We felt it was time to go back to Tenerife and the Marylanza this year. We haven't been since 2019, and that time was full of drama. Hopefully no drama this time.
Spoke too soon! We got to Glasgow Airport and checked in our cases ok, but when we got to the designated gate the place was a rammy. The gate was opposite a bar and our fellow travellers had been making use of the facilities. Copiously.
Good news though: because we hadn't pre-booked seats we were allocated from what was left. Sometimes that means we get split up but in this case we had three seats together right at the front, in the really comfy seats. Most of the revellers were right at the back.
However, one lady in our area had had a few refreshments too many and was swearing at the flight crew. She was moved to right behind me (oh good!) and told if she didn't behave she was being put off. She was a bit calmer until the plane moved off the stance and the crew started the safety announcements.
First she started singing "Fly me to the Moon". She gave out a loud "Wahey!" when the seat belt instructions were given. Then when the flight attendant mentioned the oxygen masks dropping at a loss in pressure she gave out a loud "Boom!" That was enough and they sent the plane back to the stance to chuck her off. "But we're flying already" she complained. "No we're not, we're still on the ground".
So back to the stance we went, police came on and the lady, along with her poor husband, were decanted. We had to wait while their luggage was also removed before finally taking off. The crew announced they were serving nothing but water and later had to ask the rowdy bunch in the back to calm down and also that if they were caught vaping they'd be arrested in Tenerife.
We got to Tenerife South without any further incident and thankfully had the quiet bus to our hotel. Dinner was long gone but the staff had made us up a wee bag with some snacks to last us until the morning. The Munchito crisps were lovely, but the sausage things weren't to my taste. This was our fourth time at the Marylanza so we knew our way to the room, and the layout when we got there. We got unpacked and went to bed, hoping for a quieter rest of the holiday.
This is the only foreign hotel we have returned to. The place has been around for a long time, so shows its age in places, but it's in a quiet area, not too far from las Americas centre, the enclosed pool area is good, and the food is excellent. Not much had changed this year, though the bar area at reception had been redone, and the events room had been done up as well.
No sign of Dana this year, maybe she's been promoted out of the hotel. But the staff were nice, and very helpful. They didn't announce the darts, table tennis and so on as much so we didn't get along to any of the usual daily activities, except for an odd aqua gym session that Claire and Cate took part in, which involved massaging each others' temples among other things.
Importantly the food was still good. Lots of seafood options, which pleased Cate no end, and regular theme nights for Spanish, Oriental, Canarian and so on food. And best of all, they still do chocolate doughnuts for breakfast.
One of the benefits of the hotel is that we can get to the central part of Playa de Las Americas pretty quickly, and we had a few walks down to this area during our time there. This year there were a few noticable differences. There were the usual handbag/sunglasses/hair bead sellers, but also a number of folk in big costumes selling poses with visitors. It was a bit like being in Disneyland, except with a random cast of characters. We saw Sonic, Paw Patrol, Sully, King Kong and even Chucky. There were also a lot of electric scooters about. These were scattered about everywhere and you just sign up to some app to activate them. So there were lots of youngsters speeding about on these. But the older folk weren't to be denied: there were also a lot of mobility scooters, often two seaters, and often driven by people who didn't look disabled in the slightest. They were driven on the pavement and parked randomly, so it was a bit chaotic.
We bought a pair of wired ear-buds on the first time down. However they didn't seem to work so I took them back later in the week. Turns out that the wire was only for power and they were actually bluetooth connected. Strange!
In contrast to the Las Americas area, the Playa de la Vistas beach is much more sedate. We had a nice walk along the beach on one evening. The sun gradually set as we walked and I got a great sunset picture after it had just gone below the trees.
Colin and Evonne had introduced us to the Marylanza, and were in Tenerife again at the same time as us this year with the boys. We met up one evening and sat in one of the bars on the Las Americas strip for a catch-up. The first time we went the kids were around 7-10 and now they're finishing up university. We had a lovely evening. Hope Alistair managed his target for the number of pina coladas drunk during their holiday.
No visit to Tenerife is complete without a trip to Siam Park. This really had to be one of the best water parks in Europe. It was very busy this year, so we didn't get on all the rides, but enjoyed a day there. I've taken lots of pictures before so didn't take too many this time, but really enjoyed our time on the thrill rides, the lazy river and the wave beach.
From recent experience we've found that hiring a car for a few days breaks up the holiday and allows us to visit some places we probably wouldn't if relying on public transport or excursions. This year we had a car for three days, booked through the hotel, so it was nice and easy.
On the first day we visited a couple of small towns on the island. First was La Laguna, one of the older places, and site of the only university for a while. We visited the cathedral, and walked up to the bell tower. Opposite the bell tower we found a museum of a typical Canarian house, which had a nice cafe in the courtyard, so we had a relaxed lunch there.
Next was La Orotava, up in the north of the island. As a contrast to La Laguna, this place was very hilly, and while offering some good views was hard work walking about. We found a garden with a lot of steps and a good view over the church and town.
Part of the deal at the Marylanza is that you get a free night at one of its two a la carte restaurants. Previously there was just one, and we'd missed it before for various reasons, but this year they also had a Japanese restaurant, so we thought we'd try that. It was a great experience. We sat at a long counter and were served a variety of sushi while the chef cooked the next courses in front of us. She made prawns, then fried rice, including an attempt to flip a piece of omelette into each diner's mouth. Then we had veal with vegetables and finally pancakes and ice cream. It was lots of fun, and something a bit different from the usual buffet.
Second day with the car and we drove round to the north to visit Loro Park. We had bought twin tickets for Siam and Loro, and though we've been to both before, they're both worth another visit. We had a wander round to view the various animals. The white tiger put on a good show, and the penguin enclosure is very well done. We joined the crowds for the orca show and the dolphin show, and had a meal in one of the restuarants before heading back.
For the last car day we wanted to visit a beach other than the nearby ones. There is one near the airport called Playa de la Tejita, with dark volcanic sand and nice big bay. It was pretty quiet but was also fairly windy, so the breakers were fairly rolling in. So much so that Cate had her goggles ripped off her head by one wave, and we weren't able to find them again. We explored the hill at the end of the beach and the mini bay round the corner.
Back to the hotel and for the last few days it was poolside, dinner and a walk down to the town each evening. We tried to get some sunset shots, but a bit of a gastric emergency cut that short the first day. But we had some lovely sunset views the next evening.
It was time to leave only too soon, and as I handed back the towels for my deposit return, who was there at reception but Dana! Still there after all these years. The flight was a late one, and thankfully not delayed by the same drunken crowd as before. It was also an old 737, so we didn't have the chance of the fancy seats on the way home. A 4am taxi ride back to Houston and it was all over for another year.
Weight watch this year: I lost 5 pounds. Don't know if it's the change in diet or all the swimming but I'm not complaining.