Second Day in Tenerife

This proved a full-on day which we all enjoyed.

Breakfast was a buffet but with waiter service and a chef preparing omelettes. It was copious and I’ve grown to like the crispy Canary bread. We did not miss the screaming kids of the Lanzarote hotel but we did the pink vin moscato sparkler.

After breakfast we walked to the nearby botanical gardens called Jardin de Aclimitacion de la Orotova which go way back to 1788 when King Charles III decreed a garden for plants from the tropics.

It’s not a large area, like say Kew, but a rectangular configuration which you can walk around in 20 minutes.

Most of the plants are cacti but the cypress tree which greets you on arrival is beautiful.

After that we all relaxed by the hotel pool. Happily this was largely deserted. Some by a pool sunbathe, others read, one of course had to be on his mobile. A light lunch was taken in the pool cafe the Palmeira after which the party withdrew to their rooms for a siesta.

The hotel puts on a lot of daily activities.

At 6.00pm there was wine-tasting. As wine tasting goes this was a tad meagre as we only sampled 2 wines, a red Marba made from six grapes and a white Tajinaste ,a local vineyard.

Both were tasty enough but at 10 euros not cheap. The tutor appeared to be the barman and his knowledge was scanty. We would like to know how wine is produced in this arid volcanic land.

Dinner was in the Italian Papagayo restaurant. I had a spaghetti vongole, osso buco and panna cotta – all delicious – and the grappa was complimentary.

We headed to the bar where a dance combo of two female vocalists and two male instrumentalists called the Mencey Band were in full swing. They attracted dancers to the floor and these were accomplished.

The dancers knew the steps and had a grace that belied their years and figures.

It’s an old-fashioned hotel with an elderly clientele so dancing as in cruises is de rigeur. We had a couple of brandies here which were at least trebles so the alcohol consumption was now high.

By 10.30pm I was wilting. Normally I am bad sleeper, suffering from nightmares, but perhaps influenced by the evening I dreamed quite pleasantly that I was invited to a dance marathon organised by Hugh Grant. Fortunately I woke up before it was my turn to strut my stuff!