We began the day with the breakfast buffet and then a walk North from the hotel. Since our hotel is situated at the North end of the beach, the walk is along the elevated rocky edge of the water, more reminiscent of the Oregon coast. Along this route we found fishers fishing and others just lounging, one guy even doing a crossword out on the rocks.
We returned for lunch, and walked South along the beach in the afternoon, then later in the afternoon, we applied good quantities of sunblock and hit the beach ourselves. The sand is warm, but the water wasn't as warm as we expected. You can still get in and stay in, in fact, looking around, you'd think it was very warm. It was nice to lay out on our towels and dry off. The weather here is usually overcast, so there's not an abundance of sun to toast you right away.
After showering and taking a perhaps ill-advised nap (not quite adjusting), we went out for dinner. We didn't listen to our subconsciouses, which told us to avoid places where we never saw anyone else eating. The place we sat at failed to impress in more ways that one. First, Misty asked for a Ginger Ale, or 7-up, or Sprite. The waitress came back and said they were out of those, and then too
k our food order. She then came back a short while later and told us that although they were out of 7-up, we would have to order something from the bar in order to eat there (can't go with no drink), so we ended up (not) splitting a coke. The food itself left a lot to be desired. We tried a little fish variety plate, which was turned out to be different that expected, with some not-so-great sauces. The cured ham and melon was half good, that is, the melon was fantastic, but the meat tasted funny (that place in Venice had the cured ham and melon down). The spaghetti bolognaise was ok, but just not that appealing, especially to me on my stomach.
We grabbed some ice cream at a nearby spot and then headed back. On the way, we saw this hilarious sign for a Mexican restaurant that we will have to try.
T
oday we did some non-vacationy things. I took the shuttle to the conference and gave a talk at the PROPER2008 workshop, while Misty worked on her pattern and sat on the beach a little. The University campus is... interesting, it's not so well defined as a campus. It's nice, with palm trees and good bus service, and residential areas all around. We had to walk quite a while for the lunch at the cafeteria.
The goal of Sunday was to check out the local market. The Globetrotter Travel Guide to the Canary Islands boasts an open-air market on Sunday with over 250 stalls. We walked for hours and found nothing. We went to every area with the word Catalina in it and found no market. Thanks Globetrotter.
Walking further and we find the music hall (Auditorio Alfredo Kraus). It is a very elegant building right on the rocky coast. The decorations all over the building were ocean themed. Medusa has octopus legs instead of snakes...
After a lot more walking and staring at the blue, blue ocean, we ended the day at La Olivia. Dinner was a bowl of papas arrugadas, a salad with cheese made on the island, and a plate of little fried sardines. I ate all but 4 of the little fishies, which were very tasty.
We began the day with the breakfast buffet and then a walk North from the hotel. Since our hotel is situated at the North end of the beach, the walk is along the elevated rocky edge of the water, more reminiscent of the Oregon coast. Along this route we found fishers fishing and others just lounging, one guy even doing a crossword out on the rocks.
We returned for lunch, and walked South along the beach in the afternoon, then later in the afternoon, we applied good quantities of sunblock and hit the beach ourselves. The sand is warm, but the water wasn't as warm as we expected. You can still get in and stay in, in fact, looking around, you'd think it was very warm. It was nice to lay out on our towels and dry off. The weather here is usually overcast, so there's not an abundance of sun to toast you right away.
After showering and taking a perhaps ill-advised nap (not quite adjusting), we went out for dinner. We didn't listen to our subconsciouses, which told us to avoid places where we never saw anyone else eating. The place we sat at failed to impress in more ways that one. First, Misty asked for a Ginger Ale, or 7-up, or Sprite. The waitress came back and said they were out of those, and then too
k our food order. She then came back a short while later and told us that although they were out of 7-up, we would have to order something from the bar in order to eat there (can't go with no drink), so we ended up (not) splitting a coke. The food itself left a lot to be desired. We tried a little fish variety plate, which was turned out to be different that expected, with some not-so-great sauces. The cured ham and melon was half good, that is, the melon was fantastic, but the meat tasted funny (that place in Venice had the cured ham and melon down). The spaghetti bolognaise was ok, but just not that appealing, especially to me on my stomach.
We grabbed some ice cream at a nearby spot and then headed back. On the way, we saw this hilarious sign for a Mexican restaurant that we will have to try.
Wow. Flying is rough. We spent 28 1/2 hours in airports and planes. That doesn't include driving to the airport in Eugene and the time driving from the airport in Las Palmas to the hotel.
We have decided to take it easy today. After breakfast, we walked the walkway along the beach. The plants here are amazing. Aloe, palm, cactus, and bright colored flowers. There are little striped huts that hold all the blue beach chairs along the way. There are also multiple life guards sitting around watching the water. It is very quiet here, calm. No sand or water yet, maybe tomorrow.
We are resting (and obviously blogging) right now. We will find a quiet dinner later. Maybe at 'The Laughing Pig.'
