Tuesday 7th February- Vorsprung Durch Technik

February 07, 2023

The Fiat 500 Hybrid has not yet disappointed. D has come to terms with the alarming fluctuations of the battery power indicator which plummets from full (8 bars) to only one bar every time we go uphill. A bit of online research reveals that the car is a Mild Hybrid, with an electric motor that provides assistance, but which does not take over at any point. Supposedly it reduces fuel consumption. The design is perfecto with a handy holder between the front seats for D's camera. R thinks that it might have been designed as a bottle holder. Most Italian of all is the dashboard mounted gear change which is actually more ergonomic than one might think. Mind you 6th gear is useless except when going downhill on the motorway. That's enough of the Top Gear shtick.

We need a laundry run. The top rated place is Quick Wash in Playa del Ingles that opens at 10 a.m. We get there at 10.02 and there is already a queue. Inside the lingua franca is German but they are happy to speak a little English for us. Smelly clothes dropped off we task Gertie Google-Maps with directions to the big Botanic Gardens outside Las Palmas. This involves another trip along the motorway, past the airport and almost into the city before we divert westwards and climb up into the mountains. Gertie does awfully well until we arrive at the entrance to the car park when she urges us to drive past. D is well versed in dealing with uppity gals and ignores her.

Compared with the garden in Maspalomas this place is huge , 27 hectares, and has more diverse terrain, including some massive cliffs on the south side. The entrance to the gardens is at about 2,000 feet above sea level and out of the sun it is quite chilly. Fleeces are required. The gardens are not overtended and the place has an air of neglect but is still interesting. There is a splendid cactus garden.

Bird life is quite active and as well as the local Blue tits and Willow Warblers we get a great sighting of a female Rose Ringed Parakeet feeding just above us on a tree.

We are perhaps a bit early in the year to see the plants in full bloom but the water lilies are getting very close to opening.

Life cannot be just fun. We have errands to run. D has invested in an orange squeezer but this can only be cleaned properly with a stiff brush. Maspalomas and environs cannot deliver so we are heading next for the Carrefour Hypermarket just outside Las Palmas. The gauge in the car says that it is 22°C and we have ditched the fleeces. As we ride up in the lift from the parking floor to the store a local lady asks whether we are feeling the cold. We shrug and shake our heads. "Ingleses o Alemanies" she asks.

All goes well in the Hypermarket until the tills. We cause a great deal of upset amongst the staff and the three other customers but we have no idea why. We are pointed towards one particular checkout where there is a small queue. When we get to the till the lady explains that the system here is like the Post Office, wait to be called to a till. We consider ourselves better informed.

Back at base we take a swim and agree that mornings are better. The time wasters and their broods do not rise with the lark. Turns out that out laundry is ready to collect. A bit of German efficiency there.

Tonight's beer, purely for research purposes is Argus Clasica, 4.8% which seems to be Lidl's house brand in these parts. It was enjoyed alongside a plate of Sautéed Padron Peppers with salt and cumin. R stuck to the Tanqueray.