Monday 6th February - To the hills

Today gets off to flying start. A snot free D is allowed to go swimming again and, as we set out towards the pool, a lady in one of the bungalows opposite hails us and asks "Do you drink beer?". Supply your own joke here. D explains that he has been known to indulge and is handed two cans of chilled Tropical. "We leave this morning" was the explanation.

Swim over, we have our first egg free meal in 36 hours then D sets out to collect the hire car. He has recce'd the address which is a first floor office on a rather underutilised shopping parade about 2.5km away. The paperwork is completed without difficulty and D is told that the car is en route so he waits in the sunshine. 

A Fiat 500 makes a death defying manoeuvre across the traffic on the roundabout and pulls up nose into a barrier. "Senor, your car" comes the cry.  The driver , a huge guy, gets out and waves D over. The briefing explains where to return the car to, the requirement to make sure the tank is full and the rather strange position of the electric window controls. As an afterthought he adds "It's a hybrid" and wanders off. D manages the reverse out onto a pedestrian crossing into traffic that appears around a sharp curve without mishap and finds base without a problem. R has prepared a picnic and we are ready for an excursion.

At this point D realises that readers have had to navigate this blog without a map so here is one pinched from t'internet. The action so far has been land at the airport (3 o'clock on the map). Transfer to our resort mainly via the motorway (marked in orange). We are staying roughly where the P is in MASPALOMAS at 6 o'clock. Most of the week has been in and around Maspalomas and Playa Del Ingles. On Saturday we took the bus back round the motorway,  past the airport to Las Palmas (1.30 on the map).

Today we are going to drive through the mountains, starting at Aguimes near the airport, then heading roughly west via Temisas, Santa Lucia, San Bartolome, Ayacata, Mogan and down to the coast at Puerto de Mogan (7.30 on the clock). Lonely Planet describes this as a "highly dramatic and winding journey from the South East to the South West,  a stupendous voyage". We do not hesitate to sign up for this. The first stretch of the route is steep, winding but not too narrow giving room to pass the lycra clad hordes of cyclists labouring up the mountain. The ones descending are the risk as they seem to think that they are in the TdF and have the road to themselves.

We stop a couple of times on the climb to look for birds and photo opps without much luck unless you enjoy a proper Central Scotland boozer. The Three Brothers Bar could have been lifted from Armadale, West Lothian. We press on bemoaning the lack of spots to park up for the view.

 In due course we reach Santa Lucia where we spot a Bar Restaurante called the Mirador. It overlooks the valley with great views but all of the terrace tables are taken so we make the best of the shady side. After a coffee we drive on passing through a village with a typo.

We take a break for our picnic and press on to the watershed at around a thousand metres up where we get some birding. Serins, Yellow Wagtail and a very vocal Raven. The views out to the west are fabulous.

From here on our route gets very narrow and descends steeply. From time to time we get the chance to pull over and see what is ahead.

The Fiat's battery seems to like long descents as the panel display hits full charge. At the end of the labyrinthine descent is the village of Mogan, highly rated by LP. We make two circuits and fail to spot anything interesting. Never mind, there is always manana. We take the fast route back to Maspalomas and home in on Lidl, up where the real people live. They stock fresh meat, chicken and a much better range of vegetables.  R is delighted. 

Courtesy of the lady over by,  today's research beer is Tropical, the Canary Islands leading brand. D has already tasted it as a draught beer but today's test is of the packaged. 

Verdict : Not too bad, light but refreshing.  **** (out of five)