Somebody else's pool

Martin, whose place we're staying in, gave us a wonderfully helpful list of places to go to and things to see in Gran Canaria and in Playa del Inglés/Maspalomas especially. Today we followed his directions and made our way to the beach. This immediately brought up the confusion about where Playa del Inglés ends and Maspalomas begins. Whichever is which, though, one thing is certain: the beach we were at today is a really lovely one. This was just an exploratory trip, so no lying in the sun or splashing in the sea was involved.

Our route took us past the hotel I stayed in back in the late '80s and early '90s when I made it a regular thing to holiday in Playa del Inglés in December. The old place has seen considerable improvement since I frequented it, and now the vacant lot which was beside it in those days is taken up with the Yumbo Centre, which is jam-packed with restaurants and bars and is the main night spot. We also passed a couple of other hotels, one of which had this swimming pool in its grounds.

On our walk back home we came across a wonderful bar manned by a terrifically animated and wonderfully welcoming waiter. He's typical of the friendliness and real hospitality we're finding everywhere, all of which contributes to the excellent impression we're getting here.

We followed another of Martin's suggestions after a bit of a siesta and chose one of the places he recommended for eating in. It was on the pricey side (by Playa standards -- things are generally very reasonably priced), and what had been an enjoyable experience was rather spoiled at the end by a disappointing dessert.