"You go away for a few weeks and what happens? "

After the freeze of UK it felt positively summery to be back in Fuerteventura after almost two months away; although that bitter North or North-East wind was there! Not that we saw much of the outside world for ten days or so! We lurked at home nursing consecutive nasty colds. At last we did get out on the bikes and re-acquaint ourselves with some of the Greyrocks favourite spots. One such is La Lonja - "the fishermen's bar" - beside the marina. On the way from the airport Dave had told us about its new "embellishment", which some consider garish, but we like! Certainly it changes the view from across the bay.

A further debatable development is the ongoing building of a restaurant on waste ground outside Los Pescaditos. It has increased greatly in height in our absence, marring yet further the view!

A new Argentinian bar-restaurant has opened in the former premises of The Ugly Duckling in the old town. 

And they have moved the taxi rank on the main drag, and Domingo's is temporarily relocated

But most significantly for Greyrocks is the loss of our friend Sandra, who died in Gran Canaria in February. We had to miss her funeral and wake, which were spectacular musical events, and we shared a few tears with Dave.

RIP Sandie

With the colds more or less banished Greyrocks resumed spa visits, and began preparations for the visit of Chloë.

Two Mothers and a Dozen Hens

Bar Buvette

The weekend needed to be special after the effort (and additional expense) that had been spent in getting there! It was! Our wonderful chauffeur dropped us round the corner from the hotel. To walk there with large wheelie bags was nerve-racking (and very cold!)  After thawing out we went down to the bar to meet Chloë and Jack. and told the tale! We agreed to proceed with the planned evening and that meant more treacherous walking through deserted city centre streets - including some ridiculously rough "short-cut" steps . We went to The Strawberry Thief for some interesting beer, and then to Bar Buvette for supper:- simple and very French! Then we took a safer route back to the hotel's bar with its raging fire. (Two nights earlier Greyrocks had needed to run the fan in the room)!

Saturday was all about Chloë and the first of four(!) wedding related events. She had planned the day with precision and it went like this: First there was brunch at Brace and Browns in Clifton. Ruth got a lift with Jack's sister Alice who was invited along with his mother, Janet, Ruth and ten of Chloë's closest friends. 

There was another weather-related close shave over the arrival of three from Oxford. This included Charlotte, who had reached there on Thursday from her workplace of South Sudan - but no further! But road conditions had eased and they arrived. The prosecco flowed freely as did laughter and to finish there were "a few words" from  Chloë and then Ruth. 

Somehow we then all made it to The Beauty Box in Westbury  As Janet works very close by there were discounts and exclusive use for all. Ruth opted for a massage and promptly fell asleep, blaming jet-lag or was it the prosecco - of which there was now a further supply!

The theme was "Feline Femmes Fatales", so the next phase was billed as an opportunity for a catnap at Janet's house. She also had the sewing machine at the ready for the creation of ears and tails, and much mutual face painting happened. And there was no shortage of prosecco to accompany some Motown classics. This all went on for much longer than intended, Ruth had another unintended catnap and then the pack of eleven cats - most in slinky catsuits - went off to hit the city centre. Ruth was delivered safely back to the hotel. Bob had - as expected - spent the day in the warmth of the Waterside cinema!

Greyrocks had a short shopping list of items for Fuerte, so after breakfast on Sunday morning we wandered over to what Ruth still thinks of as  "Broadmead", only to discover opening time is 11 am - not 10! Time killed and jobs eventually complete we checked out and left the bags. The next appointment was lunch with Chloë,  Jack  and the parents-in-law-to be. We had requested a place with good rare roast beef, and that selected was The Ox - a close neighbour of the Register Office. It is in a dark basement - which is rather bizarre for a Sunday lunch; but the food was well up to scratch, and part of the conversation was around the detail of wedding day itself.

We parted company, had another drink and collected our bags. The coach we had booked was on time (fortunately - as we were frozen!) and took us back to Gatwick Airport for a good night's sleep, and an uneventful departure on an afternoon flight home. Quite a weekend, great fun and success rescued from the jaws of a meteorological disaster! But Ruth was sneezing and coughing, and Bob was a few days behind, so we were not "up and at 'em" as might have otherwise been the case after almost eight weeks away!

"Beast from the East" almost ruins Hens & Cats, (and Mumbai lives down to its reputation).

Talk about "touch & go"!

After packing a lot of deodorised shells and locating clothes for less pleasant weather Greyrocks made a quiet exit from Palolem - starting at 3 am on March 1st. This was to prove an "interesting" journey! We knew - of course - about the ongoing cold weather in UK and the threats of worse, but "needs must" - Ruth had a daughter's Hen Event to attend, and that is (we hope) a once in a lifetime prospect!

The taxi sped us to the airport, and we began the ritual humiliation that is involved. Hurdle 1 was the pre-check-in baggage scan, where there was a risk of seashell trouble, but we passed. On to Jet Airways check-in and different trouble: - the bags now weighed 34 kg between them - well under the limit for international - but overweight for domestic! We had not worried about this when packing as there is an exemption for those with subsequent international flights - or so we thought! It seems that BA is no longer a partner so we owe 1600 rupees. This is going to be a Greyrocks consumer dispute, but on the day it meant a hugely tedious wait to pay it, which was then followed by an SMS telling us of a delay in departure. At the other end (Mumbai) we had a long walk from Domestic Arrivals. This was fine :- we had ages to kill and a need for exercise, but were taken aback when the man on the mobility buggy offered us a lift! We declined and he told us what a long walk it would be!!

We now had hours in which to "enjoy" Mumbai airport's services! And we soon learnt it would be 90 minutes more than we expected as the Heathrow flight had a delay. The BA desk was not open for quite a while and when it was it was one of those badly managed queues without information, insufficient staff and a lot of passenger wobblers. Listen BA: Shameful,  arrogant, unnecessary, ..  no never again through Mumbai - in either direction!

We then got through Security and Immigration without event, but of course without any civility, and decided to pursue the Masala Chai saga. We had offered Chloë some flavoured teas as in Palolem several stalls were selling such delights as chocolate, rose, mango etc etc. She said she would prefer a big bag of Masala Chai. Ruth fiercely hates haggling, and on asking the price in the most promising place got a stupid one of 300 INR for 100 g. It is cheaper in Tesco, so she walked out, (which you are not supposed to do, but "life is too short") Hence we were in Duty Free feeling bad about failing to buy any.  Another ghastly thing about the wretched Mumbai airport is that prices are (if there at all) in US dollars. We find some masala chai. It seems to be on an offer so we ask - "no not that one" - it comes out at about 400 INR. We heave a sigh and think of the disappointment and our meanness. We take two packets to the checkout! An Indian woman ahead of us has two boxed bottles of spirits. There is a lot of staff activity: partly a dispute about her entitlement to a carrier bag, but mostly three staff members wrestling with a complex printed price list. It is 1st March so the whole merchandising IT system is down! We wait an age and are then told an even higher price. This is ridiculous, so we walk out tea-less! Then we think again and go into a shop dedicated to "gourmet" items, We find what we want and with gritted teeth go to the check-out. "If you want to buy that you must go to the main Duty Free, as I can't sell anything here!" Chloë did not get her "Gift from India"!!!

We still had many hours to kill, and did so by consuming overpriced beer and surprisingly reasonably priced masala dosa and samosas! Say what you like about the new airport (and we do) it is spacious and has plenty of glass, so we also watched apron action, take-off and landing through the dense pollution. The outside temperature was in the region of 34 degrees C, but we knew this would be the last we saw of that level for some time.


As we queue to board the plane the young Indian behind us tells that Heathrow is currently closed. His friend who works there has just sent a message! That was the last we heard of that, though and after a speedy flight with great (pre-booked) seats, some decent film/TV, adequate food, some nasty turbulence in places and some Spanish wine we landed to a temperature of -5 degrees C! In Baggage Reclaim we fished out warm clothes and shoes, and headed for M&S and the Hoppa to the hotel (the same as outward). It was shockingly cold and as we entered the hotel there was snow falling, but we felt lucky to be there! The traffic on the A4 on which we were situated was flowing freely. But what would the next day hold?

Thanks to the 5.5 hour time difference Greyrocks was awake early and on the National Express website, which seemed to suggest that things were operating normally as far as Bristol. We had tickets to make that journey at 1435. They had cost us GBP 2 each. We went down for our free breakfast and there was a certain air of panic around, and a coachload of older Welsh women waiting to rescued following a breakdown. We lurked there for a long time and more and more groups arrived - mostly folk with cancelled BA flights. We killed time in our room and descended again to find Reception in chaos as a huge group was being checked in for the night! We headed back to Terminal 5 fully believing (after recent research) that we would be alright for an afternoon journey and would make it to the hotel ready for Saturday's knees-up. We queued at the desk and were told our coach was almost certainly NOT running, nor anything else that day, and the next day's services would be filled with cancellations from earlier. Utter panic! We sent  a warning text to Chloë. The T5 land-side "pub" is now back open again so we held a crisis summit there. We had no chance of going home earlier than the Monday flight from Gatwick, so if we couldn't get to Bristol we would need two nights in a hotel near either of the airports.

M4 was similar to this!

We would be up against thousands of others with displacement stories - and most would be the responsibility of airlines. The Arrivals and Departures boards showed only very long-haul flights operating. Dana (soon to be designated a saint by Greyrocks) at the Hotel Reservation Centre told us one night anywhere near Heathrow would be a minimum of GBP 160 - if available - and Gatwick was no better. Greyrocks goes into a huddle to contemplate this - together with missing the "do". and Dana interjects that for the price of two nights we could be driven there, as the roads were still passable (live cam shots shown!) Archie/Alfie (?) takes over, gives us the quote and we go for it. Just twenty minutes later our highly professional Algerian driver appears and we travel down the M4 in a Jaguar, arriving outside the hotel at about the time previously specified. Chaos is all around on the motorway. Just two lanes open. and exits to many important trunk roads closed. But we made it!!

The Herd and three Escapes!

A bit more lazing space here at Agonda!

Greyrocks loves Palolem, but its beauty and charm come at a price: - it is popular and can be crowded! It is - after all - an almost perfectly shaped bay and therefore finite in its shore frontage for bar and accommodation shacks. Even fans like us have to admit that it is all a bit tightly packed. Throw in a holiday like Republic Day with Indian trippers, or the arrival of three boatloads of Russians from all-inclusive hotels and escape is considered!

We had ideas like the annual Betty's Booze Cruise, but we were "Billy no mates" this year; or a rickshaw to Galgibag, but - again - better as a group, or going to see the upcoming beach at Talpona. But we didn't! With the exception of  the school visit and charity day mentioned in earlier posts, and some business trips to Chaudi for ATM, optician and blood tests, we stayed put. As time went on we became less wedded to The Nest. Two lengths of the bay just about amounts to the current daily step target for Ruth, and with all those shells to collect.... So we found some less rowdy spots for drinks, lunch and sometimes sunbeds!

Our three little trips were:

1. South to Patnem Beach via Coulomb. It is just a matter of hugging the shore - up and over a headland, but we still went slightly adrift! Once there the facilities are not much different from Palolem, but wider and quieter. The sea entry is not as good - with a drop down and tales of dangerous undertow. but it makes a change. We got a rickshaw back.

2. North to Agonda. This needs a rickshaw both ways. The bay is so long it falls into zones, and we went left from the church. We found a very pleasant bar with a good menu and comfortable sunbeds,  Bizarrely we saw a lone horse as well as the cattle that congregate as they used to at Palolem. The sea was also a bit choppy. In the village behind we saw a band practising for carnival. The road passes Leopard Valley:- not quite a Greyrocks experience. and anyway Bob is afraid of leopards!

3. Up the River.
Almost everyday as we neared the river mouth at the north end of Palolem Beach we would be approached by boatmen touting for business. Ruth thought it interesting, and a cheap substitute for Betty's, but Bob wasn't impressed and we fought off the hard sell - particularly that of a persistent chap in the Hawaiian shirt. Then one day the experience was described to us by a friend.  It is a silent return trip of 40 minutes in a "punt", with many birds including red kites that swoop down for chicken thrown by the boatman. Ruth liked the sound of that (well, not the chicken bit!) but Bob remained uninspired and we continued the refusal ritual on our walks.

Then Roger told us we could see much of this without the organised trip, by walking up to the bridge that is the turning point for the boat.

You start on the "main drag" and it becomes less developed until you are amongst the huts of Old Palolem. The track narrows and there is an ugly concrete bridge with a beautiful view of the river, birds and the occasional boat - perhaps with a tourist fishing. On the way back we went into the well-established resort of The Dreamcatcher, which has direct access to the river and a tranquil bar area. We wallowed there before returning to the fray!

Film Fest!

Greyrocks has over the years looked forward to seeing current and classic films in Palolem. Past posts praise the quirky Steak House cum cinema and the films we watched. But now it is "All Change!" Simon - an enthusiastic and creative Brit - is in partnership with a local and they run the place as a cocktail bar opening onto the street, a restaurant with a fairly short but varied menu and a cinema usually showing two films per night. The orientation of the screen has been altered, the loos improved beyond recognition, and there are numerous additions by way of furniture and decoration.  After the first few visits a fault developed in the projector so remaining films were shown in black and white, but the sound quality is good (other than intrusion from street noise and neighbouring music), technical support good and film selection excellent. In addition there are occasional live music evenings.

At El Diablo we saw:

Churchill
LBJ
Mudbound
Darkest Hour
Viceroy's House (this season's Indian- themed feature!)
The Post
Three Billboards ..
Death of Stalin (not popular with Russian tribe in Goa!)

Blues Brothers (themed night with a band afterwards)
Charity Movie Quiz in which Greyrocks !


The Nepali boys who ran the place for all those years have moved to the south end of the beach, and it is more or less the same operation:- a huge menu concentrating on Thai dishes and steaks, efficient service but not much conversation, and a bit hit-and-miss when there are technical problems. It is also a torch job to get there at night, and a walk there is needed every two days or so to find out the programme. On the plus side, the food is great and it is much quieter than before!

At The Steak House we saw: Manchester by the Sea and Call me by your Name

Add to that what we viewed on the BA flights:

Goodbye Christopher Robin (Ruth outbound)
Film Stars don't die .... (both of us inbound)
Paddington 2 (Ruth inbound)

.. and you have more films than we would see in several non-Goa years - and all for free!
By the time we were back in Fuerte the Oscars had been awarded and Greyrocks felt particularly well-informed!