Tenerife 2021 - Day 2 - Tuesday 16/11

I'm not sure it's the biggest news story of our day, but happy to say the Kindle wasn't lost afterall - as we've just bought a new rucksack there are pockets we don't know exist, and in the melé of security someone must have slipped it in there. 

It has occurred to me that reading this on the blog is different to FB, so don’t be too surprised - the blog has all the pictures in the right place in the right order - FB doesn’t do the former and sometimes not the latter either.

A splendid sunrise paints a warm glow over El Duque, the local area, from our balcony.

After a lovely breakfast we're given a lift to Callao Salvaje by the delightful Anastasia, we wander around this relatively unknown town (as it has only small hotels it's not really on the tourist track) then we start our walk back, passing banana plantations, in and out of coves and beaches, into Playa Paraiso which is much more built-up with the Hard Rock hotel complex amongst others, and then we're back to plantations again.

There is a whole shanty-town built on one old plantation area - probably where the workers lived before but now housing for the street-sellers one finds all around. It looks sad and run-down and I'm sure their life is very hard but they are always friendly, joking and jolly.

The next town on our walk is La Caletta which is also lovely, we have two dinners booked there, and finally we can walk on tarmac and boards, instead of lava and sand.

It's getting late to eat, and we don't want (or need) anything special, so pop into a Spar and get slices of Edam and a packet of TUC biscuits to make an improptu lunch, which we take on a bench adjacent to a very smart looking restaurant - it's a wonder the people dining on the balcony looking down on us didn't throw scraps to the poor street urchins! It’s been an excellent walk. 

We spend a lazy afternoon wandering, talking, swimming in the pool and then jacuzi (yes it's HUGE and certainly big enough to swim in!) and soon it’s time to enjoy a pre-dinner drink on our balcony, phone a friend and then shower and change for dinner. 

I don’t think tonight’s dinner is good enough - the service was underwhelming, the food was good but not great, the wine I ordered wasn’t available. We ordered pállela, which one might imagine is impeccable here, but no, it’s a disappointment - I want to see rich flavours, a crispy catch on the bottom, and not be over-faced by the whole thing. 

To finish the insult then restaurant tries to charge us for stuff we didn’t order and the original wine they couldn’t deliver - obviously the Md’ apologised - no of course she didn’t! Grumble over, it wasn’t bad, just only a 6 when an 8 or 9 would have been preferable. 

Wandering back via the garden gate we stop to enjoy the hotel lit up for the evening.