Wish you were here?

Tuesday 19th February! In the afternoon on our sun terrace the temperature was 36 deg C! We received an email from Olga in Paleohora with this picture from that morning! The snow had been accompanied by power cuts, so no heating indoors either!

We are sometimes asked why we don't spend the whole year in Crete!

O NO 50

We flew back on Sunday 1oth and the rain followed us! Fuerte got the downpour through to Monday!

We stayed for 13 sterling per night at the Fiesta Corralejo Gardens - an entirely British complex conveniently located but out of fashion and not too good as a sun-trap! whilst there we did many of the things we would do from our own home, including bike rides. The weather got better, but we were driven off the beach on Saturday by sudden easterly wind.

The highlight of the week was undoubtedly the 50th birthday party of Dave - a friend, man-about-town and now our window cleaner. The do was at Rosie O'Grady's and Jill lay on a fine spread! Family from Yorkshire aged 9 to 90 had come over (such as his auntie - above) as were so many friends from over the years (such as Gary from downstairs!)

It was a surreal experience! We could have been in England,, and yet..!

Many Happy Returns, Dave!

Bury that sardine!

By pure coincidence we were in Las Palmas for the last two nights of Carnaval (Spanish spelling!) The theme this year was Olympia as you can see from the poster and main stage. We spent a long evening in a street cafe listening to salsa night and were waited on by Italian Anita who recognised us from Mirando al Sur in Corralejo. Small world!

After the torrential rain on Saturday the Burial of the Sardine - feature of the last night - was threatened with postponement, but it did happen (without us!) Lots of pics on http://www.lpacarnaval.com

Big City!

After two relaxed and pretty sunny weeks we took the bus to Las Palmas. The Independent published a very favourable guide in an edition which Chloe brought over for us in December. It is one of Spain's largest cities, has one of the best city beaches in the World, good shopping and a fascinating history. It has two parts - San Telmo and Santa Catalina - quite a way apart. We stayed in hotel in the latter near Las Canteras beach. (Hotel Astoria) which had a rooftop pool and terrace, a nasty cat smell in Room 103 and a bear-pit arrangement for buffet breakfast. (How many slices of ham/cheese, croissants and apples can the average Swede smuggle out in a pocket?) It is a feasible walk from the bus station but we took a taxi - driven by the most unpleasant taxi-driver on the island!

We spent one day in the modern part visiting the wonderful two-part El Corte Ingles where we bought several useful household items and too many cheap DVDs. The next day we went down to the historic centre where Ruth (only) went up in a lift to the cathedral bell tower for the view. Unfortunately it was raining in buckets. Fortunately this led us to the Casa Colon - an exquisite museum in a traditional house with a courtyard (two parrots!). There is a comprehensive history of Colombus and the colonisation of the Canaries. Well worth a visit!

Another highlight was a meal in a French restaurant recommended by Silvia & Carlos. (They recommended two - but this is not a holiday!). It was a gem!!! La Galia.. and some good French wine as well

Seething humanity!

We had several very hot days and spent them on Masplomas beach. At every point in the day there was a constant procession along the shore in both directions:- between the lighthouse and Playa del Ingles. It was reminiscent of the Haj - but with fewer clothes and 100 percent white (or tanned/burnt/tatooed!)

This is the land of the Nordic poles! Their owners speed down the beach at a rate inconsistent with their grey pound/euro/kroner status.

Getting them onto seats!

Sorry if this causes offence, but it was too good to miss!

Maspalomas Beach is excellent - debating point is how it compares with Fuerte's best, and naturists get their own large area and catering facility!

Our Paleohora friends may wish to recommend this as a strategy for the business plan of Nikos at the cantina; or indeed Barry and Jenny might feel inspired!

.. and probably its best bit!

Puerto Mogan in the South West of GC was highly recommended and we had spent a lot of time trying to find somewhere to stay there, without success. So we went for the day on a bus that followed the coastline rather than the motorway and therefore took us into and (thankfully) out of such places as Puerto Rico!

Mogan is at the mouth of a ravine so the ride in and out is rather hairy and the scope for tourist accommodation is limited. This - and an unremarkable beach - meant we were relieved not to be there for a fortnight! As a little town - however -it is charming! It is known as the Venice of the Canaries and has real people living and working there - including running small restaurants with fresh sardines. A bit like Corralejo old town, and worth several days of exploring! Coming back we discovered the fast bus, and this - a comprehensive service with plenty of stops near hotels etc - is another strength of the island. (They are rather coy about issuing the timetable, though - unless you sk in Spanish!)

Gran Can's better bits!

Two things about the nature of the island strike you as different from Fuerte! First is that although there are also mountains throughout the interior they are not as stark and have green vegetation. The second is that - having been developed for much longer - there are far more and more healthy palms. They are everywhere and are meticulously maintained. As we stood at a bus-stop we saw the attached:- a worker shinning up a tall one to trim it. In Corralejo palms are put up in places where they die - or they overhang the cycle paths and are never trimmed! Get a grip - Mayor Claudina!

And the cycling provision is excellent!

Even Playa del Ingles - otherwise a good imitation of Great Yarmouth - has a great promenade. It was here that we also came across an Argentine steak house, which had no menu - just a tray of raw meat from which to select at evaded prices!

Land of the Faros

This says it all!

A really well designed shopping centre themed on a lighthouse, which spirals round the three levels and would look lovely without the huge lettering on each face!

In it is a tourist supermarket with inflated prices, only trash British press, and everything for the wurst and sauerkraut lover.

Upstairs is a restaurant dedicated to Dusseldorf Old Town! Fortunately there are other possibilities - mediocre Chinese, good Tex-Mex, classy Italian, less-classy Italians with limited so-called tapas, and a great grill where we discussed Ruth's Uruguayan experiences with a waitress. What is different from Corralejo is that all customers are treated as tourists with gushing & insincere staff who are amazed at any Spanish and some sharp practices on pricing.

The bike hire shop, though was very good and we had a lot of fun cycling down to the beaches at Maspalomas/Meloneras, and just round the corner is the medical centre which sorted out Ruth's lost filling for about the same price as NHS in UK.

Still Not a Holiday!

We flew with Islas Airways - getting a good discount with the piece of paper from the Town Hall (see Dec.!) It is a 30 minute flight in a 50 seater prop! Interesting views of both islands, a packet of peanuts and a glass of water, blatant abuse of hand-luggage regulations and a lot of Spanish crossing themselves.

Then a neat cheap hourly bus straight from the airport to Maspalomas, and a minor error about where to get off leading to the second-grumpiest taxi driver on the island sorting us out.

We stayed here at El Palmeral Bungalows- found on http://www.thomsonfly.co.uk

It is one of a series of similar complexes built round the Faro 2 commercial centre.

'Showing its age a bit, with good-enough communal services, scrupulously cleaned, pleasant staff and a good choice! We met quite a few similarly ancient couples who agreed!

The seagull has landed!

Well, here we are - yesterday we made the short journey from our cheap, cheap holiday apartment where we completed our voluntary exile to our home, and the thrill of decent TV, private sun terrace, washing machine and broadband! So there is a three and a half week jape to be described!

GC - what can you say?

Green Covering, German Colony, Gay Chaps, Geriatric Community, Gross Consumerism, Grandes Cuentas, Great Cycling, Gardened Carefully, Glorious Carnival and Gaping Cavity!

Read on !