Our summer in Paleochora wascharacterised by:
- Unseasonal weather
- Stupid tourism planning decisions
- Disruptive digging-up of key streets
On the first evening we ventured out having forgotten the plans published in March to re-pave much of the old town. We aimed for the Chinese restaurant in the cobbled street skirting round Blue Rock to avoid being drawn in. There was no Chinese! and Blue Rock was very closed and hidden behind a digger! It seems the "prettification" has been
very badly handled - costing local small businesses dearly and the promised outcomes of uniformity are not much-wanted by anyone except the council. Heard that before?Over the period progress was made with fancy and varied tiles being laid and the new sun canopies, windbreaks and lighting being brought in. Blue Rock re-opened just before we left for our break, and we had the honour of being the first to be served!
Meanwhile the level of tourism has been causing much distress! Rumours about the return of Ryanair have come and gone, and without these flights and whilst some new Monarch and Easyjet ones were awaited the town was quiet! Restaurants have been worst hit. A couple of days into our time we set off for a beautiful Argentinian steak at Mirando Al Sur. Closed down!
Here - for absent friends - is the toll over the summer:Mirando - gone and the grill man is working at La Tasca (untried)
Las Piratas (formerly Telegraf/Oscars) gone - and Tio Barnabe has moved up the cobble street into its corner site.
Rendez-Vous gone and a very sad little French creperie is in its place
Slow Boat 1 and 2 both gone, but the Chinese inside the commercial cente has expanded and has a good name for its hot wok service and added Japanese dishes.
La Fragata - by the harbour - gone, and a new Indian is in its premises
Taj Mahal - gone!
Hemingways - near Hiperdino - gone!
Piri-Piri (Alviro's place in the old Blue Jeans site) gone!
Sundowner gone - probably a result of the closure of Corralejo Gardens hotel!
... and our own locale has never re-opened.
Meanwhile the raving incompetence of tourism planners continues to amaze! The two provinces of the Canaries have come to together to promote the whole archipelago and UK TV currently features an ad in dubious taste with a polar bear in it, and 100 young people have been sent to "new" potential sources of holidaymakers - starting with Iceland!! Iceland? Wasn't there some financial problem there??
Anyway! Events during our first spell included the International Kite Festival down on the dunes, Halloween - always fun here, (Jules had his Sweeny Todd butcher kit!) and the SUP festival! We were sitting as usual at Africa's shack and spotted nautical activity we didn't recognise - some canoes were there, and strong swimmers, and an ambulance was in attendance. SUP is "Stand Up and Paddle", which is self-explanatory. Also one evening we saw and heard small fireworks being let off in the High Street. As we passed one of the electronics & ciggies shops run by Indian families we caught the eye of someone and so wished them a good Diwali. We were invited in for sweets and soft drinks. We could have had a whole veggie meal. We were very honoured.
And what about the weather?
Absolutely wonderful! October and November have been the warmest, sunniest and least windy in living memory. On two Sundays in three we went down to the big beach and went in the sea, which was warmish. Temperatures were often well into the 30s mid-afternoon, and we used our own pool too! There was one morning of rain - but hey! We didn't do much else in these three weeks - there were no real issues in the apartment. We did buy a new TV and get the new faster internet service sorted. Time flew and it was soon time to move on. We set off on November 6th.