Prohibition translated into German

It states clearly in the Bahia Principe guest services guide that reserving sun beds is forbidden. Of course this does not deter the fairly large German contingent from emerging from their rooms before dawn in order to place towels on their loungers.

This matters not a jot to me, in fact it has been a source of entertainment as I know the rules, so, wherever I want to sunbathe it is a simple task to  jettison the towel  left in the traditional Deutsch-mark  of reservation, and take up residence.

Perhaps I should not have gone to the effort of having the prohibition translated into German and having a hundred or so copies run off, but there is some expression about  idle hands? Anyway, I refrained from mentioning the war and I think I got away with it.

But not for the first time, I digress. There is a 10 euro refundable deposit for a beach towel at the resort. The hotel will charge your bank card and when you return the towel they give you the money back in cash and this gave me an idea for later. We had decided to step out of resort life for the morning and took a long walk along the fantastically beautiful Tenerife shoreline. A couple of miles away we came cross a pretty village seemingly seldom visited by tourists which was much more ethnic Canarian than anything else we have so far encountered, that we decided to stop for a beer or two. Having but 8 euros in cash with us, we asked if they would take a bank card but the Spanish shrug of the shoulders told us that we were expecting to much. Thus with the cash spent we returned to the resort and I decided to get some cash for the inevitable return visit.

The hotel wanted to charge me a 5% fee for cash and that was when I had the brain wave. I asked if we could get 10 towels for which they charged 100 euros which is around £80 at today’s Currencies Direct exchange rate .   I then handed back the towels for a 100 euros in cash and bingo, 5% saved just like that. It is little victories like that which inspire an old  businessman like myself to keep going.

Chaps determined to make the most of the beach before the tide comes in

My picture today is of the tiny bay in this little Canarian village which was considerably bigger when we arrived because the tide was out. These guys are obviously determined to make the most of a sunbathe on the beach, or more likely are about to get a rather wet awakening. Had we more cash for another beer we would have waited for the inevitable.

In perfect weather under blue skies and with a free bar, we were surprisingly abstemious, settling for just a couple of beers before regrouping ready for the most fantastic sunset. Gins and tonic as the sun goes down made England seem a long way away, but arrangements continue to be made for our return. That Nice Lady Decorators assertion that upon our return we shall have no social occasions and no drinking prior to MIDEM in Cannes in 25th has already received a setback. Dinners, lunches and chaps coming to stay have already eroded that iron will, that personally I never had, to hitch myself to the wagon of temperance.

Last night we partook of a very good buffet followed by some entertainment. Now call me old-fashioned if you like but I was singularly not entertained by a terrible duo singing badly and without conviction to a much better backing track. How on earth they could be so bad with the support of properly pre-recorded musicians said a great deal  about the entertainment standards at a resort such as this.

Chris France
@Valbonne_News