The long March!

Not our most enjoyable Carnival!

Ruth headed home on March 7th. Bizarrely at Gatwick in Weatherspoons for breakfast she spotted her former Science Education colleague from Greenwich who was on her way to Iceland. (The nation - not the supermarket!)
Ruth was travelling on hand baggage only having left a load of things at the parents' and expecting to be back there soon. This soon turned out to be a  vain hope! After four hours of sharing insights with her Francophile and similarly aged neighbours  ("So, what don't you like about the UK?") she landed very early, saw the sun and met the other half. Greyrocks was back in Corralejo in no time at all and was dropped just outside "The Rock" where some old acquaintances were resumed and some welcome beverages consumed!
The first few days back were sunny, but soon what everyone agrees is bad, bad weather returned, and that is one of the ways this March will be remembered. The local paper Fuerte Extra wrote of the time since New Year:

".. it may seem to have passed quickly, it has not

done so in the most pleasant of manners, given the atrocious weather! There is no

doubt about it; this winter has been one of the coldest and longest for many years.

Thankfully, experts have forecast above average temperatures this spring, ensuring

a return to sunny days and pleasant evenings. In previous years the seasons were

definitely not so diverse, but now there is a marked difference between winter and

summer."

However, as this post is composed on 31st March (last minute again!) we are enjoying the third consecutive day of gloriously sunny afternoons. Still:- mustn't grumble!

Our back balcony:- the nearest we got to display!

Greyrocks will also mark it down as the month of the Health Centre. Ruth had been back less than 48 hours when she received a call about an appointmnet the next morning at 8.30 with the orthopaedic specialist in Puerto del Rosario. This meant the 7am bus, but we discovered it doesn't leave from the port, so we missed it and had to take a taxi from the Puerto bus station up to the new building. Amongst the outcomes of a long session with a very nice specialist was the need for new X-rays n Corralejo, so that was Wednesday! Then on Thursday we both went for a routine nurse appointment and spent several more hours waiting for ECGs and follow-up. Then there were blood tests, results, the follow-up from orthopaedics (Ruth is now on the (long) waiting list for the first knee), and a wait for an appointment for Bob. This last came through as two days after our booked migration flight causing havoc in planning! And then the lurgy struck!

Greyrocks missed the opening procession of Carnival by eating out with Rita and Mel, but aimed to get its act together for the second Saturday big one! The plan was a magic carpet and lamp salesman in djellabah and fez, plus a generic genie/ snake-handler. As the stapler, sewing machine and scissors were brought into action so the sinuses seized up, until it became clear we wouldn't be venturing out (in hideously cold conditions) for any sort of carnival fun! Bob went (in mufti) to wait for

Chloë to arrive from the airport - delayed, of course, by closed roads for carnival. She was herself streaming and voiceless. It was omelettes and early nights all round!

By Sunday we were sufficiently recovered to venture out for the afternoon, but five minutes out it poured with rain and we sat dodging roof leaks until it was time for a very good meal at Marquesina with views of the Sardine burning and fireworks, This was Chloe's first encounter with this peculiar ceremony and she was intrigued! Her eight day stay scored five days foul and three days good enough for sunbathing. In amongst them were some good meals both out and at home and some serious property-related transactions and planning. She left on the first good hot day!

Meanwhile Ruth's family situation in UK continues to cause great concern, with her mother re-entering hospital on 30th. Things can only get better!