Is it a dog? Is it a seal?

Moments before boarding the coach to go back to the ship, Wilson disappeared. I looked everywhere… except up. He had gone to investigate a palm tree, not believing that was where coconuts come from.

On the journey home, W asked the tour guide why he hadn't seen any canaries in the Canary Islands. The guide patiently explained that Canary Islands or Islas Canarias is derived from the Latin Canariae Insulae, which actually means Island of the Dogs. 

Wilson began to say that he had indeed seen a lot of dogs on the islands, but the guide interrupted to say that these dogs weren't really dogs but seals, as canis marinus or 'sea dog' is Latin for Seal. 

W thought for a few moments, then told the guide that he had once been to the Isle of Dogs in London's East End, but hadn't seen any seals, adding 'Also, it's not nearly as nice as here!'

As a surprise for Wilson, we're not eating in the restaurant this evening — instead we're going to an American Diner called Johnny Rocket's! I think he'll love it there.

An eventful day draws to a close

Once the submarine trip was over Wilson declared himself to be in urgent need of sustenance, so we popped into Café de Mogan for latte and cake before exploring the town a little further.

Then we boarded the coach and were taken to a man-made beach covered with sand dunes, where W could play and run off some of his excess energy.

At the end of the day we climbed back onto the coach for the journey back to the ship, where an eventful evening is in prospect!

Dive! Dive!

Wilson was beside himself with excitement after I told him we would be taking a dive on the submarine… although as the time to board drew nearer his eagerness started to desert him.

'We're not going to get wet, are we, New Dad?' he enquired plaintively. He has never concealed his aversion to water, in any circumstances. 

He relaxed a little when I assured him that the inside of the sub would remain bone-dry, though he did insist on asking the captain where his life-jacket was. 

Once the dive started, however, he was lost to the magical scene unfolding outside his porthole; shipwrecks, bubbles and thousands of fish…

Puerto de Mogán

Today we are in the gorgeous little town of Puerto de Mogán in Gran Canaria! It is stunningly beautiful here, and we spent some time exploring the town and the marina. 

Wilson spotted a yellow submarine moored in the marina and, although he doesn't know it, we'll be taking a trip on it later! 

I expect it will be very different from the last submarine he went on, at Chatham Dockyard!

La Isla Bonita

Wilson was very relieved to get back to the ship last night without Santa Cruz blowing up while we were on it. Following dinner we went to see comedian/impressionist/singer Alan Stewart in the theatre and we both laughed so much that W completely forgot about the threat of erupting volcanos. 

Tenerife, or La Isla Bonita as Madonna called it in her famous song of the same name, was very beautiful — we drove through many fields of bananas, visited a market, a restaurant and some panoramic views over the island. 

We also visited a church, where Wilson was astonished to find coin-operated LED Votive Candles. He is not at all religious, but insisted on putting a few Euros into the slot, because… well, just because there was a slot, I suppose.

When we got back to the ship, Wilson told me that he'd seen enough bananas now. Also, although we've been in The Canaries for two days now, he has yet to see a canary. 

I told him to ask tomorrow's Tour Guide about that...

Bananas grow on trees!

West End singer Paul Baker was in the Theatre last night, but Wilson was too hung-over to go. He's feeling better today, though, and we are now in Santa Cruz, La Palma — one of the Canary Islands! 

In the first photo you can see W halfway up a mountain. Once he heard that all the mountains, in fact the entire island, was volcanic he required a bit of persuasion; when he saw that nobody else on the tour was concerned, though, he showed considerable sangfroid and agreed to continue with the excursion.

Later we stopped off for refreshments, where we were given island-grown bananas, a local variety of new potato served with a special relish, and goats' cheese. There was also local wine on offer, but Wilson wisely declined this and settled for mineral water.

On the way down the mountain we saw a lot of bananas growing. W was intrigued, as he had previously assumed bananas were fabricated by Tesco and the other major supermarkets in factories. 

Too much Madeira...

Following our cable-car ride we moved on to Blandy's Wine Lodge in Funchal for a tasting session. 

On our arrival we were given vouchers for two free glasses of Madeira wine each… but somehow Wilson applied his charm to the voucher lady and scored some extra tokens. As a result, he has had way too much to drink. 

In his defence, he said that the glasses were very small and he didn't know that Madeira Wine was so… at which point he drifted off. 

The voucher lady and I helped him outside for a bit of a sit down, but we had to get a taxi back to the ship.

I really must keep a closer eye on Wilson's alcohol consumption for the rest of the cruise! 

Tomorrow we shall be in Santa Cruz in La Palma, the first of the Canary Islands we shall be visiting — I hope he hasn't got a hangover when we arrive…