Indoor dining was not permitted during this time in Spain – only outdoor. Luckily it was twenty two degrees at midnight as we drank our three euro cocktails and I ate my meal. The rest of the holiday went as expected. We sat by the swimming pool. We walked through the sand-dunes; we dined out; we went to Sparkles Show Bar in the Yumbo centre to watch an end-of-Blackpool-Pier drag show. The nice thing about Gran Canaria is that unless you drive to the west coast of the volcanic island, or take a trip to the capital city of Las Palmas then you can have a lovely visit without involving art galleries; or museums; or culture of any kind. Sun, sea, and sangria is sufficient to have a jolly good time. This suited me perfectly. I was vocal about being in recovery from Covid as an excuse for my laziness (which was actually true, although as I’ve mentioned, my symptoms were so mild, it could almost be said that I was asymptomatic).

Dining by the seaside, ordering another beer; asking for a take-home bag, for the mountain of chicken and seafood paella provided as my evening meal in the Yumbo Centre on the second night, was how I was spending my days. We had an escapade on our last evening when we ventured outside the resort and into the part of Maspalomas town where Spanish people lived. To a tapas bar called Taberna el Picoteo where we dined like the king and queen of Spain on a budget.

The hotel where we stayed was clearly popular among the Finnish community as all communications indoors were printed in Spanish, English and Finnish. That was wonderful. I get on marvelously with the Finns. On my last day I burned my ankle to a crisp after failing to apply adequate sunblock to my milk bottle legs. Punishment for my wanderlust perhaps?

I returned to Ireland after my four day trip feeling distinctly happy. I had recovered from Covid and had resumed travelling. Meanwhile the earth hadn’t opened up and swallowed me whole for my actions. This was a positive outcome, which along with my mysterious suntan gave me great joy.

Y viva Espana.