Lanza-not-so-grotty

Holiday Diary Part VI (and last, I promise)

Sighs of relief all around as The Millbrooker household's holiday diaries reach their thrilling conclusion...

The last day of the cruise found us docking into Arrecife, Lanzarote. I'd been quietly (well, fairly quietly by my loud mouthed standards) dreading Lanzarote, so often thought of as Lanzagrotty. I expected an array of "English" pubs, knotted handkerchiefs atop lobstered bonces, and gaggles of hen parties.

Instead of which, Arrecife, at least, turned out to be a delightful little town; calm, sunny (and windy), attractive buildings and a bit of decent bird spotting.

It was to be another day's spuddling (as Milly and Trickers refer to it) or pootling (as Mrs The Millbrooker and I are wont to say). As we trogged along the esplanade, I was pleased to find something mildly phallic to rest my weary back upon.

We coffee'd, we spuddled, we wandered around a fort, we saw some Trumpeter Finches. Then we saw a Pipit, and much discussion ensued along the lines of "It's definitely a pipit, I just don't know which sort.."; "...could be a rock pipit..."; "...could be a water pipit..."; "It's definitely not a tree pipit, there's no trees around..."; "It's certainly a pipit, I just don't know which sort..." and so on ad infinitum.

We've sort of agreed on Water Pipit, but any advice or definitive judgement from ornithological clever-clogs will be much appreciated.

More pootling followed as we enjoyed the scenery.

Lunch was obtained at extraordinarily moderate cost in a harbour side restaurant; diet be buggered - I had grilled octopus with a whacking plate load of chips.
We did some more bird spotting - Lanzarote seems to do very well for shore birds. Here's a Common Sandpiper, followed by a Turnstone. Sorry, non-birders, I know it seems interminably dull, but it keeps us amused. The weather eventually did the dirty on us; after a day's decent sunshine and warmth Lanzarote's rain gods decided to have a go, so back to the ship it was. In classic Thomson hi-de-hi style, we were treated to the waiting staff parading Baked Alaska puddings in the main restaurant as a last night treat. And do you know what? I enjoyed every last cheesy, brainless minute of it.The ship sailed overnight, once again, leaving us with just a few hours in Santa Cruz Tenerife on the next morning to have a quick peek around, which we duly indulged in. It's big(ish) and busy, but not without some charm; another surprise. How many more photos of Canary Island towns can you cope with? Here's just a couple and that's the end of my holiday adventures...

You know, I'm so much better at being on holiday than I am at working...