditioning. Holly sleeps almost all the way home. I have a few second’s sleep. Holly and I have an hour in the pool to cool off. Holly does impressions of the Dolphins, Orcas and Sea lions.

Saturday 10th - Annette gets us up for breakfast with an extra hour to spare. We rest in the room. We get a taxi to Puerto Colon. At 10am we board the Maxicat. We get seats at the back, but Holly soon wants to stand on the net at the front. There is a lot of swell, and I don't feel 100%. We see the usual group of pilot whales, there are about eight or nine in the group. They tell us about the giant squid and the depth of the channel at 3000m again. We manage a bit of paella and some beer. We moor up in the usual place and drop anchor. Holly and I both go in. Holly swims between the two life rings confidently. I dive in from the side a couple of times. The second time I lose track of which way is up for a couple of seconds. We stay in the water for about 30 minutes. After we return to port we go in the Sky Bar for the first time. I can see why J&J like it. Holly and I play air hockey. We head to Playa de la Pinta, very busy. Holly wants to go on the water park. We have life jackets, and it is a lot of fun. After the first go I come out for a rest and have some very good chicken wings and lamb tikka with Annette. On the second go Holly hurts her toes so I tow her back to land. Annette says that there will be a lot of fish next to the rocks by the sailing club. I put on my goggles and have a look, there are a good selection of fish. Last evening meal, Annette gets some plain pasta for Holly. After dinner Annette and Holly set off walking to Los Cristianos. I go and hire a Hoppy electric scooter. I soon get the hang of it. I go slowly round people. I meet up with them near Ale Hop and Holly has a go on the front. We do a few practice laps and then I drive Holly home. I am amazed when the bill is 25 euro, it would have been cheaper if I had subscribed.

Sunday 11th - Annette is up from 7am and gets three sun beds and a late check out. Holly and I are up at 8:30 and we go for breakfast. I have had yogurt and sultanas for breakfast every day. We go in the pool for an hour, Holly does some good tumble turns and pretends to be a giant squid. Annette has asked at the front desk about Ellie every day. Today see asks, and says it was lost from the room. The man goes down to the laundry and returns with Ellie. We go down to Troya beach, usual place. We have not paid for any sun beds all week. Holly enjoys bobbing on the waves for an hour. We go to Mania for a beer and Serrano ham. Holly has a crepe, of course. Back on in the beach for the last 30 mins, then home for showers. We are collected from the Troya at 17:40pm and check in on the airport. We go past duty free, there is a special display from Loro Parque, Holly selects an Orca and a Dolphin. My phone is getting a bit low on battery. I have brought the battery pack in the hand luggage, but not a USB plug. Flight to due to depart at 20:45, we board on time and move to the end of the runway. There is one child crying all the time, Holly is upset even with headphones on. We are informed that there is a technical problem, and the aircraft moves to a holding area. The pilot informs us that it is a safety issue and needs to consult with base.

Monday 12th - The flight is cancelled at 00:45, we are moved back into the departure gate area. A lot of kids run around and play hide and seek. We have to queue to get our exit passport stamp cancelled. We are given a £10 voucher each for food. There is only one food outlet open, with one woman serving, we both have a large beer. Holly has a small sleep on the floor, and then Annette sees a cockroach. I am looking forward to staying in a new posh hotel, Annette gets in the queue and at 3:30am finds out that we are going to the Santa Maria. We wait on the coach till 4:30am. We put our heads on a pillow at 5:15am, I sleep on the sofa bed. We are in room 162 overlooking the pool. We are awake at 9am to get messages about departure and get down for a late breakfast. Holly and I try the pool, but it is rather busy. Holly smiles when she sees Zoe, but she does not remember us. We are picked up at 3pm and check in quickly. We go to Burger King and I have a massive burger. We fly on time at 5:30pm, and arrive at 9:30pm, Keith picks us up. Holly excitedly tells him about Parascending and Loro Parque. Monty is very excited to see Annette.

Tenerife - Santa Maria - April 2023

Wednesday 12th April - I am woken at 5am by the Frozen music from an alarm on Holly's phone. Keith drives us to EMA. Take off on time at 9am. I sit by the window and track the speed using my phone GPS app. Annette has prepared some nice meat and cheese for the plane, have with some red wine. Quite windy at touching down. Coach to the Santa Maria, Holly is sick as soon as we arrive. We check into room 906 overlooking the pool. Me and Holly go in the pool from 4pm till 6pm. Down for dinner at 7pm, we sit outside. Good food again. In bed from 10pm.

Thursday 13th - Bright blue sky all day. We watch a team of ten people give the pool a deep clean. Breakfast outside, and then watch as the security guard opens the pool at 9:30. We walk down to Fanabe beach and get sun beds by the 3 Tapas bar. Annette nips onto a shop on the way and mentions the weather back home. The man says, "Everyone cries in their own country". It is a bit cold to go in the sea straight away. Holly enjoys building a sandcastle. Annette and Holly go off for a wander and I stay on the sunbed. We have a couple of beers on the beach. Me and Holly enjoy playing in the waves later. Holly has her hair braided by a woman from Senegal for 30 euro. She is the same age as Annette and has five children. Me and Holly go in the hotel pool when we get back. Eat from 7:30pm outside. Have one in Finnegans and listen to the karaoke.

Friday 14th - Annette was disturbed last night at 4am by shouting from the next room. Sit outside for breakfast, I discover the joy of muesli, yoghurt, chocolate power and raisins. Annette gets three sun beds near our room. She talks with a paramedic who hired a boat yesterday and lost the anchor. Holly enjoys both sessions of kid’s club with Clare. After the first session she has made friends with two other girls, and they all play sinkers together. We have a few beers round the pool. I play with Holly with the doughnut, fighting for possession. Early tea, it is BBQ night, and we buy a bottle of red wine. We move onto Finnegans. They have a rock band on, stay for a couple of pints till 10:30 pm.

Saturday 15th - Just Holly and I go down to breakfast. I enjoy the chocolate yoghurt again. Annette gets sun beds near our room. We head to the pool from 10am. The main pool is cold, so we try the smaller 'Aforo Piscina'. Find out later that this just means capacity. It is much warmer, stay in there almost all day. A girl called Bella talks to us, she is from Bulgaria and England. I throw the sinkers for them and then they play by themselves. Holly also plays with a girl called Payton. Holly goes to mini club from 2 till 3:30pm. Annette goes to the supermarket, gets some bread and meats for lunch, also breakfast chocolate powder. Bella turns up again and we continue playing 'Get off my boat'. I tip up the ring with them both in and Holly gets stuck underwater. She splutters a bit and is not happy. More sinkers in the small pool until 6pm. Holly and I are both a bit burnt. Enjoy dinner outside, of course. I walk from 9pm, jeans and a t-shirt. I head south along the coast towards Los Cristianos. Enjoy the fresh air.

Sunday 16th - Holly's sunburn and heat rash has gone down a bit overnight. It is decided to have a beach day. We turn left when we arrive at the sea and walk to Playa de Americas. We settle on Playa Troya II. Nice waves and good beach. Holly enjoys the sand and I enjoy the shade. Annette buys some antihistamine for Holly. We go to the Monkey beach club for a drink. Very good setup. We have a nice seat overlooking the beach with fantastic shade. I have a great chicken and bacon club sandwich and Annette has a Monkey burger. Stay in for two slow pints and then back on the beach. The three of us play catch at the edge of the sea and then I go in for a swim. Annette and Holly go off for a walk and I lie in the shade. Set off at 6pm to walk back. Have one in Las Olas. We have problems with the shade and have to move a couple of times. When we get back, I walk up to Subway to get Holly a ham sandwich. Same guy working in there as last year, same conversation about people speaking English. Enjoy evening meal, I don't eat quite so much. Me and Holly go up to the sixth floor to see the sunset, but too much cloud. Holly and I watch a bit of telly about Sara Pascoe in Denmark.

Monday 17th - Overcast from the start. We are the only ones to sit outside at breakfast for a while. Get the towels and walk down to Fanabe beach, we go on the 3 Tapas chairs again. Holly and I walk along the stone jetty and see lots of crabs. Holly plays in the sand, I find some big stones and she makes a tower. I rest on the sunbed whilst Annette and Holly go shopping. They are back at 1pm and we go to Testarossa Lounge for Annette to have grilled prawns. I have Caesar salad. Holly goes on the trampoline and then we walk back to the Santa Maria. The main pool is cold, so Holly and I go in the smaller pool till 6pm. We eat at 7:15 and sit outside as always. The hotel is noticeably quieter that before the weekend. We enjoy loads of food, sort of curry night. Profiteroles and fantastic mint ice cream to finish. Holly and I walk up to Subway to get Holly a ham sandwich with loads of cucumber.

Tuesday 18th - Just Holly and I go down for breakfast, Holly has a bit less than normal. Get sunbeds in the usual place. Holly and I play in the smaller pool, a bit warmer. Play games with the woggle. Annette gets a bit annoyed at Holly when she will not join in with aqua gym. Holly goes to mini club with Clare. Annette goes shopping, she walks along to Americas. Cloudy in the afternoon, I put a t-shirt on. Later it clears again and gets really hot. Me and Holly play at getting the woggle off each other. We go down for dinner at 7:15 as usual. Towards the end of dinner two young children start playing with Holly's things. Holly plays with Payton and lots of other kids doing hide and seek. Annette takes with their parents, from Edinburgh and Norway. We have one pint on the bar. I walk from 10pm till 11:30, head North up the coast. All new to me after Fanabe, really enjoy the path, rather up market.

Wednesday 19th - Bright blue skies to start. We go down for our usual breakfast. Annette packs and Holly and I hang around. We check out and walk down to the pickup point for 10:45am. The coach is a little late. Easy transfer back and easy check in. We get baguettes in the airport and board on time to fly at 14:30pm. Holly sits next to the window. I get satellite reception most of the way back. I finish reading, 'Why didn't they ask Evans'. We see Lisbon, Porto and London. We are 40 minutes early landing, wait in departures. Keith picks us up. Monty is excited to see Annette and Holly.

Carvoeiro - August 2023

Sunday 27th August - Alarm at 4:15. Leave at 5am. Keith drives us to EMA. We have a pint at the bar and Annette buys a croissant for Holly. Fly on time at 7:40am. I track the flight using GPS. My new phone is more sensitive than previous. Long queue to get through passport control at Faro airport, at least an hour. Transfer is shorter than expected. Arrive at Baia Cristal Hotel at 1pm. Holly is very keen to get in the pool. I am rather tired and hungry. We have a beer first. Holly and I go in the pool. Annette checks us into room 349. We eat at 7pm. Good food and wine. We have a small explore round the grounds after food.

Monday 28th - I sleep well in the mask. Early breakfast at 8am. We sit outside on the terrace of course. We come back to the room and get ready. We walk down to the beach at Vale Centeanes. I walk back up to get sun cream for my feet. We pay 20 euro for two sun beds and a shade. Me and Holly enjoy going in the sea. It drops away quite quickly. We queue at the beach bar called 'O Stop'. They are rather slow taking our order. I have a croque mousier, which is OK. Annette has Piri Piri chicken, which is very dry. Holly has chicken nuggets and chips, she rates this place as the worst ever. Nice shade. Back on the beach till 5pm. Annette tells Holly that she cannot go in the pool when we get back, Holly has a strop. We get back and sit in the bar, Holly goes in the pool. I join her after a drink, lots of general swimming. We finish in the indoor pool. We eat at 8pm, a lot cooler. Holly shows us how to play Quirk. We enjoy a couple of rounds without the special cards.

Tuesday 29th - We get a taxi to Carvoeiro at about 11am, only 4 euro. We sit for a drink in the Central Cafe. The beach is very busy. I walk to paradise beach, uphill then steps down, very nice water. Annette and Holly go and buy a flotation thing, blue with a window. Taxi back to the hotel. Snack in the bar and then afternoon in the pool. Annette spots a sign for the beach, so I go and explore. It just leads to the top of the cliffs. I walk to the table of Europe. I come back and meet up in the room. We do lots of swimming races for the last hour. Most of mine are underwater. My eyes are very red by the end of the day. Holly has pasta with Parmesan, we have the bottle of local wine again, JMF.

Wednesday 30th - Annette does not feel well after breakfast, so we decide to have a day by the pool. Holly and I go in and play. I keep my eyes out of the water all day. They pretty much recover by evening time. We have a little walk out to the table of Europe. We see the blue super moon as we eat evening meal. We play Quirk, but try it with the red and blue cards, not too good. At 10pm I go out for a walk. I walk into Carvoeiro. I walk back along the board-walk, very nice in the moonlight.

Thursday 31st - Annette gets us booked in at Slide and Splash. Breakfast and then taxi over there. We get a sun bed and do a few rides. Holly does not like the tunnel ones, most are great. We have lunch there and get the same taxi back at 6pm. Holly has a dip in the pool in her new two piece swimsuit. I walk to Carvoeiro again and buy some water and get cash. I walk back along the board-walk again.

Friday 1st September - Holly dreams about a water slide which goes twice round the world. We get a taxi to Slide and Splash for 11am. Holly wants to go in the baby pool to start with. We then have lots of goes on the main mountain. Holly has a picture with a snake and parrots. I have a go on Tornado whilst they go in the large pool, it is an interesting bowl on a ring. The soles of my feet are very tired from lots of standing up. We get a taxi at about 5pm and then sit in the bar for one. Rain is forecast. The meal is fish themed. We go to the bar for a couple of beers and listen to some live music.

Saturday 2nd - Rain as we wake up. It has stopped by breakfast time, we are the first to sit outside. My right ear is blocked with wax, use some Otex. Walk down to the beach at Vale Centeanes, the tide is right out. Explore the caves. Go on a boat trip at 11am, go in lots of caves along the coastline. We all enjoy the trip. We have a rustic board and beer in the beach bar. Walk back to the hotel and then taxi to Carvoeiro. Look round some shops and then walk up to the start of the board-walk and along. Annette suggests walking back along the cliff path. Walk behind the Tivoli hotel. Go to the pool when we get back. Eat just after 7pm, we sit at our usual table, it is a little windy, I have to nip back to the room twice to get cardigans. Eat well. Annette packs, Holly and I play cards. In bed for 11pm.

Sunday 3rd - Annette is up before 6:45am and gets all the packing done. We are stood outside the hotel and ready by 7:30, the bus comes a few minutes later. We go past Aqua-land on the way to the airport, whereas I am sure that we went past Slide and Splash on the way there. We have a drink at Paul’s in Faro airport and get some sandwiches for the plane. It is a pain to get through passport control. On the plane we are given a bacon sandwich, which was transferred from the outbound flight. I sit by the window and track our progress.

Tenerife - Sol Arona - August 2022

Tuesday 2nd August - Keith gives us a lift to EMA. We are too late for an all day breakfast, so Annette queues up for Burger King, I get the beer. We have a couple of pints each. We have red wine and tapas on the plane. Holly sits by the window, I sit in the middle. I get a GPS fix on my phone and can show our location. Good views of Gomera as we arrive. Annette rushes off the plane for a cigarette and me and Holly take our time. We have to wait for the coach to set off to the Sol Arona Hotel. We go straight to the hotel restaurant to get some food, pile it high. We are on room 1514 on the top floor. The air con works well.

Wednesday 3rd - Holly is very keen to get in the pool. She enjoys doing some breaststroke and swimming between me and Annette. We have a load of chips for dinner. We have a little sleep in the room. Annette informs me that we are not in the Sol Hotel that I expected, i.e., the Sol Tenerife. We walk down into Los Cristianos and explore. Stop for an Aperol spritz and an ice lolly. Back for evening meal. Good starters, I have BBQ pork. The beer is expensive. Look into submarine trip and Siam Park.

Thursday 4th - Holly and Annette spend a lot of time wrapping my present. Holly gives me four cards and a present. It is a Model of Holly on my shoulders. My watch, phone and iPad cannot agree what time zone we are in. We walk down to the beach after breakfast. Walk under the tunnel. We walk along past Playa Vistas but then turn around and head back to it. We get three sunbeds and two sunshades. We all go in the sea, it is cold to start with. Me and Holly play at sandcastles. We dig a big hole and as the tide comes in it fills it. They do some shopping and I swim across the bay to the Pillar. We then walk back. We stop for a drink in Riconicta again for a beer and an Aperol. Struggle to stay in the shade. Seems a long walk back. Enjoy showers and air con. Walk back down to the Piccolo Pizzeria. Nice table with a good breeze. We order a variety of starters, which are all a bit poor. Holly's garlic bread is rubbish. Annette's pasta is average. I have strips of entrecôte with parmesan and chips, rather good. Steady walk back, stop at Subway for Holly. I forgot to take my glasses. Have a last one in Saul 87 bar. The bar man is from Guatemala.

Friday 5th - Up early, still some confusion about the time zone. Today is a pool day. Me and Holly are in the pool all day. We do some lifting and throwing, some swimming underwater, etc. They get an inflatable out after lunch. The kids have a go first and then the adults. Holly has five goes I have four. Annette talks to a family from Cambridge for most of the day. They fetch us some from chips and beer. Me and Holly are the last ones out of the pool at 7pm. Annette has about five or maybe six bowls of Zucchini soup. I have five different types of meat with chips. Holly has a load of cucumber with chips. We have a Bottle of Rioja for 11 euro. Me and Holly nip out for more beer and water from the local supermarket.

Saturday 6th - We have to queue to get into breakfast, we are a little later that normal. We order a taxi, then Annette remembers that we need masks, she nips to the vending machine to get a couple. We brought tickets last night for Siam Park and go straight in. Initially we have problems with navigation and cannot find the start of the Mai Tai River. Me and Holly go on a double ring. We miss the turn off for the rapids and have to go round again. The rapids are great and go through the fish pond. We walk across to jungle snakes, I have a quick go on the Naga Racer, about an hour to queue up. The jungle snakes are pitch black and Holly does not enjoy it. We have a quick stop for lunch and then head back to the river. Holly enjoys the small rides in Sawasdee. We have another few spins round the river, initially in separate rings and then in a double, do the rapids again. Buy a couple of t-shirts and then catch the open top bus home. Annette is a bit burnt and has a shower. We go down for dinner at 8pm. The main course is a bit poor. I have too many cakes, all chocolate, for pudding. We have another bottle of Rioja. Holly plays on the park. All in bed for 22:45.

Sunday 7th - Just me and Holly go down for breakfast. The power fails for a couple of seconds on the way down, the lift goes all dark and then the numbers count up from 1 very quickly. Annette reserved some beds near the stage and in the shade. We play in the pool till 11am and then get ready for the coach at 11:15. The coach takes us to the marina San Miguel for the submarine trip. We see a couple of sunken ships and lots of large rays. We settle on the bottom at 30m, and a couple of divers join us. The trip is good but not fantastic. We get the certificates after we get back, mine has a very unusual spelling. When we get back our sun beds are still reserved. We have some chips. Annette try’s a strawberry daiquiri. Annette buys a doughnut ring for Holly. Holly does lots of diving through the ring. We are given a pink sun bed. Up to the room for showers. We walk down to the shore and turn left for the first time. We eat in La Tasca. I have paella with a Camembert starter. Annette has some large mules followed by some great split prawns. Holly has a crepe with Nutella. We just catch the end of a magicians act on the stage.

Monday 8th - A bit late for breakfast. Get ready and then taxi to Fanabe beach. We go to the same sun beds and bar as last time. Holly is very keen on building a large structure. We start just above the high tide mark. We dig a large hole and build a dam round it. I fetch many buckets of water from the sea. The waves are stronger than last time. We have some chips and beer for lunch. Taxi back to the hotel. Shower and then walk to same restaurant as last night. Holly has chicken nuggets, we have mixed grill and mixed skewer. Chocolate crepe to finish. I walk along to the end of the path.

Tuesday 9th - Annette packs whilst Holly and I go down to breakfast. Holly and I play in the pool until the very last minute. The coach picks us up at 6:30pm. The time goes quickly and we only have time to buy a sandwich before boarding. I sleep a little on the way back. There is a tail wind and we are home a little early. Keith picks us up at Rapid Drop Off. Annette and Keith walk Monty from 3am.

Tenerife - Santa Maria - April 2022

Friday 15th April - We leave at about 12:30 for an easy drive to EMA. The airport is very quiet. We have a couple of pints in the Castle Rock bar. Fly on time to Tenerife with Jet2. I enjoy the food on the plane, we have G&T of course. Good views of the island as we arrive. They try and unload the plane row by row, but it does not really work and causes a lot of moaning. Coach to the Santa Maria hotel, stay on room 671. Good view from the balcony. We walk up to Subway for a bite to eat. Holly does not get in bed till 12:30am.

Saturday 16th - We wander round looking for the breakfast room, follow the sounds into the basement. Very good spread even got good bacon, poor beans. Holly is very keen to go in the pool. I go in with her at about 10:30am. We play sinkers and general swimming. The pool is 1:70m deep. We have a beer by the pool and then set out to explore. We walk down to the front. Playa de Pinta is the first part we see. We go into Las Olas to eat. Annette has grilled king prawns, I have Spaghetti Carbonara. Holly is desperate to play on the beach, we have not got the stuff. We all get covered in sand and have lots of fun. Stop for another beer on the walk home. Listen to the beats from the Kaluna club. We dress for dinner at 7:30pm, long trousers are the dress code. Good starters and mains. I have pasta and blue cheese to start and then Paella. We have a dreadfully bottle of house wine, El Sotillo. Holly wants to walk along to the trampolines, but she is too tired. Back up to the room, I enjoy sitting on the balcony.

Sunday 17th - Holly has a migraine first thing, so we are late down to breakfast. We sit outside. Holly enjoys four pancakes with chocolate sauce. We are given an Easter bunny by the maid, made from a napkin. Very hot again. We turn right along the coast. We soon recognise a few places, Ale Hop. Holly goes on the trampoline, she does a double somersault. She then does not feel very well so we go for a drink in Rossini bar. Walk up to where we stayed last time with J&J. Walk up the shopping street, buy a blue Tenerife towel. Stop at Blue Cactus for lunch. We have tapas and sangria, Holly has a few chips. We get back and go straight in the pool. Me and Holly do lots of diving and swimming. Rather overcast in the evening. Play the sock game. Eat on the restaurant terrasse. Not as good as last night. The server tells us that there is a lot of dust in the air. We all sit on the balcony till Holly goes to bed at 9:30pm. Me and Annette sit out until midnight.

Monday 18th - Sit outside for breakfast in the sunshine. Annette packs the stuff and we walk along the road to Fanabe beach. Get a sunbed by the beach bar. I walk back to get the main beach bag from the hotel. Holly enjoys playing in the waves. The waves are quite strong at high tide. We stay on the beach till 6:30pm. Eat in the hotel, sit outside, a little cooler that last night. I set out for a walk from 10pm. Walk left along the coast, head south. I follow the coastal path all the way. Recognise the street where the Barranco apartments are straight away. Remember the club on the corner and the Palm Beach hotel opposite. Walk on to the corner between Playa de la Americas and Los Cristianos. On the walk back I see and remember the large red sign for the Hotel Villamar. Back for 11:30, about five miles.

Tuesday 19th - Annette joins the queue waiting for the pool to open at 9am. She gets two sunbeds. Breakfast outside of course. We have a pool day. Me and Holly play with the sinkers a lot. Another girl joins us for a while. Holly joins in with kid’s club at 10:30, she decorates a t-shirt. We walk down to Las Olas for a bit to eat. I have pizza, Annette has a large mixed grill, very good, but too much really. We walk down and book a boat trip for tomorrow. We were recommended to go on the Opera, but that is full, so we book for a catamaran called White Tenerife. We go down for evening meal at 8pm, it is a bit quiet. Sit outside, but we both wear jumpers. They tell us that masks are no longer required in the hotel. Pork cracking is on the starter’s selection. Holly enjoys two lumps of vanilla ice cream. Annette and Holly go to bed by 9:30pm. I sit on the balcony.

Wednesday 20th - Enjoy a good breakfast, lots of bacon. Holly chooses a pool day, rather than a beach day. A bit cool to start with, but hot by mid-day. Me and Holly do the usual playing in the pool. We both do a width underwater. We walk down to Puerto Colon for 3:30pm and are first in the queue. We get on the White Tenerife catamaran at 4pm. Head out towards Gomera, but we cannot see it. Firstly, we see a few dolphins. We then head a lot further out. Me and Holly sit on the netting right at the front. We see a few pilot whales. Holly keeps on asking how deep the water is now. I say, as deep as that mountain. A few people are very cold, and some are sick. We head to a swimming place and anchor up. I am a little bit cold, but I decide to have a go. There is a moderate swell on. I find the swim very invigorating, and just wear a t shirt from then on. We call at McD’s for Holly to have some chicken nuggets. A couple of men are making very large bubbles, Holly plays in them for a while. We are late going down for dinner. It is BBQ night. We sit outside, Annette is a bit cold, but I am fine. Good BBQ, we both have two helpings. Holly sees a man firing a spinney thing up into the air, so we rush down and buy a couple for five euro. We play with them in the car park.

Thursday 21st - We all sleep well till almost 9am. The girls want to sit inside for breakfast. I have had natural yoghurt, raisins, oats and cocoa for the last few days. It is a bit overcast and cooler today. We set off walking to Playa de la Americas. I point out Villamar Hotel and also Palm Beach. We stop for a first beer where we have eaten previously. Go in Ale Hop and Annette buys a toy aeroplane for Holly, we play on some grass with it. See lots of surfers. La Gomera appears out of the mist for the first time this week. We continue walking after where I turned round the other night. We walk into Los Cristianos and settle in a bar for a couple. Annette orders a very nice Crostini with Serrano ham and cheese. Holly plays on the beach with a friend. We push onto the port and see the ferries to Gomera. We get cash and masks and then get a taxi back. We eat in the hotel. We then walk along to the trampolines. Holly queues up and has a good go. We walk up the avenue of shops towards diamond resorts.

Friday 22nd - Usual breakfast, inside. It is cooler and cloudy from the start. Holly and I walk out to Playa de Pinta to buy a couple of things. Annette packs all the gear. We have a very good lunch by the pool after we have checked out. Holly makes a poster for Earth Day with kid’s club. We take the cases down to the road for 18:40 and get the coach back to the airport. We check in easily and go through security. It is very busy on the air side and we have to sit on the floor. Annette and Holly queue up for Burger King. When we go through to departure gate my watch and phone jump to UTC plus two hours, they stay like that until we land. Take off on time at 22:50 for a four hour flight.

Tenerife - Diamond Club - May 2019

Saturday 4th May - Check-in at Manchester ?? ZZT and then have breakfast at the Cabin Bar, very expensive and small. Long walk to Gate 3, fly at 4pm. Land at Tenerife South at 8:30pm. After some debate we have a coach to ourselves to Costa Adeje, stay at the Royal Sunset Beach Club. We are in room 261, very nice apartment for 6 people, J&J are in 235, by the pool. We all sit on the balcony and drink beer till midnight. Rather loud music coming from nearby restaurant.

Sunday 5th - Holly is up from 6am, I am up from 9:30am. We go and find J&J by the pool, Holly stays with them. Supermarket for ham and cheese for breakfast, very nice, get lactose free milk. Head down to the pool for 11am. The sun does not seem very strong for most of the day. The main pool is too deep for anyone to touch the bottom. At about 4:30pm, we walk down to the front. Go to Rossini for food. Three of us have very large Gin and Tonics. I have lamb chops, Annette has grilled prawns and then kebab. The beer is 1.5 euro, most meals are under 10 euro. Walk along the front, go to Ale-Hop, up market Tat shop. Walk back, Holly plays in the very large bubbles. We all sit round our table for drinks. I am a bit sunburnt on my shoulders.

Monday 6th - Holly sleeps well till 9:30am. We walk down to the beach, Playa Fanabe, to start with, find a place in the shade. We all help to build sand castles. Afternoon in the pool, Holly swims very well underwater. Jeannette cooks sausages for tea, sit on the balcony. Early night, sleep well.

Tuesday 7th - Up at 8am for a quick breakfast, meet J&J for taxi to Puerto Colon pier 2. We get on a Skyline speed boat for 4 others. Head out about 4 miles towards Gomera, soon see a pair of dolphins playing in the sea, move on a couple of times, followed by other boats, large catamaran, Freebird. See some young Pilot whales playing in the sea. Head to a nice bay for some lunch and swimming from the back of the boat. I enjoy lying in the salt water and also diving in, fantastic blue water. My nose drains for the next six hours. We come back close to the coast, see a few tents and cliff houses. We walk back along the front and to the hotel. Annette has a little sleep and we go in the pool. When I am towing Holly across the pool she just lets go of the woggle and swims the last five feet herself, no breathing. Someone bring down a giant inflatable Unicorn, only to be told no inflatables. About ten minutes later, any inflatable is allowed for an hour. Leave the pool at 5:30pm. We walk out for lunch, a little inland. Eat at a steak joint, Polish guy on the front, English guy serving. Jeannette orders a Sirloin, Annette orders a Fillet. They swap when the food arrives, Jeannette enjoys it all. Walk back along the front, massive bubbles again. Watch the end of the Liverpool – Barcelona 4-0 match in the hotel bar. I sleep in Holly’s room.

Wednesday 8th - Breakfast and down to the pool for 10:30am, we swim in the pool. Bacon sandwiches for lunch. They have a foam carpet on the main pool. I cannot get more than half way. Holly enjoys playing with the ring and the ball. At about 5pm, we head out, walk along the front. We eat at Testarossa, me and Jack have the three-course meal for 9 euro, pizza for the main course. Annette and Jeannette take Holly on the Bungee-Trampolines, whilst we watch the Ajax-Spurs match. Annette and Holly play on the beach after sunset, Jeannette then joins them, they have a lot of fun. Annette and Jeannette have had three very large Gin and Tonics. Holly goes on the trampolines another three times and does a few somersaults. Annette gets a kebab take-out on the way back.

Thursday 9th - We all sleep till 9am. Down to the pool for 11am, we all go in, but Holly says that she is a bit cold. We all play Snakes and Ladders and then Dobble by the pool. We eat at the pool bar, I order lasagne, comes with a free pint. Annette has pork chop, comes covered in garlic salt, we swap. Me, Jack and Holly walk down to the Trampolines after lunch. Holly does loads of double somersaults. We go and play in the sea. Holly enjoys throwing the black sand all over us. When it dries it just falls off my t-shirt. Annette does the packing. We stay by the pool till 5pm. Meet at 6pm and walk down to the Sports bar, nice seats looking out to sea. We have a jug of Sangria, and we share BBQ ribs and chicken wings. We all watch Holly have a last go on the trampoline. Walk along to the bubbles and watch the sunset. Walk up through the Tat shops.

Friday 10th - We are up from 8am. Check out of the hotel at 9am, say goodbye to J&J, taxi to the airport. Check-in at 9:20 and go through. We spend most of the time watching the runway. Depart about an hour late. Have an easy exit from the airport, the sat nav sends us round the top of Manchester on the M60, see the Chill Factore. Holly sleeps most of the way. I have still got 'Amarillo ringing in my head.

Lanzarote - August 2006

Sunday 27th August - Wake at 2am leave at 2.30am, easy run to Manchester, Jane takes to via Stockport. Search Terminal 2 for the tickets then end up going to Terminal 1. Fly on time, I sleep, arrive at noon, 15 minute transfer. Quick dip in the pool. Walk straight down the road to the beach. Rather rocky but not too bad. Go to an All you can eat Chinese. Stay in the Plaza Palmeras in Puerto del Carmen.

Monday 28th - Annette cooks breakfast in the apartment. Walk down to the beach road. Turn left, towards the Casino. Find a small beach with no rocks, seems to have no name. We swim out looking for fish, see lots. TexMex for dinner, very slow service, I have a small chilli. Book a trip for Wednesday. Drink above the Casino, nice view, cheap beer, deserted. Discover Lani’s. Annette has Salmon with Dill. I have spaghetti Carbonara.

Tuesday 29th - Annette and I walk down to another small beach, swim a bit. Thomas comes down to meet us at 2pm. Go above the Casino for lunch, omelette. Back to an even smaller beach afterwards till late. Annette and I swim quite a lot. Lani’s Tandoori for tea.

Wednesday 30th - Down to McD’s for 9am, coach trip to the Volcanoes, stop for breakfast. Continue into the Timanfaya mountains, Nick is our guide. Stop at the Restaurante el Diablo created by Caesar Manrique, see the three experiments, very good. Drive round the national park. Eruptions lasted from 1730 till 1736. Go on a short camel ride. Drive to the wine region, the grapes are grown in small holes dug through the ash, very strange. Wine testing rather pathetic. Walk down and we have an English breakfast all round at 4pm. Go to Playa Grande, swim a little, sleep a lot, reading Ran Fiennes book. Annette and I walk down to the old port in the evening, I have a nice steak, taxi back.

Thursday 31st - Late dinner at Lani’s Texmex, rather slow. In the evening just go for drinks in Ruta 66, watch loads of music videos.

Friday 1st September - We all walk down to the Golden Corner for a good English Breakfast. Thomas goes back to the pool. All day on the little beach. Eat at Café La Ola in the evening, very good.

Saturday 2nd - Annette wakes early and goes down to the small beach for 9.15am. Me and Thomas follow on later. English breakfast at the Golden Corner again. Catch bus at 3.15 to Puerto Calero. Go on a yellow submarine. See two large wrecks in the harbour entrance. Sit on the bottom for a while. The diver feeds the fish. Back to the beach afterwards till 6ish. Lani’s grill for tea, Annette has the muscles and Sea bass. I have a massive T-bone steak. Wander back. Not sleep well for the first time this week.

Sunday 3rd - Leave the apartments about 11am. I sit by the window, fantastic views of central Spain, see lots of dams and waterworks.

Puerto Banus - August 2005

Saturday 20th August - Awake at 4am, pack the hire car and set off at 4:50. Drop Jeannette’s car at Kilburn. One hour 40 to the airport, Via Gelia, Buxton, Cat & Fiddle, Macclesfield, Handforth. Drop off the hire car, realise that we are missing one case. Have a coffee and bacon butty in a bar. Flight is one hour delayed. Start reading Angels and Demons. Pick up Ford Focus at Malaga, drive down the coast to Puerto Banus. Apartment is very good. Quick dip in the pool. Walk to the beach and have a beer or two by the beach. Have steak and chips later. Thomas and Jeannette have a dip later on.

Sunday 21st - Bacon sandwiches for breakfast. Drive into Puerto Banus and go to El Corte Ingles, buy some clothes, contact lenses, food etc. Head off towards Gibraltar. Only realise that we have gone too far when we set signs for La Linea, turn around. Go to Sotogrande beach, past private barrier. Swim in the sea, quite a long way. Walk along a rocky pier with Annette, lots of fish at the end. Drive back for showers, etc. In the evening drive to Marbella centre and have a Chinese.

Monday 22nd - Have bacon and egg for breakfast. Drive down to La Linea. Queue for about one hour to cross the border. Drive to Europa point, great views of Africa. Drive back to town, park and shop. Thomas gets a silver chain. Have dinner in the Clipper, very good. Leave the car park and head for the top. Pay £30 and go in St Michael’s cave and the great siege tunnels. Drive around a lot looking for the top. Eventually go up some very narrow roads to the top of the cable car, great views. Stop and play with the monkeys for a while. Back to the main square and have a drink in 'The Tunnel'. Drive back at about 9pm, no queue. Come back along the Auto-Pista, go a little bit too far.

Tuesday 23rd - Drive to Torremolinos. Difficulty identifying which part of the town we want. Park a long way from the beach, convinced that we will never find it again. Arrive at the east end of the beach, get sunbeds. Swim in the sea. Have beer and cakes in a beach bar. Get a Pedalo, I swim behind it most of the time, go down the slide. Read a bit more of Angels and Demons. Drive back and get showers and ready for tea. Walk into the main part of Puerto Banus for the first time, find all the big cars, big boats and posh people. Have a good walk around. Find Lineker’s bar and then go in Jack’s, right at the front. Very good starter and burger. Walk back when we realise that we have no cash. Wander round the big yachts.

Wednesday 24th - Bacon sandwiches on the terrace. Drive to Fuengirola, parking is a lot easier than yesterday. Walk down to Hawaiian beach, get sunbeds. I swim in the sea and read a lot. Thomas buys a snorkel, which I then lose. Have a steak near the beach and then try to find the road to Ronda, takes a while. About 70km, part of which is just gravel, arrive just after 9pm. Drive over a crowded market square and park underground. Good views of the bridge. Have a good meal in the main square, me and Annette have a meat of cold meats. Drive back in the dark to San Pedro, near the apartment.

Thursday 25th - Set off early to get the 11:30 ferry from Tarifa. Big crush to get the tickets, long queue to get on. Disappointing views of the sea, no outside decks. Leaves about 40 minutes late. Hot in Tangier, get accosted by Benny, official tour guide. Walk to the market, see a few shops. Go to a carpet shop, I am persuaded that I need a carpet, down from £400 to £75. Spice shop next for a few spices. Have a drive to the coast, Thomas goes on a camel. We are in a very old Mercedes taxi. Back to the port for 2:45pm. Benny insists on showing me the place to get passports stamped. We see the 3pm ferry leave bang on time. Go back to the bar and wait for the 16:30, only serves orange juice. The next ferry is almost two hours late. Lots of sea mist in the port. Find a McDonald’s near Algeciras for tea. Try to buy some beer from a garage but we are denied. Bed by 1am.

Friday 26th - Bacon omelette for breakfast. Replace the camera charger fuse with a screw. Lost teeth incident. Drive down to Estepona beach, very windy. Have a jug of Sangria in the Salduba bar. Me and Annette go to the Mona Lisa restaurant in Puerto Banus on Sailor Simon’s recommendation. Thomas and Jeannette to go Jacks again. Have another walk along the quay and wander home. Back to the apartment for 6pm.

Saturday 27th - We get everything packed and into the car. I phone Linda to tell her that we are off. Drive to Benalmadena beach. Find a nice spot by the beach. The waves are the best that we have had all week. Leave at about 5pm to go to the airport. When we are queuing up I realise that we may be able to change flights. After a fair amount of negotiation, we transfer to the Manchester flight. We spend 30 minutes on the ground at Glasgow and then fly down to Manchester. The hire car has not been transferred and we have to wake the bloke up. Back for about 2am. Sleep well.

Marmaris - August 2004

Friday 13th August - At work in the morning. Fly at about 8pm from Manchester.

Saturday 14th - Arrive at the Hermes hotel at about 4am, we sleep for a while. Thomas is in the pool for 8am. Go to the welcome meeting at noon, meet our rep Gauresh. We buy a Billion lire's worth of excursions. Walk into town, find the Point centre, walk along the beach a little.

Sunday 15th - Take the blue and white bus to the Point centre and then the orange one to Icmeler, a bit better beach. Go on the bar crawl, we enjoy the first few and then get a taxi home.

Monday 16th - Walk along the beach at Marmaris to the harbour, eat at 'Mr Cooks', I enjoy my kebab.

Tuesday 17th - Spend the day around the hotel. Play table tennis and snooker. Taj Mahal for a very good curry latter.

Wednesday 18th - Get on the coach at 6.35am heading to Ephesus, have breakfast and lunch on the way. Our tour guide, Moses, shows us round. The city used to have a population of 250,000, the amphitheatre holds 25,000. Drive on to Karaahgit and check into the hotel there. Rush to have a go in the thermal springs before the buffet lunch. After tea, we go for a wander and find a great little market.

Thursday 19th - Breakfast at the hotel and then drive on to Pamukkale, Hierapolis. Start by being shown round the Necropolis, some very good tombs. Then up to the amphitheatre, very hot. Have a walk down over the pools, very good but not as good as the pictures. Leave at noon, call in at an Onyx factory and then a carpet factory. Great drive over the mountains via Muğla back to the hotel for 7pm. Bus into town, eat at the Albatross bar again, we order the Anatolian special which does not quite turn out as expected. Back to the hotel and read the paper on the balcony.

Friday 20th - Early breakfast and get sun beds for the first time. All day around the hotel, reading etc.

Saturday 21st - Take the water-taxi to Turunç, enjoy the journey. Eat over-looking the sea. Thomas feels ill in the evening so we stay in.

Sunday 22nd - Nice slow start to the day, go on the all-inclusive boat trip. Lots of swimming from the boat and diving in. Thomas has made friends with Joe Hunter and they both jump off the top deck. I dive off the top and go a little too deep and hurt my ears. Annette does not feel too well. In preparation for the diving booked for Monday we try some snorkelling. Annette does it OK. We eat at TJ’s. Thomas stays up late playing pool.

Monday 23rd - I don't sleep well. Get the bus to the diving centre at 8am, the doctor inspects Thomas’s ear and delays us till Thursday. We go for a very good English breakfast and then head for the beach at Icmeler. Rather hot, Annette does not enjoy it. Taxi back. Me and Annette have a wander back and have a couple more drinks. Go for a Chinese meal, very good. Hire a jeep for two days.

Tuesday 24th - Cancel the diving. Pick up the vehicle and drive down towards Bozburun, via Turgut, stop at some nice beaches for a bit of swimming. Walk up past the water fall without even noticing. On the way back take a very winding road via Bayırköy and Osmaniye, rather relived when we get back onto a tarmac road. I have a few problems navigating round Marmaris, we end up in the Ali Baba café half way up the hill to Muğla. We cannot decide what to eat, go back to the hotel and they have got a take-away. We walk down to La Kebab and order food, however it does not go down too well and we have to sneak away.

Wednesday 25th - Start by diving across the island causeway which we can see from the hotel, very hot, cannot find the way onto the island. Have a little swim and then head down to Datça, very hot. Enjoy an ice-cream there and then take a slow drive back. Eat at the Taj Mahal, Thomas gets a Rolex.

Thursday 26th - Take the jeep back and then have a lazy day.

Friday 27th - Leave the hotel at 8am for Dalyan. Have a boat trip past the King tombs down to the beach, very nice and sandy. Have two hours there and then boat back to lunch. Go to the mud baths, I am amazed at the flotation, it would have been easy to read a paper in there. Have a wander round the town latter and I get bitten to pieces by mosquitoes and head for cover.

Saturday 28th - Fly at 02.45, nice steady drive back from Manchester, via Buxton and Bakewell. Have a very good English breakfast in Ambergate corner café.

Tenerife - Barranco apartments - August 2003

Friday 15th August - I finish work at lunchtime. Annette packs in the morning. Leave at about 1pm for Manchester airport. Go the usual way via Leek and Macclesfield, then follow signs for Handforth. It works well, we cross the A34 and go straight into the airport. Get there easily within two hours. Fly at 18.25, four hours to Tenerife. Stay at the Barranco apartments. Arrive just after midnight, the pool is very inviting. Sit on the balcony and drink San Miguel. It is very hot.

Saturday 16th - Swim in the pool and then go down to the welcome meeting. Have a breakfast in Tangos under the hotel. Walk down to the beach, very rocky. A few drink by the coast and head towards Los Cristianos. Find a nice beach, have a pedalo for a while. Back to the hotel for a shower and then back out to the beach. We have a large mixed grill, not too bad.

Sunday 17th - Explore the Troya beach, not too bad or too busy.

Monday 18th - Go to the Aqua Park for the day in a taxi. Very hot. Lots of slides. See a fantastic dolphin show. We are rather short of cash, so we walk down to Costa Adeje. Get some cash and have a drink, walk back along the coast, buy a dolphin lilo for Thomas. Starter and pizza, not very impressed. Listen to a Billy Connelly impersonator on the way back to the apartments.

Tuesday 19th - Great English breakfast. Head along to Adeje again. Ice creams. Thomas swims with me and we see lots of fish. Book excursions for the next two days.

Wednesday 20th - Swim in the pool early on. Catch a bus down to Los Cristianos. Go on a glass bottomed boat, Le Monte Carlo. After only about ½ an hour we see a few dolphins and loads of pilot whales. We see a mother and baby swimming together. Hang around at the apartments waiting for the evening show to start. Get a coach to the ‘Exit Palace’, very good venue, four course meal and unlimited drinks. Sit next to Matt and Rachael, they both like Thomas. Matt talks to him all night about a band called ‘The Coral’. Call in for another drink in the Anchor bar near the apartments. Stay there till 2 am, the girls enjoy the dancing.

Thursday 21st - Get up at 7.30am for the Mount Teide excursion. Great commentary from an English guy called Andy. We are the first coach to get to the bottom of the cable car, eight minute ride to the top. A jumper is required on the top. See lots of people walking the path to the summit. We don't have a permit so cannot go. Stop to see a few other sights on the way back. Down to the sea for a quick dip.

Friday 22nd - Get packed and out of the room for 11am. Walk to Los Cristianos. Look in lots of shops on the way. I buy a Canon digital camera on the way to the beach. Have a very chilled couple of hours in a bar on the beach, with the paper and a beer. Have a pedalo with Thomas and then look for fish. Have the best meal so far, then wander back. Thomas finds a David Beckham Real Madrid shirt on the way back which is less fake than some of the other ones. Swim in the pool until 8pm. Coach to the airport, fly at 23.45.