Our next get-together on ME was planned for 11 June 2023: our friends Jörg and Heike had flown to Las Palmas two days earlier and were waiting for us on board. Together we wanted to sail to Tenerife. Our flight from Cologne was due to leave at 6:30 am.
Two minutes too late
We were at the airport in good time, made ourselves comfortable in the lounge, had a good breakfast and treated ourselves to a pre-flight beer. The screens didn’t show boarding for our flight yet – so one more beer. At ten past six we said: right, time to go. It was only 200 or 300 metres to the gate. And just as we arrived, the gate was closed right in front of us. No amount of persuasion helped: “Two minutes too late. Bad luck.”
So back out of the security area. At least our return flight wasn’t cancelled, as a goodwill gesture. And there we stood, at a quarter to seven in the morning in Cologne – while our friends were already sitting on the boat. For two people who fly as much as we do, deeply embarrassing, of course.
A detour via Lanzarote
There were no more flights to Gran Canaria that day – everything was fully booked. Then we had the saving idea: we’d simply fly to another island and take an inter-island hopper from there. So we quickly booked a flight to Lanzarote and called our friend, sailing instructor Siggi. He happened to be in Germany too – and was flying to Lanzarote the same day, an hour ahead of us, from Düsseldorf. He picked us up at the airport, we stayed the night at his place, and the next morning he drove us back to the airport. One day late, we finally arrived on Gran Canaria.
The best part of the story: Wolfgang had decided to fly just once with only his wallet and ID – no luggage at all. And it had to be this flight. No toothbrush, no clothes, no shampoo, no deodorant … Many other flights have long been forgotten – this one we still talk about today.
Finally on board
When we finally arrived a day later, Jörg and Heike had already taken care of the drinks – surprisingly, only beer and a single bottle of water, lovingly stacked into a little tower. By the way, at first they didn’t believe the story of the missed flight at all: they thought we were pulling their leg. Only when they saw that we were online the whole time – so quite obviously not on a plane – did they finally believe us.
Off to Tenerife
We cast off pretty quickly and sailed towards Tenerife. We moored in Santa Cruz and explored the island together from there, before heading back to Gran Canaria after a few days.
One highlight was a small, colourful restaurant in the middle of the mountains: Casa Bibi y Mana in Taganana in the Anaga mountains. We had actually only stopped there to use the toilet – then we spontaneously decided to stay and eat. We had pork fillet, the best we have ever eaten: huge, delicious portions and unbeatably cheap. Sometimes the unplanned stops really are the best.
The great fishing challenge
On the way, Jörg and Wolfgang had a fishing challenge: who would catch a fish first? Each had his rod out on one hull – Wolfgang on the port side, Jörg on the starboard side – and of course they egged each other on.
While Wolfgang was briefly in the loo, Jörg had a devilish idea: he wanted to hang a wine cork on Wolfgang’s hook and then watch his silly face as he reeled it in. But the two girls wouldn’t let him. A pity, really – Wolfgang would have loved to see his own silly face!
In the end it was a draw: neither of them caught a single fish. That evening Steffi and Heike opened a tin of tuna – just to show the gentlemen how fishing is done.
From Gran Canaria we all flew home again. Our next trip takes us back to Tenerife, to La Gomera and to La Palma – we’ll tell you about it in the next entry.