54th Birthday Corralejo 5k

6 April 2016 | Richard

I decided to celebrate being an even older pharte today by going for another run/stagger of 5.3k around the villa.

Corralejo 4Â½k

5 April 2016 | Richard

Following my 5k route but turned off too early so the distance was less. Turned my left ankle 6 times on the rough/broken paths which didn’t help. Very warm and windy too.

Warmer Still Corralejo 5k

2 September 2015 | Richard

It felt much warmer today and worse when you hit the Tarmac bits: like opening an oven.

Bahiazul 5.2k

31 August 2015 | Richard

Out early before it hit the thirties. Quick start; maybe too quick.

The Trouble With Fuerteventura…

10 April 2013 | Richard

…is that it gets to you. To the extent that yes, I was back there yet again for a week over Easter with my grown-up kids.

I’d hired my usual premier garden villa at BahiazulÂ – a three bedroomed villa with its own heated pool, rooftop BBQ area and heated jacuzzi under the stars – for the weekÂ and so we set off after an overnight stay at Gatwick.

On arrival on the Wednesday, we checked in and I changed and headed off for a daily 5km run. I did that every day, apart from the second day – the Thursday – when I apparently broke my toe! After that, 600mg Ibuprofen tablets were my friend.

Each day was more or less the same: a large breakfast in the restaurant; a morning around the pool; a midday 5k; afternoon around the pool or the beach; evening at one of the nicer restaurants or my favourite tapas bar (most of them in Corralejo now know me and greet me as an old friend); and then the night at the awesome Rock Island Bar owned by the lovely Mandy and Gary listening to the live acoustic rock being played by mates.

Good times!

Of course, the lovely sun and warmth made such a difference especially given the snow we’d left behind in London.

Tapas … Part One

Tapas … Part Two

Deep Fried Goats’ Cheese Starter

One of the slugs tried to escape…

Looks nice eh?

Shaun Dabrai at RiB

Light Dinner

Desserts

Standard Sky

Put My Foot In It

Tapas!

Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay

Sadly, it was soon back to London, dropping Amy off at Egham and then, the following day, Jack at Stratford for his train up to Norfolk before greeting GT with a home-cooked vegetarian chilli as we were off to Paris the next day…

Dear Lazyweb…

28 February 201228 February 2012 | Richard

… I need some help. BlueCo would quite like me to take next week off using my carried-over holidays and frankly, I could do with a break.

Now I would prefer to go to Corralejo yet again and hang out with my friends at the Rock Island Bar but I really want to fly out on Monday and back again on the Friday and sadly flights aren’t looking hopeful for that sort of itinerary.

So I think a city break might be better with flights from London City Airport – a short ride away and a quick and efficient terminal – to either Amsterdam or Barcelona. A nice bit of luxury for my stay, so 5* hotels for a bit of pampering as it won’t add too much to the overall cost.

With Amsterdam, it’s probably the NH Grand Hotel KrasnapolskyÂ as it’s central for all the museums, canals and sights and I’ve heard of it, but where to stay in Barcelona? TimeOut has some suggestions, but which one would be best for a chic, luxurious and cool base? Preferably close to some great restaurants, bars and cafÃ©s.

Recommendations?

Corralejo Midday Run

23 October 2011 | Richard

So we took our running gear out to Fuerteventura but in the end only managed to do one run … at midday … in the heat and humidity. What do they say about mad dogs and Englishmen?

Fuerteventura Easter 2011

7 May 20117 May 2011 | Richard

I thought it was about time I took the kids – if you can call them that: 19 and nearly 15 – away with me on holiday, so over Easter I took the two of them to the luxury villa I’d stayed at before in Corralejo on Fuerteventura.

The villa had its own heated pool as well as a heated jacuzzi which meant we could relax around the pool, have a night-time Â jacuzzi or swim to cool down.

We used it as a base before driving out to other parts of the island or to the long, long sandy beach and dunes.

Then our evening would consist of heading into Corralejo itself for a really nice meal in one of the nicer restaurants before heading to the Rock Island Bar to chill out, have a few drinks and listen to some live acoustic rock music. And my girlfriend and friends could keep tabs on us with the audience webcam!

Anyway, here are a few photos including one of the baby mouse that I rescued from our pool one morning!