Tuesday 14th February - Mini Golf in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico de Gran Canaria that is. This is a resort about 20km to the west of Maspalomas that we saw briefly when we drove through it last week. D comes up with a transport plan that involves a 1.2km walk and then a bus ride. This falls flat quite quickly as the bus roars past the stop absolutely jammed full. Plan B is a walk on to another place where there are more frequent buses. R is not happy that this is mainly uphill and about 2.5km further than Plan A. 

When we get to the second stop there is only a short wait for the bus and the good news is that our walk has saved us a euro each. The bus is busy but R gets a seat. When we alight she is very cross with D who works out what to do.

As we enjoy our coffee and cake we watch proceedings on the adjacent Mini Golf course. Neither of us is a golf fan but we do know which end of the stick thingy to hold and we decide to go for it, if only to justify the post title. The first ten holes go by without major incident, with both of us winning holes and the scores about even.

R shows a remarkable ability to put both left and right handed and is no pushover. D has a serious catastrophe on the 12th, going out of bounds three times and carding a four over par 8. This is punished efficiently by R using her Gary Player style lefty putting grip.

By this time we have caught up with the pair ahead, a Scottish father and teenage daughter who were quite good and gave us a few clues. Ahead of them are a shambolic  crowd of ageing Scandanavians who are totally useless. By the time our round is done it is definitely lunch time. D has done some on line research and found a place recommended for fish. It is only about 300 yards away, on the upper floor of a shopping centre.

El Pescador II has a wide ranging menu and repertoire of cuisines which makes us a little wary. The welcome is friendly and we get the last shady table on the terrace. As a starter we order Foccacia Iberica to share which is wonderful and could put pizzas out of business.

For our main courses we go for fish which is not really an option for us at the Bungalow. R's is delivered on a trolley and the waiter manages to singe himself as he performs the flambé.

The dish is Salt Baked Sea Bass and it is delicious although not quite as enormous as it first appeared. The waiter does all of the hard work and delivers the fillets on a plate.

D's Salt Cod with Bacon is also very good and we have a splendid  couple of hours. The only fly in the ointment is the arrival of two cartoon Engerlandish types who want beers but not Spanish rubbish, just Carling. The restaurant serves draught Victoria from Malaga, the best canned beer that D has found so far. The draught also gets a commendation.

After lunch we manage to totter back to the bus station and board a number one back towards home. We need to shop and alight at the Mercadona. We learn that you need to be in early for the fresh veg but we get the essentials that we need - wine, olives, muesli, pittas and of course la cerveza de la dia, which is brewed and bottled in Belgium for Mercadona.

Pretty good although it good have done with a few more hops. **** (out of five). D  completes his atonement for this morning by flagging a taxi to take us home. No supper tonight, just postage stamp size crackers with cheese and a glass of wine. Who won the golf I hear you ask.