28:51.449N 13:48.936W

Arrived at Marina Rubicon on Lanzarote at 16:00hrs on Thursday after a pretty uneventful trip  .

We were directed to the reception pontoon where we were met and assisted by a Marinero . All very efficient and friendly . Elena , in the office , was extremely friendly and helpful and gave us a great berth near to the facilities but far enough away from all the bars and restaurants to give us peaceful evenings.

Rubicon is a massive development and marina but like Quinta Do Lorde a good percentage of it is closed .There are still plenty of  bars and restaurants open but Thursday night we had the restaurant to ourselves. We ordered two Campari and sodas and what I thought was a nice touch , the waiter arrived with a bottle only 1/4  full and after pouring our drinks there was still a decent tot left in the bottle which he generously upended into our glasses saying “ we may as well finish the bottle “. That’s nice I thought. Last night we ate at a different restaurant and ordered two Campari and sodas. Lo and behold the waiter turned up with a bottle only 1/4  full and did exactly the same . Do you spot a pattern here ? Janet and I being extremely cynical aare going out for a Campari and soda tonight but have a plan . We’re going to ask for a second one . I have a feeling the second one won’t be poured at the table .

I’m looking forward to trying some of the local cuisine such as “Chicharron” ( crackling) ,”sanchoco”(fish stew ) , “puchero canario”spicy pork and “pollo al ajillo”( chicken in garlic).

There are ,however, a few specialities that concern me.  One being millet consome !! Having made consome myself I am well aware of the amount of time it takes to squeeze every molecule of flavour from your stock before clarifying it until perfectly  clear , but for the life of me I can’t think of any way of developing a tasty stock from birdseed! Another dish I am more than a little dubious about is Canary Pottage . I’ll leave you to stew over that one.

Though I have yet to see a canary they are apparently ubiquitous on these islands  so unless they are as camera shy as dolphins I’ll try and get you some photos. By the way , I’ve already seen a Canary Driving School and a Canary Diving Centre – makes you wonder !

On our way back from our meal last night we passed by a busy little bar with a nice chap playing a rather pleasant little ditty on  the Spanish guitar so we thought we would stop for a drink . Plopped ourselves down with a good seat to enjoy the entertainment and ordered a bottle of wine . I  like a bit of Spanish guitar , makes a change from Janet’s ukulele ! Wine poured , settled in and next tune about to start . Horror of horrors he began strumming away and singing :”Wellow wiver “ , followed by “tie a wellow wibbon , sweet cawoline” and a raft  of other Spanish favourites .  I don’t think I’ve demolished a bottle of wine so quickly in my life .

I think I might have a night in tonight and let Janet sing to her hearts content to the Uke , and I’ll think to myself how lucky I am.