Ice Packs, Some Feathers, Delayed Sardine and a Surfeit of Tapas!



What's a Grecian urn? 3 euros an hour!

 To everyone's surprise the prettifications of Corralejo Old Town had been almost completed by the start of the carnival - bringing to an end almost two years of mess, false starts and very silly ideas.

The area between Calle La Iglesia and the showground (near Blue Rock and Rougues' Gallery) has caused particular speculation. In the autumn an ornamental arch was erected and removed within 48 hours, and two plots clearly destined for something decorative would change shape from week to week. Finally we have acquired an urn which is a water feature that occasionally dribbles, and a beached boat that is filling with litter. Apparently the original gratings round the urn were stolen! Meanwhile back up Iglesia (the "Cobbled Street") they have removed the very impractical planked patches, which were warping and cracking as soon as installed, requiring hardwood repairs.



The Straight Queen 2011



After the excitement of the first weekend Carnaval has a programme with a specific focus each day:- schools, "Third Age", tourists, young children, and of course the Drag Show. We gave all but the last a miss, but went out on the Tuesday evening and missed any free sightings of the performers through lingering over dinner and then seeing a superb rock band at San Miguel. After a "comfort stop" at the Rock Bob abandoned both Ruth and half-glass of wine to go home to bed.  Shortly after this Ruth left and was hailed by Freddie on his bicycle. He is a stalwart of Africa's chinguito, who is an elderly Gran Canarian seafaring widower with an "extrovert" manner. In trying to escape Ruth misjudged the newly installed kerb and fell heavily into the road! Freddie helped her up. It was a slow and painful limp home. One foot was bruised along the side and the other knee (never good) was agony. Wednesday was spent with ice-packs and virtually no mobility. On Thursday she had to use taxis up and back in order to present an extra radio programme; but sitting for over three hours with the mind on other things did a world of good, and by Friday walking was possible. If we had a euro for everyone who has said something about "taking more water with it", we would be rich indeed!

So to Saturday and the Big Procession, for which dressing up is expected, and largely implemented by the female residents, but shunned by many a lily-livered male! Ruth spent all of  4 euros on some trimmings and feathers, downloaded children's templates and got colouring with felt-tips for her head-dress. We started out at La Luna to meet Dave, Dee and Alex lavishly costumed  as two Vikings and a "Love God". We watched the procession as usual from American Burger, and it was better than last year, but still showing the impact of the crisis! Later at the Rock there were many Cleopatras including Elaine sitting imperiously as a blonde one,  Roman soldiers of many ranks and a good few sheets!

Overnight the clocks went forward. We all knew that, but someone at the council had forgotten it when drawing up the schedule for the Burial of the Sardine. (Carnaval being vaguely linked to Lent has been about as late in the year as it could be!). As a result, the published time for departure was far too early. It would not be dark for the fire and fireworks.  The solution? Say nothing, just let tourists hang around in confusion.  and encourage the drum bands to continue playing! It did, however, result in a better photo of this year's fish and the mourners! Fireworks? Allegedly back up to standard, but we missed them due to a badly timed meal

But the excitement was not all over yet! For months we have been talking to (Cakes) Eileen about the possibility of a "Tapas Trail" around town. We feel that tourists would be more inclined to visit some of the excellent tapas bars if they had their hand held on the first occasion - to see how it works, learn some vocabulary and realise that they would be welcomed. Last Tuesday we joined a trial run. Eileen had produced a guide and made the arrangements. There was she, us, Tom and Cristina from the El Sol newspaper - which has recently changed hands and is going to sponsor the trail - and two genuine "punters" from Manchester. The plan was to visit five bars at 30 minutes each.  First stop was Pincha Cabra and we had a generous selection but began to run late, then off to Casa Manolo, where the dishes just kept coming, and Norteno - ditto, and then Marcelino - by which time we were groaning at each new dish - even the beautiful chunks of fresh tuna! It was as if they were competing with each other to be generous. We finally arrived at La Plaza about two hours late, and he had to be restrained from bringing on more than just cheese. The "Just a few papas?" moment was reminiscent of Mr Creosote. It didn't need detailed feedback from any of us to establish that the real thing will be rather less fullsome.