Just when you least expect it

2016 has not been a brilliant year. For me personally it's not been great, for several of my friends and family it's been downright horrible, and even globally (dare I mention Brexit and Trump?!) it's been pretty depressing for many. Normally when I'm feeling down I like to book a holiday. Well, okay, that's not strictly true - I don't book a holiday every time I'm having a sad or stressed moment (I eat chocolate instead). But I do start planning ideas for holidays or looking at pictures of places we've already booked to go to. It's simple - I get my kicks from experiences rather than material things, and having something to look forward to cheers me up. 2013 was a particularly nasty year for me, and I made up for it by booking loads of amazing holidays for the following year. 2014 became known officially (by me) as The Year of the Holidays. It was bloody wonderful.

When we got back from our Tenerife holiday last month, several people asked me when the next holiday was booked for. I don't think they quite believed me when I replied 'October'. But it was true - the only holiday we had actually booked was for next October half term (booked in September because it was so cheap we couldn't not!). There are a number of reasons for not having anything else booked. Lee's holiday allowance is one; he gets a pretty decent allowance in his new job, but no particular time is guaranteed - he has to book the time off work before we can risk booking a holiday. And given that there are many 'crucial' times when he's not allowed leave, it's proving a little difficult. Another issue is my sister's engagement - she was looking at possible venues for next year but hadn't yet set a date, so we were trying to keep all holiday periods free to avoid clashing (this problem has now been solved by a provisional date for the year after). Another factor is my all-too-quickly approaching 40th birthday - I know Lee is planning something but I'm not sure what, where or when. And while I really love the idea of a surprise, the one downside is that you can't look forward to something you don't know about. And, of course, money is always a problem - with a credit card bill to pay off Tenerife looming, we can't really afford to book anything else just yet. Of course, I know we will be going on holiday somewhere earlier than October - we have several ideas in the pipeline - but unless I have definite dates and destinations, I can't really look forward to them. Not properly. And the bottom line of all the above is that, despite having felt pretty miserable lately, I haven't been able to think about holidays to cheer myself up.

November is always a particularly tough month for me, and last week I got home after a difficult morning feeling rather stressed and down in the dumps. My phone buzzed with a Facebook notification and I glanced briefly at it, assuming it was relatively unimportant. I then had to look again. This is what it said: 'P&O Ferries has replied to your comment on their post.' I instantly knew what post it was (funnily enough, I don't often comment on P&O Ferries' posts). The post was a competition to win a trip to the Christmas markets in Ghent. To enter, you had to comment on the post, describing your dream European Christmas holiday destination. As I often do when I see Facebook competitions, I entered, writing a sentence about wanting to visit Lapland, with a humorous aside (at least, I thought so) about visiting Ghent being a close second. And, as I often do when entering Facebook competitions, I then thought no more about it. Until, that is, I read the Facebook notification. It's usual to get a notification that the page has commented on their post - this is where they detail the winner(s). But why would they reply to my comment? Surely they hadn't got time to reply individually to everyone? I tried not to get too excited but, sure enough, when I opened up Facebook, I read 'Congratulations, you're our Christmas getaway winner and have won a magical trip to Ghent!' To say I was surprised would be an understatement!

So, just when I least expected it, and had given up on thinking about holidays until next year at the very earliest, here was one being handed to me on a plate. It put a huge smile on my face on a day and at a time when I really needed it. Not only did I have a little holiday to look forward to (and soon - it needed to be taken by 20 December!) but I'd actually won something!

Obviously, I felt very lucky - but not in some preordained way. I don't believe that everything happens for a reason - I don't believe in fate or that things were 'meant to be'. I think there is too much crap in the world for any of it to happen for any reason other than chance. However, I do believe that there is very often a silver lining to be found, even if it's only that the tough stuff makes you stronger or makes you appreciate what you do have. I also believe that things usually tend to balance out. Statistically you have a reasonable chance of having some good 'luck' after having bad. I won the competition firstly because I entered - which already put my odds way above those of anyone who didn't enter! I have also entered hundreds of competitions over the years that I haven't won - the odds were that one day I'd win something. So, although I don't believe that I was 'sent' this holiday to cheer me up, I certainly feel lucky that it came just when it did, and I intend to make the most of it. Life is short, and it's important to grab hold of chances when you can - so we're off to Ghent this weekend! And I'm also feeling just that little bit more positive about the chances of winning that I'm a Celebrity luxury trip to Australia competition that the kids made me enter...!

If you can't beat them...

I never thought I'd be one of those people. The ones who return to the same hotel year after year. The ones who make friends with the entertainment staff and swap numbers. The ones who know the hotel like the back of their hands and have the same room each time they stay. The ones who greet the reception and restaurant staff like old friends and have to say goodbye to everyone when they leave. I've always viewed such people with derision. Why on earth would you keep returning to the same place when there are so many other places out there to discover? What a waste of a holiday opportunity not to experience something new! How sad such people are to spend their time stuck in a rut, doing the same things in the same place with the same people. Now it seems I'm on the cusp of becoming one of them myself...

Before we first went to the Bitacora in Tenerife (see my first blog on the hotel here), I laughed at these very people on Trip Advisor. Every other review was from a repeat visitor, some who'd been three times already in the past year, or who had lost count of the number of times they'd stayed. And while I took comfort in the fact that it was obviously a hotel people wanted to return to, I still pitied them for not having the spirit to want to change things up a bit. It took a while after arriving for me to get it. Sure, the hotel was nice. The room was spacious, clean and comfortable. The food was great. We really liked the location, close to the beach and shopping centres, perfectly located for an evening stroll. But it was as we got to know the staff, particularly the animation team, that we really started to understand the appeal of returning.

From waiters to bar staff, reception staff to cleaners, everyone was great, but it was the entertainment staff (animation team) that really made the difference. We saw how they looked after the kids (including ours) in the mini and maxi clubs. We saw how they encouraged people to join in activities without ever being pushy. We saw how talented they were when they performed sometimes during the evening entertainment. Permanently enthusiastic and never without a smile, they always took the time to talk when they saw you around the hotel, and they quickly knew the children by name. It was clear that they enjoyed their work - this was a vocation, not a job.

Near the end of the holiday, the boys made friends with twin girls, who were returning to the hotel the following year. 'Can we come back next year?' the boys asked plaintively. We were certainly tempted. Our mind was made up while we were chatting to two of the animation team while waiting for the coach on our last day. It made sense. We did enough exploring in the summer, and had no need to go somewhere new and different in October. All we wanted was a nice hotel where we could relax, and this was a no brainer. There was nothing we didn't like about the hotel, and the weather was a major added bonus - Tenerife was the first place we'd been to in October where it was hot enough to swim in the pool or the sea every day and sit out on the balcony every night (in short sleeves!). Most importantly, the kids loved it - we knew they'd be happy going off to the kids' club every day, giving us the time to relax by the pool and actually finish a book or two. Why go somewhere else when this hotel had it all?

As soon as we were home, we started looking at prices. It turned out much cheaper to book hotel and flights directly than to book a package with a tour operator - plus you get a free taxi transfer to and from the airport (plus a few other perks) if you book directly with the hotel. So we booked (Same old, same old) and a year later, we were back. There was no wondering what clothes to wear and what to pack. There was no nervous anticipation at the airport, wondering what the hotel would be like. When we arrived, we knew exactly where everything was, what time the entertainment happened, how the restaurant worked and which way to go to get to the beach/supermarket/mini-golf/etc. We were soon lying by the pool, the kids already in the kids' club, marvelling at the fact that we'd been on a plane less than two hours ago. The boys soon found their friends from the previous year and we barely saw them all holiday - they were so happy and independent, even eating dinner at their own table in the restaurant. The animation team remembered the boys from last year, and we just felt welcome from the moment we walked through the door. It was one of the most easy, relaxing holidays we'd ever had, and we really couldn't fault a single second. When the boys asked again if we could come back next year, it was an easy decision.

Roll on a year, and we were getting ready for our third visit. Sadly, the post-Brexit drop in value of the pound, along with general price increases, meant that we knew we'd struggle to afford the Bitacora for a fourth time. We decided it was probably time for a change and looked for some cheap deals, eventually booking a hotel in Menorca for October 2017 while it was still as much of a bargain as it was. But as we arrived at the Bitacora for the third time, I started having second thoughts about Menorca. Despite some renovations taking place in the reception area, it was just as I remembered it. I had asked for, and been given, the same room as last year - when we walked in and looked out at the pool from our balcony, it felt like coming home. Although several of the animation team had left since our last stay, there were still some old favourite faces, who remembered our children, and they soon got to know some new members, all of whom were just as enthusiastic and friendly. Yet again, all the staff made a massive effort for Halloween, and we were bowled over at the performances of the animation team. Sitting on the balcony on our last evening, I had mixed feelings. Although I was looking forward to Menorca next year and it would be nice to have a change, I felt desperately sad that we wouldn't be coming back to the Bitacora. I felt sad that we wouldn't be in the same room with the same view. I felt sad that we wouldn't be sitting by that same pool in the sun, with the boys enjoying themselves at the kids' club. I felt sad that we wouldn't be able to stroll out of those same doors and take a walk down by the beach. I felt sad that we wouldn't see all those familiar faces, many of whom were starting to feel like friends.

View from our balcony

Animation team on Halloween

Something soon became clear. We may not be returning to the Bitacora next October, but we will definitely return. It wasn't just a three-time fling - I consider us regular (if not exclusive). We will be those people who go back year after year. We will be those people who are on first-name terms with all the staff. We will be those people who start their Trip Advisor reviews with 'This was our twenty-eighth time at the hotel...' Now we just need to work on raising the money to make it happen! Until next time, Bitacora...

And if you're reading this, Sonya, Yaya, Javi, Frankie, Carlos, Anzar, Marta, Fabio and all the other brilliant staff - we think you're amazing!