First morning in the hotel and the breakfast was OK but, the bacon was more sun tanned than fried and as they used the same machine for tea as instant coffee most of the tea was tainted with drips of coffee so after the first disgusting cup I stuck to orange juice which was fine. Again, on the side of fair play the meals were pretty good but, they were a poor second to the food we had been used to on the ship, and you were expected to pay for water, fat chance of that.
The prices in the hotel for drinks were well over the top so we went off on a foraging trip after breakfast. The beach was only about five minutes away and there was a sea front cycle and foot path that went for miles north and south. The cycle paths were like motorways by comparison to the feeble things we get in UK and there were plenty of bike hire shops that included the fun twin bike four seaters for the families and electric jeeps and scooters for the kids. It was nothing out of the ordinary to see a kid racing off miles in front of his parents in an electric jeep. For the adults they had some lethal looking petrol motor scooters (kid style scooters) that whizzed past at quite a lick with the adults hanging on for grim death.
We never quite got round to trying the cycle rout but, we certainly did a fair amount of walking, Annette doesn’t mind walking on the flat. We headed off along the sea front turning right away from the hotel which if I was orientated correct was southerly. There were the usual collection of tourist holiday shops but, thanks to the euro most of the stuff was way over priced, thankfully that wasn’t the case when it came to beer, wine and snacks in the local supermarkets. Of course, taking a short walk off the tourist trail saved about 15% on costs so we usually shopped up the side streets.
Annette had developed a taste for caramel vodka while we were on the Nile and now hunts it down relentlessly when on holiday as it is hard to find in UK. We got lucky in the second supermarket and she got a litre for €8.56 and we eventually found a store in Calla Bona (ten minutes North of hotel) where she could buy it for €7.95. This is what filled up the suitcases for the return journey. I was quite happy with the local beers 330ml for around 45 cents although we got ripped off for a cold can of Duff beer Annette wanted to try, €2.50 and it was Carling! A high price for a picture of Homer Simpson on the can.
Loaded up with survival rations, we were now only half board, we went back to the hotel and down to the pool. A nice size outdoor pool that felt like an ice bath with the air temperature over 30 degrees and for the faint hearted there was a heated indoor pool of a reasonable size too. There was no shortage of loungers or sunshades as there wasn’t a German in sight, they tended to be further round the coast in the direction we walked in the morning. I was able to swim to my hearts content without the slightest bit of claustrophobia that is rampant in the small ship pools where you are lucky to have enough room to tread water.
After dinner we went to the hotels quiz to see what the entertainment was like and I’m guessing Annette fancied one of the cocktail prizes. The quiz was one of the most bizarre I had been too, with the quiz master spouting out English in a Spanish accent that made Manuel from Faulty Towers sound like a BBC announcer. Despite that I did manage to answer most of the questions but, as the guy asked you to put your hand up if you knew the answer and he obviously had an eye for the ladies, we never got a look in.
I cannot remember what the entertainment was but, I do remember it was an hour after the quiz ended and Annette having found the hotels cocktail to be on the weak side we went off back to the Sunset Bar where they did two for the price of one with plenty of alcohol and I could get a decent beer. Next door to the bar was one of these flesh eating fish places and it was surprising how many people paid to sit with their feet in a fish tank and let the little carnivores chew away. Few drinks later and we were ready for bed and I made sure the fire door was closed this time and we slept well enough.