Playa de la Arena - Barcelo Veradero - Holiday update

So, Saturday morning we wake up, turn off the aircon (brr!), throw open the curtains to reveal a blinding sunrise (for some odd reason I was expecting clouds and rain) slid back the balcony doors (in order to let a little heat in), showered, dressed and slapped on the suncream (hate sunburn)...

...we nipped in to listen to the (Italian) rep and a (fat British) timeshare guy try and tempt everyone to book onto one of their massively overpriced excursions (which we resisted with little difficulty, sipping our complimentary orange juice with nonchalent indifference) and then headed out down the cliff road to find some breakfast...we settled in "The Pilgrim" a sort of English pub with only one wall (the rest was covered balcony, meaning that smoking was still allowed, the Spanish government seems to have largely banned it in public places since our last visit). It basked in this stunning view over the beach and commercial centre (not forgetting the awesome Los Gigantes in the background), however, the food didn't quite match the quality of the vista (being a bit cold and not exactly on the generous side), but it was *really* only a pub I suppose, it wasn't pretending to be a posh resturant... ;) -

On the way back up to the apartamentos we decided to stop off at the big supermarcardo to get some supplies, we had been tipped off (usefully) by the rep during the induction meeting that the two closest to the hotel were rather costly, comparitively, but the one all the locals used was only about 5 minutes further on down the road (we had actually spotted it on the way to dinner on Friday evening)...walking through the automatic doors into the cool (and slightly malodorous) interior was a real eye opener (and nose pincher)...When Flyingpops went to pick up one of the baskets we noticed the handles were different colours and totally different lengths, she looked up at me and with a bit of a frown said "Am I missing something here?", I seem to recall muttering something about it being jolly peculiar (a picture in my head of holding the basket normally and it being tipped at 45 degrees) then taking hold of it to try and understand when I saw someone zip passed us pulling the basket along on the floor with the longer handle...spinning it over revealed several tiny metal casters set into the bottom, so they were mini trolley/baskets! Astonishingly simple, I really have no idea why we don't we have them in England!

Walking around the store revealed a number of quite unfamiliar sights and smells, the meat section for example (I toyed with the idea of sneaking one back in my hand luggage, but I think the trotter sticking out the top of my rucksack might have given it away to customs) -

- and the fish(!), that monk fish was so large it would have comfortably covered my torso, and could have swallowed my arm (if it had been a) not dead, b) hungry and c) fancying a wild dietary change) -

- and heaps of octopus and squid(!) which members of staff were spraying incautiously with a hose to keep moist (they hit me also - to much blushing and gushing of apologetic sounding Spanish) -

Beer was super cheap too, between 60-80 cents per can, so we stocked up with a mixture of local and imported varieties and a few bottles of wine, plus some Sangrea (which came home with us in the suitcase, undrunk)...plus some sliced spicy chorizo, cheese, bread, cakes and sweets...and then the rest of the day was spent by/in the pool (which was to set the pattern for much of the rest of our time away) -

- the afternoon was only punctuated by an extremely vigorous game of water polo which Flyingpops, her dad and a stranger (young lass) lost to three large Finnish males, which wasn't really an even match (but was more than compensated for when Tom falsely extorted a winners certificate and bottle of champagne from a different member of staff 2 days later! Hehehe... ;)

In the evening we decided to get a cab to the yacht marina (down in Los Gigantes) which cost about 4 Euros, we got totally lost trying to follow the ludicrously detail-light resort map the rep had given us, but thankfully the dead end down which we found ourselves was also home to the police station, and some helpful officers not only pointed us in the right direction but actually recommended their favorite resturant, so a rather fortunate navigational stumble... ;) I had grilled lamb chops (which were exquisite) not sure about the single onion ring though, bit stingy... ;)

When we got back to the apartments we had a quick drink in the bar (watching the tail end of the evening's entertainment) and then retired to Flyingpop's folks room for a nightcap (some absolutely apalling (purportedly 10 year old) Whiskey Flyingpops' dad had grabbed excitedly in the supermarket when he saw the 6 Euro price tag)...and then to bed...