We set off for Stansted at a leisurely time of 9.15am. I found it painful to even get into the car with my back and hoped that the painkiller I had taken would kick in by the time we got there. My improvised bandana I had worn in bed to stop the dressing on my head coming off had worked and my pillow was not a bloodied mess.
The drive was easy as I drove along with a cap on to try not to frighten other drivers with my still oozing head dressing.
As I did so I tried to recall some more of the famous Oscar Wilde quotes I had read whilst in Dublin. It would be good to be remembered for quotes that have made it into the national psyche. Things like ‘Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much’ and ‘Everything in moderation, including moderation’. Then I recalled how many sayings and even words that Shakespear came up with that most people don’t even realise came from him. Of course, we should not forget Norwich’s own Sir Thomas Browne whose many achievements include coming up with the word ‘electricity’. I’m not sure I have any phases or saying that will be remembered or that I often repeat although I think the boys may beg to differ. It also puts my personal achievement of publishing a book that is still selling in its ‘ones’ into perspective.
Anyhow we arrived at Stansted Meet & Greet car park (there had been an offer on when I booked) on time and were soon in the terminal in the security queue. Both our hand luggage bags were ‘selected’ for examination – mine for a bar of soap and the first Mrs Clare’s for her some gel.
We walked to the Escape Lounge where as usual we were put on the waiting list. It took the best part of an hour before getting the text telling us we could enter which was strange as the lounge was less than half full when we sat down. We didn’t mind though as the flight was showing a 50-minute delay. We both had pie & mash washed down with some glasses of pink fizz. Somehow some tuna sandwiches may have found their way into my bag for the flight.
Boarding was quick and easy although somehow Karen managed to get a young ground staff lad to carry her bags from the terminal all the way to her seat and put up in the overhead locker. I didn’t ask how.
We cheered when they announced boarding was complete as we had a spare seat next to us and quickly spread out.
I may have had a quick doze in between reading ‘Camino Island’ on my kindle. During my doze Karen lavished herself with a cup of tea. On the final service run they announced all food was now half price and so we both had a hot toastie which was actually very good at that price.
On landing we had to take a bus to the airport. Whilst waiting at immigration we could hear people in the queue all laughing that everyone around them seemed coincidently also to be from Norwich. We kept quiet. And our heads down.
Then the fun started. I had booked a car at a bargain price for the week from Gold Car. We quickly realised that so had loads of other people. All the other car rental counters had loads of staff working. Gold Car had one person who was taking on average 15 minutes to process each person. We waited 45 minutes before giving up as I reckoned there was at least 6 more bookings ahead of us.
Instead, we got a taxi to take us to La Penita where we knew we had an escape room challenge to get into the apartment.
We knew the complex was having major building works and was closed for normal bookings as the reception area was being demolished. However, one block was owned by individuals, and we had booked through Airbnb. As the normal entrances were closed, we were instructed in translated Spanish to find a hidden door (gate) where nearby would be a hanging lock with a key inside to get through that gate. Eventually we found the gate and then the lock and accessed the key. Then it was a case of working out which block we were in with no signage.
We finally made it up to the apartment where we had to access another key box to get the key to get in. With some relief we had made it. Karen was happy with the apartment which had been modernised and faced the ‘perfect’ direction even if the kitchen/lounge area was slightly smaller than the ones we normally stay in.
After quickly settling in we headed out to Spar to get some milk and breakfast cereals. Karen was by now extremely tired and so we headed straight back to make ourselves some drinks.
For the first time I started to wonder if we had done the right thing in coming at all. Even the walk along the prom to Spar I had felt none of the usual excitement at being here and wondered if we were now tired of Lanzarote and our yearly trips. I hoped it was just down to tiredness and everything that had gone before.
I also started my arguments with the car rental company via the online chat facility. I agreed to contact them again the next day.
By 10.30pm I was exhausted and very sore from my back and went to bed. Karen soon followed.
In the morning – Karen’s words to me were that ‘She had done something very stupid’. She had realised after I had gone to bed that she had not packed any of her prescription tablets or non-prescription tablets apart from those relating to her back. She was in a mild panic, but we calmly worked out that she should be OK for a few days apart from her anti histamine that we should be able to source here.
I did point out that if she spent more time on priority packing like medication and much much much less hours laying out different clothes combinations then this wouldn’t have happened. After all we are never going to see anyone, we see on this trip ever again.
Whilst in bed I concluded my online chat with the car rental people. I managed to get most of the money back and promised them a very negative review.
I was in real agony when I did make it out of bed. Every slight movement seemed to cause a nip in my back. I dragged myself to the bathroom and gulped down one of my loathed painkillers for the third day in a row. I just hoped it would provide some relief. After a welcome cuppa I got in the shower and let the hot water pound my back for as long as the hot water lasted. Very gingerly I got dressed and we decided to head out for a walk to Matagorda. We had no idea if either of us would make the 2.5 mile walk there but we had all day to try.
We made slow progress and as we walked my back gradually eased into the day. The weather was a lovely warm temperature, and we could tell the sun would gradually burn off the clouds. We had a couple of stops before we reached the beginning of Matagorda where Karen decided she needed caffeine to fuel the rest of the walk.
After this we made our way the rest of the planned walk and arrived at O’Sheas – our favourite Irish run café. We found a table in the half shade and ordered a full English Breakfast for Karen and a full Irish one for me. They were well worth the walk, and we washed it down with pots of ‘Barry’s’ tea.
Suddenly Lanzarote seemed fine again. This is always our favourite walk here and indeed our favourite thing to do in Lanzarote. You can leave all the cheap bars and music; this will do for us. A lovely walk in the sunshine. A good chat putting the world to rights with a nice end point. We had made it, and we were confident that in our own time that Karen would make the walk back despite it being a slight incline in parts.
We did have more stops on the return journey than on the way there and went in a pharmacy to get Karen some anti histamine tablets to deal with her constant hay fever.
By the time we were almost back she was flagging. She fancied a beer to get her over the line as such but didn’t want to sit in a bar. Her choice and I stress her choice was to go into Spar and buy a cold can of Heineken which she then downed in almost one on a bench outside. The phrase ‘like a hobo’ may have been mentioned by me. Her defence was that we had been here for almost 24 hours without her having any alcohol – irrelevant but true.
Back in the apartment the sun was full on our balcony. We sat out for a while before having to retreat inside for some shade.
Before going out we opened after a struggle a bottle of Vina Sol we had bought in Spar for 5.50 Euros (later we saw the restaurant was selling at 19 Euros a bottle) and had a refreshing glass.
Karen was not up for walking far, so we turned left again and went to another old favourite ‘Napolina’. We like this place as it is an authentic Italian run by an Italian family with proper home cooked Italian food. We got a lovely table and started with a ½ litre of Sangria and shared some garlic bread. I then had the most delicious carbonara pizza whilst Karen had Salmon Pasta that was also excellent. Karen washed it down with a strong Irish coffee and we were given some shots with the bill.
We were both tired by now and so by 9.15pm we were happily back in the apartment having a welcome cuppa and sat for a while planning future trips and days out. I was again in bed by 10.30pm with my makeshift bandana back on. It was good being able to get into bed without too much pain, but I guessed that in the morning it would be back to square one again.
