Who put the rain in our suitcase?

We left Aberdeen on Wednesday evening under somewhat sunny skies that slowly morphed into light rain, then heavy rain, then full-out gale force rain by the time we reached Glasgow. We had decided on staying at an airport hotel so that we wouldn't have to rush in the morning. I'm glad we did. Although the howling wind outside our windows made us feel like our home was about to be repossessed by a villain with a handle-bar moustache, the five minute walk to the terminal the next morning made it feel like the right decision.

We're travelling in a Thomas Cook all-inclusive package - a first for us. We usually book everything ourselves. Going this new route was a little weird. Lining up for tickets? Who does that these days. In fact the whole check-in procedure had us feeling as if we had time-warped back into the 70's.

The other thing we must have missed was a height restriction somewhere on the ticket. Once we boarded it quickly became very clear that I represented the tallest person who could possibly travel in this particular plane. My knees were jammed up against the seat in front, and it definitely felt as if the same was happening in the seat behind me. There was even less room left to right. I guess it would be OK for a quick trip to Spain or Portugal, but four and half hours had my legs pleading for mercy. Fiona's calling me a whiner now, so I'll quit complaining.

The weather when we arrived was everything we had hoped for. Sunny and pleasant. Our hotel is gorgeous, with lots of wood and stone. We have a nice large room with a great balcony, and the staff are very friendly. We quickly changed and headed out to explore the resort and surroundings.

The Canaries are volcanic islands, you see that as you fly over, with all the cones and calderas, and it is reinforced when you walk around. Dark volcanic rocks are everywhere and the vegetation mostly consists of low-lying scrub and cacti. The beach we walked on had nice sand, but it was considerably darker than on other beaches.

We had a nice dinner last night. The buffet theme changes every night and yesterday was "German". Entirely appropriate as the resort residents must be 75 percent Germans. It's a little odd, like we're vacationing in Germany. All the small shops just outside the resort cater specifically to Germans too. We'll have to go farther a field to get a genuine cultural experience, I guess.

But that's not really what this vacation was supposed to be all about. It was more about lounging by the pool and easing away the stress of work and a long winter. We were pretty eager to get started on that. So we had an early-ish breakfast this morning in the hope of being a good way through our novels by the time lunch rolled around. But we had just finished our eggs when we heard a giant thunderclap and heavens opened up. So now we're sitting in the lobby, looking out at some dark clouds and a somewhat depressing week-long forecast. We're determined to make the most of it, though, and we're also determined not to take the blame. Just because we came from Scotland, doesn't mean we necessarily brought the rain with us. It rains in Germany too ....