Coming up smelling of Roses (fish and garlic!)

Parillada de pescado:- enough for two!
 

 From the Barcelona Airport hotel we had a very smooth journey back to pick up Yvette. As before the shuttle bus driver dropped us off at the train station, leading to a long wait both there and at the connection, but it was quiet throughout and we could almost relax! The minibus was waiting for us and we were soon inspecting the new site for the parking lot, which is very close indeed to the airport and much tidier. Yvette was clean and shiny but was having her battery tweaked. The significance of this only became clear later! We had a chat with the staff about the move and they told us the torrential rain had caused problems. Ditto!
We spent the next three days at Roses on the Costa Brava, and thus a (mercifully) short drive. We found the hotel we had booked as soon as we entered the town, and it was clear this was a very good choice. Although not front-line and with views of only either the road or garden allotments it is a short walk through to the seafront, the parking is ideal and the rooms are quiet, spacious and comfortable.  Everything fine, then - well not quite! Bob went back to the car to bond with all the stuff we had left in it, and was gone a very long time! He couldn´t even get in! Somewhere along the line in the parking move the battery had be left draining and it was now as flat as a pancake! For the second time we had to invoke the breakdown service, and it was very efficient. A tecnico turned up in his grua and declared the battery dead. He started Yvette up and we followed him gingerly back to his workshop and parted with more money than we liked to get a new battery (with quick release.. note that parking lot people!)

After that we were back on track! Both national and Catalan TV channels were featuring the weather:- showing sunny beaches and rejoicing in this after all the rain. We had three gloriously sunny days, although the wind and evenings were cold, seeming particularly so after the Canaries! The Dali trail remains untouched - this time because the weather was too good! We cycled up and down the wide, well-maintained promenade, and Bob did a long ride inland encountering a river that could only be crossed by a ford. It is a delightful resort:- helped by lack of fear of dealing with dog owners! Take note, Corralejo! 

 

 

There are many interesting restaurants. We were so impressed with Las Palmeras that we ate there on two successive nights.

 

When we found a Chinese shop with the huge cheap wheelie bags we were looking for as replacements our joy was further enhanced and we put Roses on the list of "must return" places and set off across the Pyrenees!

 

 

 

 



The Last Lap!

 

 The weather went rather strange for our last week in Fuerteventura, with the Friday and Saturday being dull, with even a little rain. Ruth went to see her surgeon, who once again made notes on the weight loss, and agreed she was likely to be down to an acceptable BMI by October, and said that might mean new knees weren´t necessary. He looked at the painful big toe joint and said it probably dated back to the incident in the Chania lift in June, but would be instantly solved with a small cortisone injection, which it was, so that made three. Ruth skipped back to the bus:- well almost! Our neighbours Pete and Sandy came back later that day after a long break in Australia and UK, and we saw Chloë off on the bus the following morning. She was flying to Gran Canaria for fieldwork which is part of her Masters. She was very bad-tempered about the early start, and we have heard nothing of her since she arrived there!

On Sunday there was excitement in town as it was Triathlon day. This is an annual amateur event. See here some good footage from last year. We missed the swimming (750m out and back from the town beach), but saw some contenders come flying down Lepanto at the end of the 25km cycle stage, dump their bikes and set off on the 5km run. We then went through to the final stretch near the Shell station to see the first dozen or so finishers, and then decided it wasn´t sitting-out weather, so returned home.

The next two days were down for packing and cleaning, so the very disappointing weather didn´t matter too much, but on Wednesday it was rather better. We locked up and went to La Luna for a tapas lunch and on to the 4pm bus, and that was Corralejo 2012-13 over!

Vueling is a Very Good Thing! We flew to Barcelona with 23kg each of hold baggage and pre-selected seats (a row each) for a total of 85 euros! There was no queue at check-in, they are doing their best about the residency mess, we got a free wine after a cabin attendant knocked over about a spoonful, and the flight arrived early and into Terminal 1, which is a rather civilised airport. It was about 11.30 pm but our shuttle to the hotel was waiting. We are now back into mainland Europe.

Semana de Turismo

Good Friday: Town Beach! - 28degC!

(Ruth recalls that in Uruguay that is the official secular name for Easter Week). This week we have have mostly been amusing and supporting Chloë who has now just set off for Gran Canaria to do her Masters fieldwork!
We had some gorgeous daytime sun for the Spanish Semana Santa break. C arrived on the evening of Maundy Thursday - Bank Holiday! (Once again we had a great service from Airport Transfers, who provided a solo ride for her direct to the Dunas Club for 14GBP, where we were waiting in La Luna with tapas). She had left Amsterdam in a temperature of -2!

Next afternoon we went to hear Dave and Ronnie play at Pescaditos. The town was heaving with many local families out in the sunshine, and some anti-social parking to impede cycling, but a very jolly atmosphere everywhere! This continued into Saturday, when B & C rode up to the Flea Market at Campenario and she bought a bag for 2 euros to her great delight. Over the week we ate out at favourites such as Caracoles, the original Chinese Wok, La Tasca, Avenida and Fogalera.

We heard music from Erik at his new Brisamar venue, Rock Café with the brilliant Italian lead guitarist - Julio, Rock Island and (quite new to us, although we are very familiar with musicians Ronnie and Chris) Boogaloo, which is Dutch - owned so gave Chloë a chance for a chat about things Dutch including the word for "horse-pee" to describe one of the beers!

In spite of the sun we avoided the big beach over the festivos, but did spend a glorious Easter Sunday at Galera Beach on the edge of town, where we knew we would hear Murphy Be Good, see some body-painting by Tony and have a great view of the bay. Murphy was late (forgot the hour-change) but had with him a Brasilian percussionist, and Tony was bored and wanted to drum up business so Chloë  got a free paint job! It was a long hot afternoon, and amongst other delights there was impromptu dancing from more Brasilians and a British belly-dancer.

 

More of a Domingo  Santana!

Not such a happy time for a British semi-resident couple whose yacht was in the marina near Mojo (Niki and Johhny's boat), nor for La Cueva de Lobos in the premises opposite Antigua del Puerto, which suddenly closed for good this week. (We can recall at least eight restaurants there over the years:- a site of doom! Still it will soon be another (doubtless Italian) venture. Watch this space!)