We decided to try a self catering holiday this time so we could enjoy dining at different places.
We booked with Jet2Holidays again and returned to George & Dragon pub in Felton for a one night stay the night before our flight. The pub is 5 minute drive from Bristol Airport and a place I’d definitely recommend. Our room was spacious and exceptionally clean.
We flew into Arrecife airport and after collecting our luggage the race was on to get to the apartment. I’d arranged to hire a car for the week, but seeing as we travel with 3 large suitcases and I’d hired a Fiat 500, Andy & Abi went on the Jet2 transfer bus. It was the shortest transfer ever as our apartments which were literally at the end of the runway. I won the race and had us all checked in by the time the bus dropped them off.
We stayed at the San Marcial Apartments in Matagorda.
On the second or third day of our holiday a girl named Darcey arrived at the apartment next to ours. Her and Abi were the same age and hit it off straight away.
The main reason for choosing these apartments was it’s proximity to the airport and the public viewing area. The runway is right next to the beach and there is a public footpath that runs the entire length of the runway. Using the FlightTracker app we knew exactly what time the planes were due to take off and land and we managed to position ourselves directly underneath the aeroplanes as they came in to land.
You can also stand directly behind the planes as they rev up the engines at the start of the runway in preparation to take off. The noise is quite something.
This was our third year on the trot in Lanzarote so we didn’t feel the need to do much exploring and we feel like we know the island really well by now.
I did take Andy & Abi out for a day in the car to visit some of the sights I’d found the year before. We visited:
- Canteras de Tinamala, which is an abandoned quarry
- Ciudad Estratificada Los Roferos, which is a Stratified city with some amazing rock formations.
Teguise
We also visited Teguise for the Sunday Market. It was super busy with a really good vibe. There were live musicians playing and we had a look inside one of the windmills.
Arrecife
We spent a day in Arrecife and we had two close encounters with birds. First we nearly stood on a Ring Neck Parakeet that was extremely tame and just standing by the path. Then we saw a collared dove which we managed to get really close too before it flew away.
Whilst in Arrecife we played on the beach, had a meal in one of the sea front restaurants, spent time in the playground and visited the Castillo de San Gabriel fort.
The rest of the week was spent in and around Matagorda and Puerto Del Carmen. We noticed there were red heart shaped padlocks all over the resort so we purchased one and engraved Abi’s name onto one side and Darcey’s name on to the other. One our last evening we choose a spot next to the playground where the girls attached their padlock. We’ll see if we can find it next year.
