We've been busy. We had a lovely boat filled time over New Year, with 6 of us aboard. Becks and Richard were joined by Matthew and Max. We had hoped to hire a car and explore further south but there were no cars to be had for love nor money, we kept phoning and each time they kept saying "mañana".... So we explored closer to home and the visitors seemed content to spend time alternating between sunning themselves on the for deck with books and going on exploratory walks into the city. North of us is a bustling commercial centre, with beaches and boulevards. South is the old town, with superb buildings, a lovely Cathedral and plazas to enjoy. We found that the city has some excellent restaurants, combining traditional Canarian cuisine with new flavours; we had the best tapas we're ever likely to find.

Max and Matthew were keen to try a day sail, saying there's no point coming to stay on a sail boat without sailing, so we set off for Tenerife, however, there was a big swell, which was bouncing off the harbour wall and making quite a confused sea for the first hour, and within the hour both young men succumbed to sea sickness, so, as it would have been a good 8 hour sail, we made them comfortable on the saloon bench, gave them each a just-in-case bucket and turned back. Best cure for sea sickness is sitting under a tree.