This morning I wake late and it is already daylight. No pre-dawn scribbling marathon for me today. I get a few words drafted, but that’s all. For some reason, I am being drawn to reading, much more than writing. So that’s my final January challenge out the window!

I settle down on the balcony with my latest book until the call of the gym becomes too loud to ignore. I manage another brisk 4km on the treadmill, followed this time by a leisurely half hour in the heated indoor pool. Not for me the rigours of outdoor bathing in January, not in the hotel’s two main pools and especially not in the Atlantic Ocean, at the bottom of the garden. I was a strong swimmer as a child; I completed a mile when in my early teens. But the swell of the sea has always scared me.  (I think it must be something to do with being a Brummie. We are as far from the sea as it is possible to be in the UK.) The only time I have ever been comfortable was in the calm waters of the Indian Ocean, when I was visiting Seychelles on business (yes, really!). It was like swimming in a bath.

The indoor pool attached to the gym is empty most of the time, and I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s only really meant for the members of the hotel’s Privilege Club (which we have declined to join); but there’s no-one around to police it, so I decide to take a chance.

At lunchtime, we are joined by an old school friend and her husband who have been coming to Tenerfie for many years and know the place well. It was Ann who encouraged us to book this holiday when I expressed the need for some winter sun, and recommended this hotel. They take us for a walk along the boardwalk to the nearest village where we enjoy fish and sangria in one of the sea-side bars. 

In the evening, as I settle for a light, fruit-based supper to counteract all the food eaten so far, I reflect that we are almost half-way through our winter break. I am finally completely relaxed, feel little or no urge to open the laptop, and start planning tomorrow around the number of hours I can manage on the lounger. I also notice that my blog posts are getting shorter and suspect this is a trend that will continue.

Join me tomorrow for the next instalment, which may well be even shorter!