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New adornments at the Marina
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Montana Roja
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Things chez Greyrocks have been steadily improving through the month that we have been back home in Corralejo. When we were picked up by Dave we were told that the summer had been very hot, but there had recently been a lot of rain. As we drove past Montana Roja there was a torrent of rain pouring down and out into the sea making the largest area of discoloured water ever seen here by us and Dave. This was a portent!
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Inauguration in June of renovated "Molino"
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There was nothing untoward in the apartment or the complex, and Greyrocks was soon settled in. The legacy of recent storms was, however, very evident in puddles and wet furniture. Next day we spent the day on a series of household and health tasks, including a lengthy wait at the Post Office, which has moved back to its previous location and now faces one of the many improvements in town. In this case it is the reopening of a tasteful pedestrian square surrounding a very old renovated windmill- bringing to three the number of mills in town. Read on for more on environmental developments
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October 23rd!
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The rain was apparently just around the corner, but it held off for the day - only catching us at Avenidas in the evening;(leading to free drinks whilst a taxi was called for us);but this was the start of three days of dramatic thunderstorms:- good for hunkering down and getting jobs done, but not great for tourists ! Since that spell, however, and for November as a whole it has been unusually pleasant, with only three poor days.
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Muelle Chico (Town Beach)
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Greyrocks has been monitoring the weather particularly closely since embarking on a new regime of swimming for health! It started with an attempt to enter our own pool on the first decent day, and motivated by the fact that the wrist meant no cycling for Ruth. Unfortunately it also meant gripping the rail of the steps was also impossible, so that was another worthy venture abandoned! Next day we tried the town beach so that the sea could be entered by walking, and we have been going there (or occasionally at Waikiki beach) on almost every day since. Not bad for November, eh? One of the few impossible days was October 28th when - following on from the Full Moon, there was the highest tide in living memory, which completely covered the town beach bringing down intricate sand sculptures and washed over our local prom. The swims are not exactly extensive or elegant, but have helped the wrist flexibility and probably not harmed the knees, although it often doesn't feel that way.
On the subject of inundations there is no let-up in the Italian invasion. It has become the third language in town, a dozen more coffee shops have opened along with a few trendy clothes shops and - of course - some restaurants! Prices for renting homes long-term have escalated with competition for good places, and stereotypical behaviour is evident everywhere. Nor has there been any reduction in the number of surfers and facilities for them. As previously written they are considered by Greyrocks to be a Good Thing for the community and its economy, but the combination of several Italian surfers on skateboards isn't! |
| Artist's impression of the new Brisamar |
The town rubbish and cleaning lorries now announce that this is a "Municipio Touristico y Selecto", and in our absence and finalising in our first few weeks there has been some serious tarting up of the town centre:- not just the mill and fish, but some very welcome (by Greyrocks but not motorists!) pedestrianisation. It started before we left in April with remodelling of the street behind the Atlantico Centre and passing La Taberna and Boogaloos to the police station. This is now completed with trendy street furniture and large palms, giving scope for bars and restaurants to spill out onto the wide pavement. Boogaloos in particular has undergone a major expansion in this respect and is an attractive proposition for live music, although whether this can survive the winter evening chill remains to be seen.
The main street is not fully pedestrianised but from the (sadly removed) Dove Statue down to the (soon to be removed) Shell Station and up two blocks of Lepanto there is little traffic now and wider pavements with a real sense of cafe life.
And so to the inevitable changes in Greyrocks´ restaurant selection. Some closures of places we have used are our local: the Cafe Lounge (rumoured to be taken over by one the most highly rated restaurants in town, but nothing is yet happening there), the second Brazilian Rodizio (on Lepanto), the Lazy Lounge near the harbour, Belen near WaiKiki beach (replaced in the last two weeks by a large, flash restaurant and lounge bar - Toro Beach), H20 (still there but tranferred to unremarkable Italian ownership), Scarpetta which relocated to the mall near 7 Pints, LÁtelier des Saveurs on the cobble street is now an Italian bar specialising in craft beers, Casa Richard next door to Blue Rock (currently still empty but rumoured to be going Italian), Ali´s Tavern next door to that (has changed hands and name twice over the summer and is now Italian) and - saddest of all - Caracoles! Bob bumped into Carlos and Sylvia on a Tuesday and head it had closed on the previous Friday in response to Carlos´ health problems. It had been on Greyrocks´ list of "must do" and we had missed it after all the years of enjoying their lovely "posh tapas". No prizes for guessing the nationality of the new owners!
So we have some new places to try, and indeed have already experimented once with the up-market Belgian-run Tuxedo at the top of town, being (soon) Greyrocks´ one new Trip Advisor entry for Corralejo.
Otherwise as November progressed there were some cold evenings and nights, a few miserable cloudy or wet days, more wrist recovery breakthroughs, some frustrations with the Health Service and a short birthday break. More narrative on these to follow!