Roof Runners, Balcony Banter and Troops on the Streets:- Life adjusts to Lockdown!,

What a month March 2020 has been! This post is being written in some haste, but it needs the date-stamp! Left until tomorrow it could be taken for an  April Fool spoof!
The Canaries - as with all of Spain - is in its third week of restrictions, which as expected have therefore lasted longer than was first announced, with some extra bits being added yesterday, but not affecting the average retired couple much over and above those we are getting used to!
In fact the islands remain the safest region, and Fuerteventura the safest of the "big four"! Today nine new cases were designated cured, and the total of active cases came down to 23.

As described earlier the Spanish regime for the public during "lockdown" has throughout been beset by lack of clarity about leaving home. It is clear that just going out for some exercise - even on a solitary basis - is not permitted, so within Greyrocks' circle when someone needs a bit of exercise they go to one of the supermarkets ostentatiously carrying the shopping bag and - for the return leg - holding tightly to the till receipt! If the couple wants to go together it is a matter of walking separately and ignoring each other at the store until safely and separately through the checkout! Conduct is subject to patrols by three bodies:- Local Police, the Guardia Civil and now handsome young soldiers who travel round town in Humvees or Jeeps, and operate a road block near the old bus station. Neither of us has yet been caught, but it is not a relaxing activity!

Socialising itself is a minefield! Two weeks ago we had a commitment to taking our neighbours (the nice ones!) out for a flash meal to thank them for extensive help during our summer absence. Unfortunately the decree had been issued, so Ruth cooked a "Seventies" style meal at home and they walked the ten paces from their front door to ours to pass the evening. Was this legal? We hope so as we now have a regular weekly programme alternating the venue and the cooking!

Frustration with the rules has led to an outburst of another activity in the "grey zone". From our second storey balcony we have been seeing an increasing number of people using roof terraces to which they have access for running (or even skateboarding), and also - clearly legally - on their own balconies  skipping and hanging from the pergola.

The latest development is the evening applause from the balcony for health staff, On the Peninsula it takes place at 8 pm every night, so here we do it at 7 pm - Canarian time. Given that Spain has the highest proportion of its national virus cases being health professionals it seems the least one can do!

"Lockdown" : The First Ten Days!

"Together!" As displayed  in many Italian eateries

The PM (Sanchez) was on the TV during Saturday evening (14th). After the cancellation of Carnival and rumours of the banning of large assemblies we had a feeling that Straight Ahead would not be playing in the square that evening, and indeed they were not so we wandered up the high street and decided to go to Santa Ana - an old favourite for well-served Rioja and a warm welcome. There weren;t many there and the locals who were were watching Sanchez. The Spanish was beyond Ruth, but it looked serious! We got into conversation with a newly-arrived but frequent British holiday-makers from Twickenham, and stayed for quite a while. It was clear that the closing of bars and restaurants was on the cards, so we decided to make our second stop another place very popular with locals - Tu Casa - where we were told that after closing that night that would be it! And for Greyrocks it was the last drink in a bar!

Playtime is off!

Details emerged next day: there were restrictions that would last initially for 15 days. All bars, cafeterias and restaurants to close, trips for food shopping to be by individuals only, and otherwise everyone to stay at home. Sunday was rather relaxed with plenty of couples - us included - going for a walk in the sunshine and stopping to chat with others. Children's playgrounds were also cordoned off. But on Monday there were patrols enforcing the rules for anyone out and about, and soon security staff at supermarkets were insistent on singletons only, use of gloves and distance between customers - especially at the tills! A strange collection of non-food shops is staying open with heavy separation at the doors, and pharmacies, of course!  A few items in the supermarket, like frozen pizza and dried pasta disappeared fast, but otherwise there is no sign of panic buying. (Gunter told us yesterday that this in German is Hamsterkäufe which is nicely descriptive!) There are enough ripe bananas as anyone could wish for, and -in contrast with UK - toilet rolls a plenty! One irritating difference with regulations since adopted in other European countries is that of exercise. No provision has been made for simply walking - even alone!  Hence the most common accompaniments - apart from face masks - are large shopping bags and dogs! People have been frequently challenged to show receipts if their "defence" is   shopping! Ruth's physiotherapy is off, as are routine GP appointments,and swimming indoors or out.

Absolute figures for 21st - not proportional by population

A way of life is getting established involving a lot of home cooking; a lot of Netflix and TVMucho, and checking the global statistics online. Data for Spain as a whole is - of course - scary; but the Canary Islands was at first showing as the safest area in which to be living when tabulated in terms of population. This has slipped a bit as Tenerife develops as a "hotspot", but our island has -as of yesterday - 24 cases - only a couple of which are hospitalised and no fatalities. Greyrocks feels more secure that they would in UK or France!

All tourist accommodation had to close by this Tuesday, and down at the "big beaches" the goats have taken over: Enjoy!

The Carnival is over but the sardine is still intact!

Yesterday should have seen the ceremony that ends the carnival :- the burial of the sardine; but the model fish never made it to the bonfire and the fireworks will be available for another festival! Rather than eating in our strategically placed restaurant Greyrocks cooked a roast at home after a dash to the supermarket. Nor had Saturday gone according to the usual plan of dressing up and watching the big procession down the High Street. This is because the carnival was cancelled midweek, and the national "lockdown" was announced on Saturday evening.

We had been less than enthusiastic about it this time round, as the theme of "Professions" was a typical one for La Oliva:- unusual but very difficult to use as inspiration for a costume! (Discussions tended to come back to "the oldest profession"!)

We missed the opening procession and on the first Saturday had a very pleasant day out by bus in Lajares and El Cotillo. We alighted at the top of the High Street and walked down, and ahead of us we could see a huge screen filling the width of the street near the pharmacy. We then heard rock music from a band, and soon discovered that the whole of the newly pedestrianised street was filled with carnival-goers, and there were many temporary catering outlets on both sides. None of this had been possible for Daytime Carnival in other years, and it was joyous! First prize for inventive costume would probably go to the handful in yellow and blue, and "wearing" scooters to honour our postal service - the Correos. There were quite a few Super Mario plumbers, scout leaders, sailors, white coats and saucy nurses. We had a couple of drinks and left feeling much more positive, though still lacking practical ideas for the following Saturday!

Kids' day happened too!

Tuesday was Drag Queen Night and the music - audible from our bedroom to a degree dependent on the wind - did not finish until 4 am. We felt a little less positive on Wednesday, but by then the news was of national panic about the coronavirus - particularly worries about older people,so we wondered if that evening's event aimed specifically at the "Third Age" would go ahead. Publicising any update during the day would have been a problem as the whole municipality (and beyond) had eleven hours of ouatge of all telecommunications! We stepped out for an assignation at Weirdo's and en route saw no activity at the carnival site other than the wheeling off of Portaloos! It was then no surprise to be told that it was cancelled - along with all remaining events! Of course this pales into insignificance given the "lockdown" decree of this Saturday evening. Greyrocks will chronicle the effects for them in a few days' time, so watch this space!

Sand and sea:- there's such a thing as too much!

Latest travel option: Don Juan

When we left the airport in Fuerteventura the temperature was 29 deg. C! This was a good sign and, indeed, the first week featured glorious afternoons. Greyrocks settled into some tedious jobs and the purchase of a few household items until Friday, when we had an arranged rendezvous with our Goa/Derbyshire friends and occasional house-sitters who are also regular visitors to Lanzarote. we considered taking the new Lineas Romero "fast ferry" which replaces the rather basic Princess Ico. it comes recommended and would have been ridiculously cheap, but Bob was worried about the state of the sea so we went instead on the usual Fred Olsen. The sea was like a millpond in both directions, and the sun came out during our long tapas lunch and there was - at that stage -  no sign of the much-heralded bad weather!

Calima effect on the balcony table!

 Next day, however, it started! The wind was ferocious, sea lashing the shore paths and roads, and the sand from the calima started to accumulate on the outdoor furniture! Until early evening we nurtured thoughts of a meal out and some live music, but then we considered the wind tunnel outside our gate and made the Chinese take-away delivery guy suffer it instead! Sunday was also a challenge, but we made it to the spa for a swim. With the sea and beach so uninviting a lot of holidaymakers had the same idea and it was not as restful there as usual. The view out to sea through the picture windows was grim! Lobos had disappeared! The passers-by often had scarves over their faces! We sat inside for the first time ever at La Bolada, where we went for our Sunday "dinner"!

Yes- that is sand! Airports closed!

But we were lucky! Ruth spent a lot of time watching local TV, and the news - particularly from Tenerife and Gran Canaria was terrible! Along with the wind, rough seas and sand, there was a wave of fires causing evacuations and destruction. Over the two main days 822 flights were cancelled across the archipelago. A notable one was a Jet2 incoming from Manchester to Fuerte, which was  diverted to Faro and entailed two nights in a hotel there for the passengers!


Monday was rather better and flights began to resume normal operation, but the domestic clean-up was a foul chore!