Brits Abroad

I know that I am always banging on about the weather but I am happy to say that since our arrival on Tuesday afternoon, the weather has much improved.  It’s still chilly in the mornings and when the sun goes down, but if you can find a spot out of the winds then it’s glorious.  We’ve checked the forecast and tomorrow the temperature is going up to 26.  A lot warmer than I hear it is back at home. 

We made the decision on Thursday morning to ask to move rooms.  This involved hanging around reception for a couple of hours but finally at midday one of the staff showered us another room.  It was very similar to the room that we have stayed in before so we said yes that we’d like to take it.  I can’t it’s a great deal different to the other room but we like the layout better and the balcony gets the sun all afternoon.  Somehow it seems more spacious even though it isn’t and at least our bathroom doesn’t smell of damp.   After seeing the room which involved walking down 120 steps, up 3 flights of stairs and walking up another 120 steps to reception, we waited for new keys and then went back to our room to pack.  Good job Phil & I travel lightly because it only took us 15 minutes to sling everything in our backpacks.  Our new room is quite a distance from reception so we loaded the car and drove round to the back of Albatros rather than try and cart us and our baggage down the many steps. 

By the time we were finished we more than ready for a beer so we decided to stay local and walk down to the Aberdeen Steak House for lunch.   We ate here on the last day when we were in Tenerife a month or so and it was good value for money.  Phil remembered it as being great food but I seem to remember that whilst it was cheap, 7.95 euors for a 3 course meal, it being a case of quantity over quality.  Unfortunately I was proved right.  Sure, our plates with stacked with okay food but it wasn’t brilliant and the service was slow and reluctant.  We’d go again if we fancied a steak but I don’t think we’ll be rushing back even though it is cheap.  The afternoon had almost gone by the time we finished our 3 courses so it was back to the apartment to catch the last of the rays and then an early night.

Yesterday was a good day; Phil made me breakfast in bed and after a wash and a tidy up, we set out on foot to explore.  Our first stop was the Friday market in the car park just outside of our building.  It was buzzing and Phil was eager to look around all the various stalls.  I think Phil thought that would be food available but it was mostly trinkets and tourist stuff.  Sunglasses, clothes, watches and various other crap.  What might be crap to you and me, it certainly wasn’t to Phil.  He came away with a watch for 7 euro’s, a vegetable peeling gadget and a new wallet.  I came away with nothing but Phil at least was happy with his purchases.

From the market we walked down to the sea and followed the path all the way to Playa San Blas.  We’ve driven plenty of times by road so it was a nice change to walk along the coastal path and look at the various apartments and residential property.  It’s sad to see that the developments as you go out of Golf Del Sur are not being worked on.  The developers have either run out of money or gone out of business because there has been no further progress for at least a year.  It’s a shame because it does let the area down and must affect the local restaurants.  I suppose a lot of people came to this area solely because of the golf.  We were looking to grab a bite to eat along the way but there wasn’t really anything and we found ourselves back at the centre of San Blas. 

That was fine, we had a beer and a meal and then walked back to our apartment.  I sunbathed and Phil watched the snooker and then we went down for dinner at the restaurant in our complex.  It was fairly empty and there was no entertainment which was unusual but then we realised that Friday is change over day.  We had a quiet meal and then went back to our room.  Unfortunately eating late doesn’t bode well with Phil and so he was up half the night on the loo.   He do go back to sleep which meant that we had have had a late start to the morning.  We were just getting breakfast when the doorbell rang and it was the reps calling to arrange an appointment for our ‘timeshare’ presentation.  Shit!  Our appointment is next Tuesday @ 10am.  I can’t believe I have to attend yet another one of these ghastly meetings although of course I did know that this was one of the conditions of our ‘free’ holiday.  Phil, as only Phil can, is actually quite excited about our appointment.  Oh well, it’s only an hour out of my life and I guess I have become quite hardened and resistant to hard sell timeshare reps. My problem is that Phil hasn’t and its him that has a problem saying ‘No’.