They sell ice cold beer in paradise!

Last week Pat and I had what has become our annual week away in the sun to escape from the UK’s dark and often chilly post-Christmas January and February days. For the past several years we have taken a trip to the beautiful volcanic island of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands – just off the north west coast of Africa. It’s about a 4 hour flight from our local East Midlands Airport. There used to be a time that whenever we took a holiday we would intentionally look for pastures new – we argued that there was so much of the world to see, so why return to the same place?  But as we have got older (or maybe I should clarify that by saying I have got older) we have become more creatures of habit. So, whenever we go to Lanzarote it is to the same resort and the same hotel; we feel comfortable there, we know the routine, we can just slot in with the minimum of fuss. It is however, quite gratifying that we see other guests there who are, like us, regular visitors; happy in the familiarity of the place.

We were particularly lucky this time because the weather was outstanding. Every day we enjoyed a clear warm – but not too hot - sunshine which meant that we spent most of the time lazing by the pool or wandering along the little promenade for a cup of coffee or for lunch. Other years we have hired a car and toured the island but this time we were happy to stay put and just enjoy the break. I’m not a sun worshipper so always ensured that I found a bit of shade but the weather was just right for Pat to enjoy the sun’s rays without suffering any ill effects.

The hotel was, as always, busy and the guests were overwhelmingly retired people - British and Germans mostly -  and since it is an adults only hotel children were not in evidence!  In short it was all very civilized; quiet, relaxed and calm. I'm sure that the islanders give thanks for the British and German pension funds that ensure that people like us can help to provide employment by pouring our money into  their local economy during these out of season months!The only real exception to us, the older generation, was a large group of German & Swiss hand-cyclists taking part in various cycling events on the island.

The same group, most of them in wheel chairs, are there every year and many carry on their cycles or shirts the national badge and logo of the German or Swiss paralympic teams. Every morning we saw them going off on their cycles, flags waving from the long aerials on their machines as they cycled the island either to train or on some days take part in some event or other.  I found the thought of lying on one of those machines terrifying; knowing that I was potentially so very vulnerable because of my proximity to the ground. It would be easy in the event of an accident for these machines to simply disappear under a bus or lorry – and since these men were also, by definition, seriously handicapped they would be especially vulnerable because of their handicaps. Out of the cycle or wheel chair they were to all intents and purposes immobile. These facts did not, however, seem to cause them any concerns.  At meals times that sat and laughed, joked and discussed their cycle plans or in the evenings they sat in their wheelchairs tending to their machines,  looking at their laptops, planning out the next route or set of tactics. And, despite their obvious mobility problems, every one looked the supremely fit athletes that they were.

Where the teams stored their cycles in the hotel was a large notice advertising the various events on the island that day and it carried the legend “Handcycling in Paradise”. It was not wrong. Lanzarote, although in many ways a bleak volcanic island where the many mountains and lava fields stretch black, craggy and ashen into the distance is indeed an island paradise. The islanders have turned their little volcanic outcrop in the Atlantic into a pleasant, beautifully maintained home with neat white houses contrasting against the black lava. Use of cactus and brightly coloured plants where possible also soften and give a simple, fresh beauty to the whole place. It is quiet, everything in a human scale – no place of high rise hotels or sprawling resorts – and the pace of life reflects the warm climate; laid back, amiable and welcoming.

As Pat or I looked out from our balcony each morning or evening; or as we ambled along the promenade for a coffee or as we lazily looked up from our sun lounger to watch others stretch their legs along the sea front it was indeed very difficult to believe that we were not in the paradise mentioned on the cycling advert. Lanzarote is a wonderful place to watch the sun rise or set – a fact that we discovered long ago on one of our earlier visits.

In the mornings our balcony was bathed in a soft gold  and clear, warm light – the surrounding buildings almost startling in their brilliant whiteness. And as the sun disappeared over the horizon at the other end of the day – probably at the same bringing dawn or the first light of morning to far off Florida or South America – it bathed the whole of the frontage of the hotel in a gold and blue light. To sit and sip a cold beer and watch the sun disappear at that time of day was indeed magical and awe inspiring - it made the troubles of the world and the cares of our everyday lives seem a very long way away. Paradise indeed.