Imagine there's no Imagine - and other changes!



November has been dominated by Ruth's knees - the state of which has reduced socialising and task achievement; but relief came at last on Tuesday, and normality is almost resumed. First, however, here is some news of what we have found to have opened and closed in Corralejo since we left at the end of March. (There is probably more change than this:- a full survey not having been on the cards!)
Saddest of all is that Imagine is no more! A fortnight ago we were honoured to be at the last night. The famous Eric was giving up the premises just as we were leaving. Since then the owner has tried to keep it open with Eric making an occasional apperance and a range of other artists, but to no avail. It was a glorious evening with numbers from just about everyone on the live music scene - including neighbours Dave and Pete. It ended - of course - with Eric singing "Imagine", and the end of an era. (Eric is now a regular at the Brisamar, where we have yet to go!)

Silliest arrival on the town scene is this - and there is one in Caleta de Fuste and one at the airport as well! This stands on the plinth where once there was a tasteful water feature. It has something to do with an islandwide ecological campaign, but is now unlabelled. Within a week the plaque was pulled from its support which was daubed with "Feo!" (ugly), and now the support has gone. Spanish families love it and there are frequent stops for photos, but it is completely incongruous with the highly regulated design quality and uniformity of the former "cobbled street" that it faces.

The town seems busy, particularly with Scandinavians and Poles; but businesses claim still to be suffering and there are casualties! As usual a handful of Italian restaurants and cafés have opened, closed or changed hands, without making much difference! La Chalana, Castaway, Cafe Lounge and the Creperie have not re-opened, and there are some small changes around the Music Square and Old Town. The improvements to the Main Street have made very little progress, but there is more going on at the top of the street than before, and  - praise be! - they have at last started to demolish the monstrous unfinished hotel on the outskirts of town. There is a new passengers-only ferry service to Lanzarote.

This year we decided not to go to Gran Canaria for Bob's birthday, but to have three nights of luxury at the Barceló in Caleta de Fuste. We stayed on a half-board basis in a superior room for a very good (residents') price. The two main days were gloriously sunny, the food was excellent and we fixed up the laptop to the TV and enjoyed some good films, but we didn't walk very far (other than around the huge site itself) and we didn't get to the spa. The birthday dinner was at "15" - a new one for us, but we will go again! They operate with 15 mains on every night which are ranked for popularity as a new one is added each week. Venison with haggis was exquisite! Ruth had a partial respite from the killer diet, and we managed to cadge a lift back with Eileen after her welcome meeting, arriving back home  just as it started to rain.

The month has seen a lot of rain, and some days of strong cold North winds:- no beach sunbathing yet!

Finally:- the health bulletin! It took two weeks to get an appointment with a specialist at the hospital in Puerto, and a miracle was immediate! No operation until the weight is dramatically down, but if to be done it would be on the island and only one knee at a time - but would Ruth like cortisone  injections? Insomnia and a headache followed but within 24 hours she was leaping about like a mountain goat, so watch this space for news of a more active Greyrocks! Amazingly the specialist and the student with him both said they would like to work in the UK NHS.Mmmm!

 

 

Spanish paper-chases: Don't you just love 'em?

We have been in sunny Fuerteventura for over two weeks, but first we nearly didn't get here, and second we have spent a lot of time on what was a simple task just a year ago! This little film came up on the local forum and says it all:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wtbQUaC9mE 

 

So - the full Monty on our journey:

Back in the summer we saw a great deal with Ryanair, which along with our Canarian residents' discount would get us both here from Barcelona with big bags for a total under 60E. Our credentials for the discount were accepted, but there was a notice about what would (after Sept 1st) have to be shown at the airport. We thought our special green things were OK and arrived at the airport just after 5.15 am.

We waited in the queue for check-in watching all the normal Ryanair ritual humiliations confident of a smooth ride, but no! "Where are your travel documents?" We offer the green things. "No - the ones from the Town Hall!" We try something else . "Too old - wrong thing!". Off to the Ryanair office to offer to happily pay the discount. NO - only a new ticket! Before we got to the horror of asking what it would cost to buy again the seats we couldn't use she points out that this would have to be done online - in Terminal 1 which is a 10 minute ride on a shuttle bus, and we were now about  50 minutes from take-off! This is - of course - all administered with the charm for which Ryanair is so famous - not! (They - of course - can just pocket the takings from such events!)

So we had to start again. We went to Terminal 1 and looked at possibilities. The details of what Vueling could do to get us to GC or Lanzarote are now a confused mass with 4-figure sums associated, so we set up the laptop and began a hunt. (At one stage a young German woman asked if she could use it to look for fresh flights to Tenerife following the same rejection - and she had a dog!)

The best thing we could do was Air Europe via Madrid later in the morning, so we paid up, and have been mumbling about swings and roundabouts ever since. Barajas airport transfer was easy as it was the same plane, and our pick-up by Dave was re-scheduled. We were in the apartment by 5.30 (It had been beautifully cleaned by Sandra!)

After a day of recovery we went to the Town Hall outpost to see about getting the documents in question. The employee said there had been many problems associated with the new law. It seems the intention is to cut down on discounts for people who have residencia  but are no longer actually living on the islands. We were issued with PINs so that we can print our own, along with a general proof of address. This all works very efficiently!

 Time, then, to use Ruth's recent UK state pensioner status to get a Canarian Health Service card. Notice the colours in the logo. This does not bode well - (The Greyrocks Theory of  Perverted Customer Loyalty) - but it had been so simple for Bob. Stage 1: Take a bus to Puert del Rosario. On the way we passed Elaine the Hairdresser chatting to a client, and were told that we would need an appointment:- a new policy! Back to the ranch! It is quite straightforward to do this online and we made one and took a later bus. Stage 2: A textbook encounter including praise for R's Spanish - and we got the relevant stamps and paper :- easy! We even managed a very nifty interchange between buses to be back at the Health Centre much earlier than expected and ready for the next bit! Last year Bob had waltzed in with the same papers and emerged with a card, a GP and an appointment. This time Stage 3 lasted eight days. First there was the lack of another copy of the new proof of address document. In on Monday with that, but another paper was missing so Bob did a dash back for it, only to find the computer said no ( well, not, yet in fact!). The receptionist would ring on Tuesday. She did - to say come on Wednesday! We did :- still no association between S1 and Social Security number! She suggested two days off and a return on Monday. It worked! A celebration drink (non-alcoholic as it was a Moth day)!  Watch this space!