Greyrocks is safely back home in Fuerteventura having had two gloriously sunny days of re-entry!The account of the (pretty - but not entirely - glitch-free) journey will follow, but first the next few days will look back - with themes - on a great couple of months, bearing in mind that
Chloë was with us for twelve
days across the Christmas and New Year period. Once the sun has made its dramatic descent thoughts turn to further entertainment, and in Palolem there is a choice: a film, a significant meal, the quiz or live music.
Films
As stated earlier this is now a more troublesome
topic! In the main social area there is just El Diablo (very close to our digs!) Simon now has a more
varied offering so the number of evenings with films
has been reduced, and he does cater for all tastes, further reducing it to anything Greyrocks would want to see! The visual image is now very good, but the sound is always spoiled by bar, kitchen and road noise, plus the highly intrusive - and deliberate - music output from Hungry Jack's across the road (of which more later!) Thus, we watched here just one and a half films during the seven week stay! These were the latest Star Wars - which Ruth eschewed completely and from
which Chloë walked out! Bob gave it a few stars! Much more recently we two went to see
Jojo Rabbit, which we would score at 9! Brilliant in all regards and both hilarious and harrowing! There were not many punters there!
Enter Tattwa! It is a dark and hazardous walk to and from the village outskirts, but - after a shaky start this year - we were delighted by seeing two films, each preceded by good meals and in comfortable seating! We remembered from last season
that it is potentially
a great
venue for films, but you need telepathy or rumours to know what's on when! First we saw Once upon a Time in Hollywood, then
The Irishman, which
-with its length and violence - made it a "two-torcher" for one couple with whom we went:- meaning they might be walking back separately! Ruth even stayed awake!
Significant Meals
Asked for a recommendation Greyrocks would probably name
Dropadi, which some Brits have dismissed as being "full of Indians"! Unbelievable! Certainly it is busy, and we have usually booked a beach-facing table! Seafood is the thing, and we went with Chloë for dinner on Christmas Day, and then - unexpectedly - also on New Years Day. We two then had two further meals, which cannot be faulted -in all covering lobster (spiny). tiger prawns, kingfish fillet, crab meat masala and a couple of chicken dishes! The second visit with Chloë arose following disappointment at not being able to eat at
Magic Italy:- a choice of hers, and very popular with residents.So we booked for a very early supper the next night, and could see why it is well rated; but we over-ordered and found the pasta portions enormous! Also within the festive period we went to
Ciaran's, which had a singer and an interesting short menu, but a muddle in Ruth's order resulted in disappointment about crab cakes rather low on crab! We thought we might also try their new Indian "tapas" place next door, but didn't get round to it! On the less Indian front we had several steaks (water buffalo?) at The Nest and discovered a new favourite at
Royal Italy, where Pete is producing pies so good it has driven
Ruth to Trip Advisor.
The Quiz
Mention of Royal Italy leads neatly to their Thursday night Trivia Quiz, presented by Pete. The opportunity to participate was on our fist night so we didn't. On 26th December it was cancelled as he was exhausted after a very successful Christmas day of cooking, so we three went the next week. We teamed up with Darren and Mary from Mallorca and became The Spanish Inquisition. Thanks to C's knowledge of 80's pop we did fairly well. By the next week we had lost Chloë but gained Trudy and some loose ends, one of whom turned out to be a liability, and we were penalised. With renewed determination we scraped a victory the following week and took the jackpot of 700 rupees each. Our final session was marred by a shameful incident involving the language and conduct at a neighbouring table, and we didn't do too well either! It's not the best quiz Greyrocks has encountered (That has to be Mad Mik in Corralejo!) but like
Samuel Johnson's dog........
Live Music
Again - a little disappointing this season, in terms of choice! There has been a fair amount of "Open Mic" on a regular night, but far fewer booked bands and artists. Early on we caught the tail end of a session by a well-known Mumbai band at El Diablo, but it was packed and we weren't able to appreciate it. We also saw there a duo including a female trumpeter that was quite pleasing, and just before moving on saw a couple of acts that were worth the effort.(One such was a certain Phil, who had been "drunk as a skunk" one day at the Nest, but had sobered up to do a decent set!)
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| The new Slimline Matthew fronts the Goa-Ts |
We were also on the lookout for
Irish Susie, whom we have been seeing with joy for many years! Often foul-mouthed, often anti-Brit and always full of joy to be in Palolem and Agonda, she holds the audience rapt and acknowledges some that she knows! She did two sets during an evening at Rococo Pelton, where Two Metre Mark and Indian Jesse were also good to hear, but as often happens the ambience deteriorated as time progressed, and Greyrocks left before the curfew!
It is lucky therefore that The Goa-Ts continue to forage in the area! Our first encounter this season was during Chloë's stay and was at Hungry Jacks's. This was called something else last year and developed a reputation for loud music - of whatever genre and source - and rough Russian clientele. In its new outfit we thought it was a fair bet and that we should eat there before the band started. There was much obsequiousness as we were so early, but they still messed up a cocktails order! We got to talk to the band members and praised Matthew's stunning weight loss, but the technical problems were evident! Those persisted through the evening, and then the staff asked that a very young boy touring the bars with his guitar and parents be allowed to play. Even fewer numbers! Meanwhile some very basis dishes were taking ages to arrive, and a party of ten Indians were given precedence. A "never again" situation, that was - of course - in time repeated! Bob and Chloë stayed on and returned quite merry1
On New Years Day they were due to play in Patnem. Chloë had by this stage developed a liking for the place, so we went for a beach day to be followed by the gig. It was cancelled by the shack with little notice! Hey ho!
We saw them a handful of times in Palolem and Patnem. One occasion was in a non-beach venue in Patnem which coincided with a dominance by young Israeli families with hordes of children who seemed to have had too many fizzy drinks, and little wish to listen to the band!
The final gig was back at Hungry Jack's - but we didn't eat! Still some sound issues, but a great evening, and Mark drew attention to us as "their most loyal fans" who had been about eight times, and knew the words better than them! An exaggeration on both counts , but touching!
For the record Greyrocks particularly likes:
Willin'
I'm waiting for my man
Highway 61/Route 66
For what it's worth
Cocaine.
We look forward to next year!
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