Two septuagenarian birthdays!

As we moved into December two very welcome changes took place: the rain stopped and so did the coughing! But these happened too late for the birthdays and their celebrations,
 First was Elaine's seventieth, which was marked with a party for over a hundred at Fado Rock. The dress code was "Black and White", which was fine for Ruth (funeral dress and white lace jacket as for last year's Shrewsbury wedding), but Bob sought a white shirt and was lent a great Indian one by Andrew and he wore it with the wedding bow tie and nearly black shorts. (The Anglican vicar turned after Sunday service, and was thought by many to have dressed for the occasion!)
There were guests we have known for 26 years, but rarely see, an excellent buffet and musical performances by Corralejo icon Trevor and a superb female saxophonist, who also disappeared for a while and emerged from the loo looking just like Cher! Ruth penned a little ditty for Elaine's card, and was goaded into reciting it publicly! It was a delightful evening!

Later in the week Greyrocks celebrated Bob's birthday with a two night stay in Caleta de Fuste. Many Corralejo residents (including us) would say "Second prize: three nights"! It is a truly ghastly resort in many ways, and not really a place to go at this time if you are a Bremainer and/or Guardian-reading member of the metropolitan elite; but  - hey - it's just two cheap bus rides away, and there are a few good restaurants a bit different from here, and an excellent tapas bar. We splashed out a bit on a "deluxe" sea-view room in a quiet, but still convenient, bit of town, and it was just as well, because the weather was awful, and we were both still suffering with the cough! We had brief (cold) walks along the improved promenade beside the improved beach, but mostly it rained, and we lurked inside! Despite the weather there were plenty of idiots on various forms of motorised things taking advantage of the improved promenade! The good news was on the gastronomic front, as "15" was as good as ever for the birthday evening itself, and through Trip Advisor we identified a close contender in Ascension - a relatively new arrival on the scene - for the other dinner.  El Capetan is always a joy for tapas and we spent hours there sheltering and enjoying a selection with the happy hour prices for drinks. Another nice touch was the bottle of cava sent up to us by Reception for Bob's birthday. (Possibly also an apologetic gesture following their (rejected) attempt to "upgrade" us to another hotel well off the beaten track!)

Sod's Law meant that on departure day the sun shone! We broke the journey in Puerto del Rosario and walked down to the "new" beach to discover that the bar we sought was on holiday! We went next door and decided to have more of a lunch than originally intended, with mixed fortune. The return bus ride was then a crammed one, Still...mustn't grumble!