Home Again!

So, we've been away for a short break. Every year for the last 10 or more years, Anne's parents have spent 2 or 3 weeks in Tenerife and this year we joined them for a week. There's something very pleasing about winter sunshine. It's a very odd feeling to walk around in shorts and a t-shirt in February. It's almost surreal, but surprisingly easy to get used to!

We stayed in a place that was created from nothing as a holiday resort by the looks of old photographs of the area. Not even a hint of an old fishing village. One suspects that Tenerife has suffered a little from over development and is now suffering the consequences of the economic crises that have hit the more affluent economies of Western Europe. Testimony to this was a large abandoned hotel complex overlooking the town. What was once the boom industry of time-shares and holiday homes has fallen on very hard times indeed.

We spent 7 days in a hotel built in 1967 as the focal point of this new resort. My in-laws like it because they feel safe and they know a lot of regular visitors who come year after year. It's quite interesting to be the person with new eyes, seeing what they overlook because they like the company and the security. Luxury is no substitute for feeling comfortable in your surroundings.

The food was okay, but probably not what you might expect from the star rating of the hotel. Their idea of a vegetarian option was somewhat lacking in imagination. I don't consider a quarter of a white cabbage and a baby marrow to be a well balanced meal!

Anne and I set ourselves the target of doing 15,000 steps a day and we were well in advance of this until yours truly got floored by a nasty little virus that stole two days of the holiday and got everyone wondering about alternative travelling plans in case I wasn't fit enough for the return flight on time. I was, and we made it home, but it meant that for the first time in over 6 months I actually had a day when I didn't walk further than the bathroom, which fortunately wasn't far!! Still, I managed the equivalent of about 50 miles in only 5 days.

I spent my time when well playing tennis, swimming, reading, walking and playing more tennis. Having started to learn to play in the cold months of November and December, it was something of a revolution to have the sun on your back and dry tennis balls to hit. We had two courts at the hotel and I found a partner for a singles game and a group for social doubles in the mornings. Sadly the virus put paid to being able to play everyday, but it wasn't a total loss.

We didn't explore the island at all, too much tennis to be played. Maybe another year we'll get up into the mountains and visit a few places. To be honest, I'm not that interested in doing that. I like being active, but I'm not a great sight-seer.