Puerto Rico harbourOla! Yes, we have returned, and just like any British Holidaymaker worth their salt, totally traumatised by sunstroke and 3rd degree sunburn! Yes alas, dear reader, we got well and truely hit...
But before I share the wonders of sub-tropical sunburn, let me begin as the holiday began...at the beginning!! (I'm going all Stephen Fry on my ass).
The week started well, flying from Manchester in the early morning of Monday 11th September, and eventually reached the resort of Puerto Rico on the south coast of Gran Canaria around 2pm. We dumped our bags, and looked out over the balcony.
The view was absolutely beautiful.
The Cala D'Or apartments are located halfway up the cliffs (it's a flippin' mountain- 187 steps to climb- or get a taxi for 2.40 euros lol) but that didn't hinder us at all. The apartment, B313, was spacious and clean, with a lovely balcony with a beautiful sea view. The only reservation we had, was as we were 3 star, you would expect air conditioning. No. And the added insult was you had to hire a fan, at 30 Euros per week (10 acted as a deposit and was returned upon departure). It merely moved warm air around. Definitely NOT the place to stay if you were holidaying June/July/August when the sub-tropical sun is at its strongest.
The town of Puerto Rico is set in a valley, with the town centre beneath us with all amenities you could wish for. The mouth of the valley was met by the beautiful azure, crystal clear Atlantic Ocean, marina/harbour and man made beach (sand imported from the Sahara, which is along the same latitude, around 700 miles east).
A fabulous time was had by all...we drank, we ate, the rum was flowing and we had a lovely time pottering around by day,
and we walked along the beach at night, so romantic...
Celia paddling in the sea
Our view at night Now I am naturally very shy when it comes to try to speak other languages- I'm always very self conscious of how crap I'm doing that I trail off and hide. I think this stems from doing my oral exam in German at school...gave a perfect answer to a question, and the teacher lent over and said "great answer...now try it in German, you just did it in French". It honestly traumatised me, and I've never been the same since.
Well the ace AA Gran Canaria guide D bought said "Canarians love you trying to speak some Spanish". Now I only studied German and French at school. The fragments of Spanish I have, are from my pal Jane at work, who has been doing evening classes.
So, I threw myself at the Canarians mercy and went for it!!
The Canarians love you trying...they are fluent English speakers, but their little faces light up when you say "gracias", "por pavor" etc. They beam and their little faces reminded me of when my Mum was proud of a drawing I brought home from school of a Fire Engine when I was 6.
We made quite a few friends when we were there...off the furry type. Yes, you've guessed it, local tame feral cats. I must be honest I was wary of even touching them at first, but D was smitten and they weren't at all nasty or funny, all purrs and cuteness! D gave them wee saucers of water at night and they truely appreciated it because of the heat. I think other visitors and the apartment owners themselves do their bit too, as the males weren't, how can I put it politely, 'entire' (ahem)...
They were a welcome distraction too, when we caught the sun on Wednesday...it's now been a week and my back is still killing me. It only took 15 minutes (and we had lotion on too) but the sub-tropical sun hits hard even in September. It knocked us on our sides (I would say backs, but I couldn't lie on it) for 2 days, and I was unable to leave the apartment, as even wearing something over my back was murder, and I couldn't bear the heat of the sun, even through a top.
Thankfully a rep from a suntan firm visted the Cala D'or, and we bought their skin repair lotion and heavy-duty moisturiser/rehydrator. Cracking stuff, worked miracles, and the best thing too...all natural product, no chemicals.
So by the weekend, although still tender, we were able to get back out, and explored the area.
On the last day, on Sunday, we signed up for a 2 and a half hr Dolphin cruise. We went out with an apparent 80% of seeing some dolphins in the ocean.
What absolute crap. No sign of dolphins anywhere. It ended up being 3 hrs as the captain became more and more obviously stressed, and by the time we returned, some people were near to throwing up as it had been pretty choppy 2 miles out on the Atlantic!
We retuned pretty crestfallen- afterall, we'd wasted our last afternoon sat in a ferry, and as D said "there's only so many times you can say ' ooh isn't the sea blue". No music, nothing. At least we had a toilet. The only blessing I think, was that it had gone quite overcast, so my covered back didn't get another roasting.
We returned to base, dusted ourselves off, and decided to hit the beers, the vodka, the local Gran Canarian rum Ron Miel (absolutely gorgeous) and our favourite restaurant, Miami, who introduced us to the honey rum. They give you two shot glasses and a bottle of Ron Miel with your bill!
The food in there is absolutely fabulous...if you visit Puerto Rico, you MUST dine in Miami's. We adored their steaks (12" plates and it covers three quarters of it- cooked to your preference and to perfection, along with lovely salad and a big bowl of fries). The rest of their food is also fantastic.
D enjoying Sunday roast at Miami's!Plus they were helping me with my humble attempts with Spanish- "how do I say..."- so warm and friendly and appreciated my efforts. Mind you, that goes for all the Canarians...warm, friendly, and above all, genuine.
We plan to return, but this time for two weeks. As Arnie says, "We will be back!"
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