Day 2 – Lazy days and sunbed shenanigans

Oh, what a beautiful morning!

I woke up early on that first morning and armed with my iPad and sunglasses went for a walk (leaving Fi snoozing …or was that snoring in bed!). The sun was already up, warming the day as I headed out with a big smile on my face.

Ending up at the pool area, I sat down in the sunshine at one of the tables to write notes for this blog, something I’d not had much time to do before.

I was pretty much oblivious to the world around me. Just happy that it was sunny!

Sunbed-Gate

Later I would discover I had made a crucial mistake at that moment…

When I arrived early at the pool area, despite the early hour, there were already tell-tale signs that the hardcore sunbathers (and there were many of them) had been out at some point even earlier and dumped their towels on the best-placed sunbeds, reserving their places for later …and had then gone back to bed!

In fact, according to the Sun Bed Mafia (who I introduced in my last blog post), some even went out under the cover of darkness to place their towels on the sunbeds.

I later realised I had been oblivious to the battle for sunbeds raging around me and so had completely failed to grab the last couple of beds with the all-day sun. You would have thought I would have noticed the towel disputes and tantrums over spilt suncream, particularly when in one instance half the bottle has been splatted all over the poolside!

The Sunbed Mafia

In that first day, we learned a lot about sunbed etiquette from a couple in their 60s …specifically, there was no etiquette, it was every man for himself!

(Actually, that’s mostly an insult to men on this occasion, as it was mainly women who were fighting to get the ultimate tan!)

It turned out the best beds for all-day sun were the ones away from the trees, however, you had to be up early to get one (which meant in the middle of the night!) – and the ‘ultimate’ sunbeds were the ones between the two pools.

The Sunbed Mafia made it clear, in no uncertain terms, those were THEIR beds and we’d be flipped off into the pool should be so foolish to try and use them.

(and then no doubt taken behind the pool bar and shot beside a conveniently placed garden for burying the bodies! Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a little, but like I said, when talking about the sunbeds there was definitely a mafioso feel to the two of them!)

So, yes, in my first morning happy daze I had missed all of this! …however, there would be no Mrs Nice Guy the next day! I was getting us two decent beds no matter who or what came my way!

Lazing in the sun

I’ll make this bit quick as I know you don’t want to hear about us lazing in the sunshine doing nothing without a care in the world. Just reading snoozing and… well… nothing!

After a leisurely breakfast, we’d had to settle for sunbeds in the shade – a disaster (particularly for Fi she doesn’t do shade!), but within an hour we were back on track.

…and there we stayed lazing in the sun all day, pausing only for lunch and a beer!

I did take a quick dip in the pool …OMG! …sooooooo cold!

No wonder we never saw any of the older folk in the pools …the shock of the cold water would have brought on an instant heart attack!

And that was pretty much our first day by the pool …so exhausting, I can tell you!

Out and about in Playa Blanca

Late afternoon, we decided to be a little more energetic and head out into Playa Blanca for a walk, discovering the hotel was less than a 5-minute walk from the Prom.

We strolled along the Prom toward the Marina and it was a lovely walk. The evening weather was just perfect, warm but still with a bit of a breeze blowing.

The Marina was full of great-looking bars and restaurants, a bit empty at that time but no doubt great later in the evening, all with terraces looking out to watch the setting sun.

We took our time checking out some lovely places we planned to pop back to for a drink or shopping later in the week.

(Of course, our social calendar for the week was sooooo busy (doing nothing) that we never made it back!)

With G&T time fast approaching we stomped back, with Fi setting a fast pace. It was only when we reached our terrace with said G&T in hand that we were amazed to discover how far we’d walked.

As we headed back, the scene over the beach was beautiful, and we just managed to catch the sun setting …beautiful!

The tent bar

That evening to avoid any queue we headed for dinner early. It was quieter than the daytime, and we even spotted a few younger people. A rough calculation suggested the average age might have dropped to as little as 65!

That didn’t mean those olds left hadn’t already totally decimated the cheese mountain …the Cheese Locusts had decimated the supply leaving very little and no stilton. Where on earth did the olds put it all?!

Nonetheless, the food was great again and I tried a few things I hadn’t tried before. We also managed to avoid the rough and tumble of old people’s elbows, so no bruises! Wahey!

The entertainment in the pool bar that evening was a magician (or circus act? …who knows!), but Fi and I didn’t fancy it …though I’m sure the older people would have loved it, no doubt reminding them of their care home back in the UK!

So instead we headed to the other bar, a Moroccan-themed tent bar, complete with hookah water pipes (not that Fi and I tried them …give us a G&T any day!)

This became our new favourite bar, not only did it have a nice chilled atmosphere, the average age there was more life 50! …we were probably the ‘olds’!

So, we spent a lovely evening in there chatting …and ermmm drinking! – Well, it was a bar!