This is the latest craze sweeping Tenerife, and the kids down at Club Olympus love it.

Running across the pool in air filled balls, ace fun.

This is how it works, firstly, into the empty ball you go, ably assisted by Griff, Joe, Ann and Lorna of the "Walk on Water" Team -

Secondly, the ball is inflated around you -

Thirdly, you are rolled gently to the edge of the Club Olympus Pool -

Fourthly, in you go -

and make like a hamster......!

How cool is that?

The Blue Atlantic Ocean around Tenerife teems with sealife. Sea fishing is very easy here and for those who have angling interests there are many boats and companies offering fishing trips to cover most tastes. If you enquire at the Club Olympus Reception or speak to any of us we will point you in the right direction.

I recently tried a new technique known as "Jigging". This involves using a heavy lead weight that looks like a little fish. You drop it to the bottom (60 to 80 metres) and literally jig the bait up and down 6 to 10 times then reel the bait up quickly. The idea is that the 'jigging' bait catches a fish's attention then zooms up and the predator fish zooms after it. I caught quite a number of the fish shown above. They are known in Tenerife as "Largarto's" or Lizard fish. They are a really meaty, good eating fish.

I brought 4 good ones home and here they are gutted and scaled. I put them next to my flip-flops to give you an idea of scale. Do bear in mind that I actually have tiny feet! :-)

We also caught a fine selection of other fish between us as you can see below.

These are called "Boga's" and again are good eating fish, in fact they are a delicacy in some parts of South America. Apparently they are a type of Sea-Perch. Oh and there is a little mackerel at the bottom of the row! All the fish that we catch are eaten (if they are remotely edible and most are).

I find fishing in Tenerife to be a fabulous way to unwind and thoroughly enjoy just being at sea with good company, ice-cold beer and a fishing rod in my hand.

An excellent fishing boat that caters to everybody at reasonable prices is "The Crested Wave" with skipper Mick Hinson click Here to see their website.

Cheers 

Ivan - Club Olympus

On the seafront in Playa De Las Americas are a number of interesting sculptures by local artists. I really like them and got this quick shot the other evening as we were enjoying a  walk along the seafront boardwalk as the sun was going down.

Lots of Club Olympus owners and guests enjoy the walk between Los Cristianos and Playa De Las Americas. If  you haven't done it then give it a go next time you are out here In Tenerife!

The Poolside Bar has been closed temporarily. We think it will only be for a few days and will keep you posted. A drinks machine is being installed in the Pool area in the meantime and visitors are welcome to use the tables and chairs if they have their own drinks and food until the Poolside Bar re-opens.

With having family over from the UK recently we have enjoyed being tourists here in Tenerife for a change. It's been a while since I visited the Loro Parque (Parrot Park) in Puerto De La Cruz. Honestly, we had a blast. The addition of the Orca show done in collaboration with Sea World, Florida is a true spectacle.

The stadium is a mirror image of "Sea World" in Florida and California and some of the Orca's are apparently offspring of the "Shamu" family. The show itself with these comparatively young Orca's is breathtaking.

All of the shows are superb and include Parrot, Dolphin and Sealion shows. The animals look in fantastic condition and the Park itself is a gleaming testament to the clean and efficient way that the Park is managed.

Apologies for photo quality, it's quite tough to shoot from shade into light with my little Olympus camera but here a dolphin completes a high leap!

An outstanding feature of the Park is the "Penguin Experience" which is like a little chunk of the Antarctic placed in the middle of Tenerife. It has an amazing 'sea-like' pool and even has real snow coming from the ceiling. A gentle moving walkway takes you round the whole area. There is also a terrific aquarium featuring a shark tunnel.

Here are nurse sharks sleeping in a row on top of the tunnel. Are you impressed with my 'arty' soft focus shot? Some people might call it blurred!

Here are the family in the shark tunnel. We all had a tremendous day in the park and we certainly recommend a visit. Loro Parque and Siam Park are owned by the same people (The Kiessling Family) and do a brilliant offer for a two park ticket. There a free buses to the parks as well. Click here to visit their website for more info. You will also find the Website for Siam Park in our Links section to the left.

When you are next visiting Club Olympus, do give the Loro Parque a try.

- Ivan -