11:05 - Had a ridiculously long lie-in this morning (9am...it's ridiculous for me, OK) but forced myself out of bed to attend breakfast. Been hibernating for the rest of the morning since as I'm feeling quite worn out at the moment. I think it's the physical exertion I've been putting myself through these past couple of days, especially walking up and down 5 flights of stairs on a regular basis. My calf muscles are aching today because of it. Got the yacht cruise this afternoon so I think I'll just stay inside until then. As tempting as the beach always is, I think I'm best off just getting as much rest as I can this morning to stand me in better stead for the afternoon and evening. Apparently the hotel is putting on a beach party tonight so that should be interesting.
13:28 - Just boarded the coach that will be taking us to the Catlanza Cruise. Did spend about 45 minutes on the beach this morning, foolhardily omitting to wear sunscreen due to the short length of time I would be out for. Tomorrow will prove whether I was lucky enough to get away with it.
The coach is stopping at the sister hotel just up the road; it's only just occurred to me that it might be worth exploring the beach in the other direction also, northwards instead of southwards. Also, I seem to have lost a bit of weight these past few days, no doubt owing to exertion and reduced food intake. Who'da thunk it? Going on holiday has done more for my belly fat in 3 days than weeks of sustained home exercise ever did. Lesson learned kids - want to lose weight fast? Go on holiday somewhere nice.
As I'm going to be out in the open all afternoon, I've decided to wear my Tenerife sombrero. I also applied sunscreen all over. A perfect example perhaps of stable door shutting post-horse bolting but that is of no consequence now. If I'm going to be spending several hours outdoors when I've already exposed myself to the sunshine without sunscreen then even I recognise the importance of taking precautions. I'm not THAT stupid.
16:18 - Currently anchored (I presume, either that or just floating on the spot) off the coast of Lanzarote. Bloody good cruise so far, been for a swim in the sea which was...how can I put it? When you've only ever swam in a swimming pool before, knowing that even if it's deeper than your body height the floor isn't too far off and you can always swim to the sides. Imagine knowing only that, then jumping into the open sea. Fucking hell, it was a nice swim but right from the get-go I had a heightened sense of my own mortality. Also, despite knowing full well that sea water is incredibly salty, it never occurred to me to pinch my nose or tuck my lips inside my mouth before entering the water. Yeuch. Other than that though it was good. Then of course it had to be the jet ski ride...WHOO! Genuinely thrilling, not least for the fact I felt like I was going to be thrown out of the craft, but it was great fun. The girl before me went twice (once with her mother, once with her father) and I can see why! I'd definitely go again if I could. Now I'm just relaxing on the side of the yacht writing this diary entry. The temperature is hot but comfortably so. Dinner is served on the yacht but it's only pasta which I don't like...thankfully though they do have bread and cheese so I just had that instead. Stave off hunger until we get back. Good stuff!
17:01 - Still off the coast of Lanzarote but I think we're due to depart back to Fuerteventura soon. I'm also pretty sure the back of my right shoulder has burned, an unfortunate consequence of having my back to the sun throughout most of this cruise. Oh well, it'll heal. Got my towel over my shoulders and my sombrero on now to prevent any further burning. The rest of me seems to be fine though thankfully. I'll make sure to stay inside for the rest of the daylight hours once we get back. Still been a bloody great cruise though, really glad I booked this excursion.
18:39 - On the coach now, getting ready to head back to the hotel. Very enjoyable trip, got chatting to (that is to say, they started chatting to me) a group of people, one couple and a family of three. Anyway, said my goodbyes to everyone as they're staying at a completely different hotel to me. In that state of mind where I don't know what I want to do with myself when I get back to the hotel but I think dinner would be a good idea. Afterwards, probably just hibernate for a bit and then attend the hotel beach party. Sounds like a plan. Also need to plan tomorrow morning's timetable as I think the bus is picking us up at 8 or 9ish so not sure if there will be time for breakfast or not. Check when I get back to my room and make sure I set the alarm on my phone. Jolly good.
19:46 - Dinner was nice, pizza and fries tonight with lettuce and onion. The restaurant is open until 10pm so planning to go back down for ice cream in a bit. The trip tomorrow is picking up at 09:35 so plenty of time for breakfast in the morning. It's the Sunday one that leaves fairly early so need to make sure I'm set for that one. After Sunday the last excursion is a Monday evening comedy event, otherwise it's just beach time and all you can eat buffets. A nice mixture all in all I think, I like knowing that I can finish the holiday with a couple of lazy days but knowing I had some nice excursions in between. The last week-long holiday I had abroad was in Palma de Mallorca when I was 23, on that one I had no excursions so it got incredibly boring from Day 5 onwards. This one I think has the right balance. Very pleased with it all so far, it's been good fun.
For now, it's just a case of hibernating for a bit (except for the ice cream mini-excursion when my belly is slightly less full) and waiting for the beach party which starts at 21:30. The sun will have gone down by then so it will be safe to go out again. I've inspected the damage and my entire back is red. My shoulders are burnt and there's slight discomfort atop my forehead but beyond that I'm good.
22:09 - Went to see the beach party, turns out it was on the sandy section of the pool terrace rather than the beach itself, which makes sense as it's on hotel grounds then. Also turns out it's the same group of people who put on the rock show last night so they must be an in-house entertainment team then rather than an independent group. It was amusing at first with the team dancing to a medley of songs (not dissimilar to yesterday's performance then) but then it was a case of getting the crowd to do coordinated dancing, which isn't really my thing. Glad I went along though, at least I now know what I'm choosing to miss out on. I need an earlyish night though anyway, somewhat tired again and also my body needs to heal its burns. Got an earlyish start tomorrow but should be good fun, visiting Lanzarote markets apparently! Funny how half the excursions for Fuerteventura take place in Lanzarote. Anyway, good night.
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