"Millennialisation" and "wrinkly patience pays off!"

 (A translation of one of four different messages around town:- some  of  which were in Italian -

"Stupidity knows no bounds, but the stupid need to obey the limits")

The Holy Week is over with schools re-opened on Monday. (The UK reader may know that here the festivo days are Thursday and Friday - with normality returning on the Monday) We went out that day and the town was eerily quiet!  Local tourists back at work and/or school, surfers hunting surf as we currently had nothing of interest, Germans gone down South, digital nomads online making up for days of indolence, furloughed locals skint after Easter, long-staying Brits all disappeared even a few days after the deadline, and all that was left wandering the streets was our tribe: wrinkly resident  - either EU nationals from the rational 27 or Brits (hopefully not Brexiteers) with the magic TIE or pending its arrival! Greyrocks went for an alcohol-free beer at Anno and the only folk there were of that tribe!

Just before we got there we were in the pharmacy when the Spanish mobile rang but we were too slow to disinter it! The number was a local landline looking official but calling it got us nowhere. Then yesterday morning the Health Centre called again to offer Covid vaccinations: on request to both of us! We agreed a time and this lunchtime were "done" efficiently and with goodwill! Dose 2 in three weeks, which may well beat what we might have had in UK as a full package, so "stop your crowing, Daily Mail!"

An infantile waving of flags aimed at Number 10!

This means that in a period of eight days we have achieved the status of welcome residents for at least ten years and partial Covid immunity (Pfizer of course).

Not that the residency thing was plain sailing! We heard that our cards were ready and Lorraine said she had a group appointment for the Monday morning (early as usual), so we considered an overnight in Puerto as in January, but the data was bad, so instead of a hotel we booked Dave Windows for a 7 am pick-up! The clocks had just gone back so -apart from a beautiful full moon - it was very dark. We arrived ridiculously early and discovered the usual cafeteria was closed for holidays! Another one was nearby so we killed a good hour there with various Brits, including someone exactly Ruth's age who had had her first jab in Caleta! Then Lorraine wanted to check documentation before we hit the police station! Oh dear! We had the main form and our passports but not the green A4 that would be forfeited! Later we realised we might have "got away with it", but at the time we stormed off and no-one was talking to anyone else! We got the 9 am bus back home and "nursed our wounds". The bus was almost as full as it is allowed to be during the crisis! Not our finest hour!

Later in the morning things felt better and we went online to see what would be involved in "flying solo" on this card collection.  With some Spanish and a bit of nous we got an appointment for the next day at a civilised hour!  This meant we could take the bus (nowhere near Covid capacity) and visit a shop before arriving early at the police station. There was no queue; the officer at the door followed us in and went behind the desk and found the cards and checked our fingerprints. We were out before the appointment time! It was beautiful day and we had tapas near the port and came home on a safely spaced bus! Job done!