By Ferry to Lanzarote

Day 8 Saturday 20 Ferry from Cadiz

Long walk through the port quite alarming in search of the Armas premises which are modest and remote. Ports have a character all their own and this one reminds me of examples near home. About 11am we are put through luggage scanning and loaded into a taxi for eight that conveys us to the ship via a number of checks – passport scanning of course – and an enquiry whether we are going to Gran Canaria or Tenerife, a bewildering choice since both the taxi and the boat are going to both. Another passport check as we are allocated a cabin with a view of the Cathedral for now at least.

Coffee and a seat in the sun at the back of the boat overlooking the unfilled plunge pool and the sun deck. Time to dispense with our winter garb.

On 6 November 25 Armas wrote “…to inform you of changes to our departure schedules from Cádiz to Arrecife. To reschedule your trip, please let us know which of the following options you prefer:

1- Change to the December 23th departure, direct route from Cádiz to Arrecife

2- Keep the December 20th departure, arriving in Las Palmas on Monday, November 8th at 2:59 a.m., where you would disembark and re-embark at 11:15 p.m., arriving in Arrecife on Tuesday at 5:15 a.m.

3- Free refund

By agreeing to option 2, our direct journey to Lanzarote became a two stage event over a number of days. At that stage we were unaware that Fred Olsen runs directly to Gran Canaria and on to Lanzarote.

Still loading at our scheduled midday departure time but we rejoice at the delay as we don’t want to be arriving at 3am in Gran Canaria where we have a day so far without accommodation. Away soon after 1pm. Meals are Spanish time so lunch begins at half past one. Our cabin comes with three meals a day which are served at a counter with a cashier who has to enter a nine-digit number for each customer or pair. Service is accordingly slow so that any chance of the food being warm has gone by the time you sit down. A couple of microwaves are provided to address the issue. The results are comparable with hospital rather than cruise standard.

The clientelle can be divided into three general groups – lorry drivers and dog owners, who have cabins and therefore meals and sitting up passengers who have neither.

Internet is poor to non-existent which is a bit of culture shock these days. The gentle rolling motion is somniferous, not just for us so we are surrounded by sleeping fellow passengers. Sunshine persists to the late afternoon.

Day 9 Sunday 21 On the Ferry

After a rolling night, we are now on Canarian time, one hour back from Spanish. Sunshine comes and goes but long enough to get some snaps of the boat. Passengers scattered throughout the boat, reading, playing and even painting but mostly sleeping. Calm sea entirely free from white. As we approach Tenerife about 8pm 4G kicks back in, allowing me to keep my Wordle streak going. Elaborate manoevres to dock at Santa Cruz at 8.30. Bed after that.

Day 10 Monday 22 Las Palmas, Gran Canaria

Battered awake before 2.15 by a loud knocking at our cabin door which is soon repeated so we are all gathered in the lounge before we dock at 3am. Twenty foot-passengers are walked ashore and round the terminus building which is, of course, closed, stepping between boundary chains to get there. There are a couple of taxis and we join a couple going elsewhere to be taken into the centre of Las Palmas where the driver assures us there are a lot of hotels. But there are none to be seen and it is half an hour walking in the dark before we come on one – the Santa Catalina where, the night receptionist tells us proudly, Churchill stayed. Unfortunately, they have no rooms. There is another hotel nearby and Merry Christmas.

Out into the showery night again, the only comfort being that it is mild and we do not feel unsafe walking the streets in the small hours. The night staff at the next hotel doesn’t feel safe enough to open the door at this ungodly hour and so we go on. It finally dawns on me to search Apple maps for a hotel nearby and this produces the Serco Hotel Parque. At this hotel, they do not have a room for the current night but do have space for the night to come. It is cheaper to book online which we do sitting in reception. It is now 4.30 and we settle down to wait for breakfast at 7 and the room at 11. However, the night receptionist takes pity on us and finds us a room which seems to be the loveliest one we have ever seen.

Three hours later we are refreshed by the second part of our sleep. Breakfast with a view of the town and the sea, overlooking the park that no doubt gives the hotel its name, a sign that this island is generally wetter and greener than our Lanzarote destination. A Zumex machine (giving fresh orange juice) and smoked salmon further signs of excellence.

In daylight the town is pleasant. We visit the Cathedral which is very open in aspect

and the Columbus house where Christopher stayed on his 1492 voyage while having ships repaired.

There are also antique and book shops and a good lunch to be had before we return to the hotel for a siesta. Rice noodles and dumplings in Chao which advertises GF food.

Taxi to the port about 9, boarding at 10.30, the cast from this morning’s trauma mostly absent. The staff can’t get the airbridge to work so we are once again led in a crocodile round the front of the terminus at 11pm and onto the vehicle ramp, wending our way through a maze of parked lorries with only one false step. We are back aboard the same ferry where we were not allowed to leave the bags we trailed round Las Palmas in the wretched night. It is not clear where the ferry has been since we last saw it.

The usual slow queue for allocation of cabins as only one person does this work regardless of how many people are present behind the desk. Bed about 11.30.

Day 11 Tuesday 23 Arrival on Lanzarote

First of several tannoy messages at 4.50 asking us to clear our cabins as we are approaching our destination. At 5.20 we pass the Gran Hotel in Arrecife where we should have been staying on Sunday night but for the Armas change of timetable that resulted in our day trip to Gran Canaria yesterday. We don’t dock until we have been up for three-quarters of an hour and after that we are led downstairs to stand in a passageway for ten minutes as the last of the vehicles is off-loaded before we are led off the ship by the vehicle ramp and round and about to the Armas terminal.

We grab one of two waiting taxis and in about twenty minutes we are at Soo. At 6.30, in darkness, we have to open the garden gate and walk past the main house and its swimming pool to a door with a key in it. This leads to a flight of stairs up to a room that is not the loveliest we have seen. We eat the yoghurt and popcorn we have brought with us and retire to bed soon after 7.

A couple of hours later, the day and the flat both look better.

We head down the hill to the Tienda de Lourdes, an unexpected delight of local produce and hand-written labels which proves to be a gratifyingly excellent source of provisions including a large box of frozen South American langustines.

More breakfast after which we set off on foot across the desert that lies in front of the village. Walking conditions are ideal; warm and intermittently sunny.

An hour and a half later we are at the surfers’ paradise of Famara.

A little more shopping including incredibly heavy buckwheat bread from the health food shop. After lunch we opt for the bus leaving at 2.45 which is unusually convenient in timing and result; after the last couple of days, the climb from the bus stop in Soo is enough for me.

Soon we are sitting out with our newly-purchased Earl Grey tea on the loungers by the pool enjoying a memorable desert and volcano view. Breezy and sunny conditions alternate, keeping us guessing as to what to wear. Neighbouring dog noise is an issue.

Day 12 Wednesday 24 Rain

Lovely ninety-minute walk through the desert to Famara with coffee and pistachio & chocolate cheesecake as a just reward. The walk back on the pathway beside the road appears more direct but takes the same time and is not as enjoyable.

Omelette and Vichi Catalan sparkling water for lunch on the pool deck. We are unexpectedly forced into the Summer house by a light outbreak of rain and intermittent showers continue all afternoon giving a wetter day than we have experienced in many years of visiting Lanzarote. Rain repeatedly brought by the familiar supply of wind. Our mountain panorama disappears into the clouds and a crescendo of dog-barking.

Our accommodation is a slightly dowdy flat built into the hillside behind the owner’s much larger house. The flat itself mainly looks onto the house but the pool deck that we have to ourselves has a magnificent panorama of the desert and the hills beyond. Both house and flat are a yellow/cream in contrast to the other local properties that comply with the Manrique regime.

Day 13 Thursday 25 A Volcanic Christmas

Bed at 10 on Christmas Eve but dog-barking stops me sleeping before midnight and I wake at 3 still cross and sleepless even in the now-silent night. All this rather sours the atmos on Christmas morning.

Nice walk up the hill behind the house which is a spectacular volcano in dark red. Our walk takes us past an older man outside a neighbouring house wearing a classic local tall hat with a curved top. We are on the slopes of a dramatic volcano with fantastic views. Back for coffee on the pool deck. Restrained from expressing my crossness to the owner by J who wants to come back here next year. Very warm sunshine in a sheltered corner of the pool deck with a couple of showers. Prawn risotto for Christmas dinner.

Day 14 Friday 26 Soo to Club la Santa

A good night’s sleep in the back bedroom which is more secluded than the main one. A heavy shower at 7am after which the sun comes out and we enjoy our last time on the pool deck. A still day brings out the heat – and the flies.

Walk down to Club la Santa from Soo in just under an hour.

Very conveniently, our apartment is ready when we arrive just before 1pm. Another shower of this unusually rainy season. Once it is gone, the balcony is welcoming for lunch. Walk into la Santa village for our main shop.

The gym has new equipment.

Day 15 Saturday 27 Famara by bike

8 am stretch another familiar institution of CLS. Mountain bikes across the coast route to Famara in unfamiliar conditions; the recent rain has dampened down the sand that normally makes riding impossible at times and there are puddles, a thing we have not seen in twenty years of CLS. J attributes all this to climate change. However, we have a strong tail wind that gets us along the shore paths in record time. Coffee, zumo and cheesecake.

Cycle back on the off-road path that follows the road to Soo which, unsurprisingly, is very hard work. Back to Lourdes’ Shop there for local sweet potato, truffle cheese and Vichy Catalan. Even downhill from Soo to la Santa not easy in the strong wind but the day is mild. Afternoon of constantly changing weather including showers.

8 pm to the Quiz Night hosted by the excellent Franka Sunshine who tells us she is returning to the Netherlands. She is a significant loss to CLS, rather like our score in the quiz.

Day 16 Sunday 28 Teguise Market

Another first – rain during the 8am stretch. Off on the mountain-bikes soon after 9. The off-road climb to Munique less of an ordeal than it often is because of the tail wind and the damp sand. Straight on to Teguise which is packed with visitors to the weekly market. There is some craft work but the real stars are the many traders who have secured arrangements with Gucci and other top fashion brands. A quick coffee and then a purchase – a wooden mask from Ivory Coast. An addition to our collection has become an annual event here.

Cycle down the hill and across to Soo on an unmade road we have not been on before. Although we have been cycling on the Teguise – Famara – la Santa triangle for many years, we continue to discover new paths and unmade roads.

At Soo is the stylish restaurant Munsoo which provides us with an excellent lunch, the hummus a particular success. Back to la Tienda for more prawns and an easy cycle down to CLS.

Day 17 Monday 29 Soo and Famara

Not as warm as yesterday but more typical CLS weather. Cycle up to Soo and round the village on an unmade road. The island is noticably greener than in previous years at this time. There is flooding on the road in Famara. Puddles on the way make a very adherent type of mud. Real taps aff weather.

Back in CLS, the resort shop is the only source of fresh milk. Finish and publish my page on the misericords at El Escorial.

Day 18 Tuesday 30 Back to Teguise

A second calm and typically sunny day. Cycle to Soo, Munique and on to Teguise. Teguise is quite different on a non-market day though there are now tour groups which I do not remember from before. Excellent tapas lunch at Famara; sardines, garlic mushrooms and Canarian potatoes. The puddles on the coast route are beginning to dry up.

Day 19 Wednesday 31 Hogmanay

No bikes today. Lots of good food. Walk round the lagoon and on to la Santa village where Damien’s Patisserie Francaise provides an excellent mango cheesecake – in a bowl without the base I normally have to leave to the gluten-tolerant. Back for a short time before setting off again into the sunshine to walk to Soo. Off-road this takes 55 minutes and we arrive exactly on time for our 1pm reservation at Munsoo. Three dishes between us; aubergine fritters which come with a lime cream, sweet potato nachos with slow-pulled pork and cheese and baked Haloumi-style cheese with candied nuts and a curried banana.

Back into the sun and down the hill. Gym on return. Nice sunset before we doll up for New Year’s Eve dinner in la Santa village. Alma restaurant very busy and the staff seem a little fraught. Food is good though not as adventurous as Munsoo earlier and the cheesecake is not as tasty as Damien’s this morning though it doesn’t help that it is my second of the day. Lovely walk back in very mild conditions. The five lights above the new swimming pools continue to add to Club la Santa’s light pollution at night.

And so we lay 2025 to bed.

Next: Lanzarote to Scotland