The Carnival is over.. and the last post.

 After 570 posts and almost 15 years Greyrocks is administering the coup de grace to this blog, but will leave it available as a record of travels in retirement.

March has been yet another month with little to commend it. We are still suffering with our skin complaint, the weather has frequently been unpleasant - particularly the  cold evenings and dramatic winds - much of the month was in Level 3, so indoor bar space was limited, the carnival had no public events nor processions, and the news has been utterly depressing!

We have spent a lot of time at home, and there is a something positive to report in that the apartment we have bought in anticipation of our reduced mobility has been let on a long term basis. It took less than a week to engage an agent, show it to ne couple and accept their offer at the asking price. The nightmare clearance with all its consequences and the renovation are behind us

But we are still working - with a lot of help from Chloë - on remote furnishing of the new place in Paleochora, and we are faced with a logistical problem over Yvette. She still sits in the parking at Girona airport - full of belongings including two bikes and our warmer clothes. This year we would have expected to pick her up for her last drive back to UK, but it makes more sense in terms of time, money, Spanish law and mental health to dispose of her in Spain and somehow get the most significant contents back by another means. How we resolve this might be worth relating in a post, but no!

For the foreseeable future our years will be divided between a maximum dollop of Crete, ditto Corralejo with a trip to Goa, a bit of UK and no touring!  There's not enough there to document. Thank you, Brexit!

So - best wishes to our follower(s)

Hors de Combat! Why February is low on posts

 .... Well, it has in fact been worse!

Bet there are fleas and other pests in there, too!

There has been little to amuse or intrigue, We have been almost nowhere interesting and life has been a round of cleaning, with a fortune spent on pharmaceuticals. Poor fare for a jolly "happy retirement" blog! And much of this is self-inflicted! So a single report from the Slough of Despond this month, and we hope that normal service will soon be resumed!

So first those aspects of the month that all living or holidaying here have experienced: weather and Covid! 

Greyrocks has long considered February to be the worst month for Canarian weather; but this one has had everything. Winds and high seas have led to ferry cancellations, the calima has been so drastic on occasions that flights were delayed, and - whilst there have been quite a few sunny afternoons - the evenings have been bitter:- relatively, of course! There was one week which led to remarks that if this was the week chosen by tourists for some winter sun there would be great disappointment, and probably no return! But tourism has been substantial. There was until now an absence of British kids, owing to the vaccination rules, but they are here now for half-term. Down at the marina water-based leisure is booming, and the surfer numbers are huge, so the economy is doing well.

That is a double-edged sword! Some of the "tribes" that abound are those least likely to comply with the health norms! This month has seen staggering Covid data.

Since the festive season it has been normal to see a number of new daily cases over 100. Admittedly the number of recoveries has frequently exceeded it, but at one stage the number of active cases was near 1500, which with a population of 123 000 led to us being the "dirty island" of the archipelago. February also saw both the best and the worst days for hospitalisation, and the number of deaths reaching 30. We both felt that -at last - we were over the filthy colds we had harboured since November, and felt our fairly cautious approach to going out/out had been wise in that we were still clear of Covid. 

What we did suffer, however, was in some ways worse, and is ongoing as we approach March. It all revolves around what could be called a "rash purchase"! Steering clear of naming, blaming and shaming, and of excessive detail, we report that we have been infested and forced into a run of urgent expenses because the apartment we bought just before Christmas in preparation for our very old age and will be letting out in the interim was left in a state of chaos and hidden nasties. In clearing it out we have both been attacked on two pest fronts and in both properties! At one stage we were waiting for new mattresses for own home and had to spend a run of nights in the emergent new place. As icing on the cake our own cooker - twenty tears old - gave up the ghost so we were also coping with the wait for that too be replaced.

 A grim period! We still have to undergo messy skin treatments, and uncomfortable nights. with no certainty as to when we may be clear! Watch this space for news of a more upbeat Greyrocks! 

The Two Faces of Janus

..... neither of them particularly smiley! Normal January for Greyrocks means Goa, but of course neither 2021 nor 2022 can be regarded as "normal". Rather than a lotus-eating tropical sojourn we have been beset by obstacles and bad news, with nasty surprises and time spent on necessary but tedious tasks. Even this blog had to go well down the list of "to-do"s so that this post will be started in January and updated in calmer moments! 

Muted Celebrations:

The month (and year) started pretty well, with a very Covid-aware New Year's Eve. In contrast with the previous one the town was very busy and the infection rate on the way up. We saw what happened last time around midnight, and had no desire to be anywhere near "that sort of thing". Also our favoured restaurant was not offering lobster, so we had dinner early and arranged to see in 2022 in a roof-top assignation between terraces with the nice neighbours. The meal was much lower key than normal - not least because in spite of our pre-order there was no lobster, so we had to have several cigalas instead, and we under-ordered :- a very rare event! Later we watched "Later" with Jools Holland, and then took our fizz up to the roof, which gave a great view of the fireworks

 

Spanish thoughts at this point turn to Kings, which of course was a trimmed back Covid affair, with the kids' visits to Their Majesties by appointment only and somewhat out of town. Our dealings with them were a surprise. Around midday on 5th we were resting at one of our regular haunts at the top of the High Street when there was hooting and general kerfuffle. It was the "procession" that traditionally travels round Corralejo and the villages. This year it consisted of a king in each of the open-top cars - no wives, no pages, no sweets, no camels!

Infection

January was the month in which the Covid story was rewritten in Fuerteventura. As predicted the numbers were up after all the festivities, but we somehow escaped the tightest level of restrictions, and indeed hospital pressure with the Omicron variant taking its time to arrive.  

and Infestation

This is a sad story of wasted money, time and sleep, which will be followed up in due course.  February has got to be better for Greyrocks.... 

Consigning 2021 to the "Basura"!

Basura

Well! "We are still here!"

Greyrocks reviews the ending year with little enthusiasm, great relief and some trepidation.

Firstly, our location statistics have the simplicity that comes from a pandemic and Brexit! Namely: UK nil, Goa nil, France nil, Crete 90 days as decreed by Schengen, Cyprus coming in as a late entrant owing to its non-Schengen status and the rest in the sun with home comforts, a good free health service and  - until six weeks ago - little likelihood of catching Covid!

Our escapades in these places and the migrations between are amply narrated in the rest of the 2021 posts.

 Chloë and Jack were with us for a few days in January after their return from New Year in Gran Can, and in Paleo for a couple of weeks in September.

We have followed closely the data on Covid in all of the above places, and can only be aghast at the mismanagement from the English (sic) government. 

Enough of that! Things are now getting bleak in the Canaries, so there will be posts about the situation and the fate of Greyrocks.

Bizarrely, however, there seem fewer deaths of people of significance to us. Here they are:

Yes: they are all white chaps! (Greyrocks could have made a gender balance gesture with the addition of Janice Long - the first female DJ at the BBC)

Charlie Watts was the most self-effacing of the Stones, but considered by many to be the best drummer in rock. Greyrocks certainly has many numbers with his perfect input on their Desert Island list.  

Also contending would be "Music" by John Miles, although for us a "one-hit-wonder".

Raking back into our music history also off to in the gig in the sky were Don Everly and Michael Nesmith - the latter being wasted on the Monkees.

Amongst the actors we single out Ronald Pickup, latterly in various blockbusters but we loved his portrayal of Prince Yakimov in the 1987 TV series "Fortunes of War".

Finally - whilst not greatly rating his humour - we note the passing of Jethro the Cornish comedian. A much loved character in Corralejo, whom we visited on his deathbed, from Port Isaac retold many of his long-winded jokes.

 

Redressing that ethnicity unbalance somewhat, and eclipsing the others by miles Greyrocks marks the death (just inside 2021) of Desmond Tutu. As a dedicated opponent of apartheid and champion of human rights he was a hero of Greyrocks, with Ruth's younger self having done her little bit for the struggle.

Meanwhile back in Corralejo the British ex-pat community lost "Football Paul" after a short illness. We joined a large section of it at his wake:- socially distancing ourselves, of course!

Rough conditions and a "Bridge Too Far"

The mural on the revamped Nautical School was completed a few weeks ago and it is mighty fine! The image could be - and in this case is - a symbolic representation of troubled times here on the island and particularly in Corralejo. We have some terrible Covid data, the weather is bad and Greyrocks has been suffering health-wise. Not helping at all was the occurrence last weekend of the puente of the Constitution. A reminder here that this starts the seemingly interminable Spanish Festive Season! There are two "Bank Holidays": 6th and 8th December, so schools close to pupils for 7th as well. This year we are blessed with those three days being Monday to Wednesday. Hence that's Friday to Wednesday  to use for a trip to the seaside! A "bridge" too far this year! 

Wow! Look at those Numbers!

Greyrocks has been concerned with a lot of numbers over the last couple of weeks with joy and despair alternating!

75 was the age attained by Bob last week. We had hosted a pair of parties for our Paleo pals back in September which was about midway between Ruth's 70th and this major birthday. So now it was time to invite our closest Fuerte friends for an afternoon in the sun. At the time of planning the island was in Covid Level 1, so an exterior table of twelve was the limit and tapas-centred catering was ordered accordingly/ Then came the news on levels, so it became two tables of six - and in practice two tables of five as two invitees dropped by the wayside. Greyrocks sat one per table and rotated, the food was excellent and the sun shone brightly throughout. 

A few days later - and including the Big Day itself - we took a  three-day trip away from home. In pre-Covid times this might have been to another island, but we decided the risk and hassle weren't worth it so it was a bus and a taxi to Caleta de Fuste, but to a classy joint! We have been unable to swim indoors since the Bahia Real closed without notice on 24th January 2020, leaving us with nine pre-paid sessions. It is due to re-open tomorrow, but after being sold, so future prospects are an unknown. Hence the choice of Caleta, where the Barcelo Thalasso Spa offers hotel guests a reasonably priced deal on some of the facilities including their indoor "pool". It is not as big as it looks and the intrusive bubbling makes sustained swimming difficult, but we did go twice, the room we had was very good and the three meals we had as half-board guests were remarkably pleasant in spite of the huge number of guests in a buffet format! The plan to go again to the spa on departure day was abandoned in the face of rain and very cold weather. We got an earlier bus back than planned!

Huge efforts have been made to improve the holiday offer of Caleta, and there are some very nice bits! The beach is now very welcoming and ideal for children, but as a recent poll in UK shows that a serious majority of over-65s still support Brexit and did vote Tory in 2019 it is hard to feel enfolded in a warm embrace there when you are ex-metropolitan liberals and enthusiastic Europeans. Small doses and carefully selected bars!!

Two more of the numbers are the names of good restaurants in Caleta de Fuste. 15 is an old favourite where the number reflects a menu construction policy. We ate there for Bob's birthday dinner and found it as good as ever. There might be a fuller critique on Trip Advisor in due course, but we were glad to have honoured them on an important occasion. We have no idea why 555 is so-named, but we went there because they do Moroccan dishes. One tajine was well up-to-scratch but the lamb one less so. A good wine list, though!

Now we are back home and the data is not good! This week we have seen an 18th death from Covid, the island has the worst numbers in the archipelago: 232 active cases cases on Friday, a 7-day IA rate of 264 in our home council area when risky starts at 50, and there is every possibility that we will move to Level 3 in the review on Thursday.  Today it was reported that of the six people in hospital in Puerto del Rosario three are in Intensive Care. That's bad news!!

Even so, the record value of 50,000 for daily new cases in the UK last week is testimony to several of PM Johnson's personality traits that make him unfit to govern. Shall we count the ways?

A speed bump in the road to recovery

 Greetings from the "Sick Person of the Canaries"! Having been the last island to get back into Level 1 of the Covid restrictions we have become the first to leave! Last Thursday the announcement came that we would be back in Level 2 from this Monday - just a calendar month since we were last there! Our data was slightly better in some respects than (much smaller) La Gomera and they stayed in 2, but justifications have been abundant since - based mostly around the figures for the over 65s.

 The worrying data:

Greyrocks lives in La Oliva!!

and the following Thursday (yesterday) Lanzarote and little La Graciosa suffered the same fate!

Greyrocks casts around for the reasons! The nasty racists (of which there are a good few here) blame the "illegals", but they are tested and vaccinated and not mixing with the population as a whole, and incoming tourists are either tested or vaccinated, so is it residents? 

This month there was yet another puente with the All Saints bank holiday falling on a Monday. That long weekend was remarkably busy in town with masks and social distancing barely seen. British and Irish tourism is booming. The weather is beautiful for November (although out of range for outdoor swimming as far as Ruth is concerned), and the hospital is not overwhelmed with Covid cases. The "fly in the ointment" is the data, which justifiably leads to the seesaw in restrictions. (Greyrocks' planned party with a table of 12 now has to be two tables of 6!) With today's number of active cases on the island standing at 160 there must be the possibility of moving to Level 3, which does start to adversely affect us and our circle!

Ever mindful of risk and eager to exploit our residency we spent last Friday in and out of the Health Centre. We had three appointments in four hours: blood extractions and ECGs -results of which we see this afternoon - and vaccinations in both arms, these being a Pfizer booster and this season's 'flu jab. All very efficient and cheerily executed, as was our trip to the municipal offices to sort out our entitlement to travel discount, which we feared had disappeared thanks to Brexit, and had caused such grief in Barcelona airport as we returned here! It seems we are still entitled to this generous perk, but it cannot be issued via the website as our new TIE cards must be physically inspected. This will be a nuisance in terms of autumn returns for Greyrocks (they only last 6 months at a time) but another bouquet for the Canaries! 

We are glad and lucky to live here, but don't forget the mask! 

 

Normal and New!

 Here on "Fraggle Rock" it's Bonanza Time for many as tourism resurges with a vengeance and  well-off  residents benefit from the re-opening of bars and restaurants: some with live music! Walking round town in the early evening it would be difficult to see signs of the pandemic other than the compulsory wearing of masks by staff. The island moved to Level 1  - the last in the archipelago to do so - on October 15th, so the maximum table size is 12 diners, inside space can be used,  closing time is 3 am, and - to Greyrocks' delight - the smoking restrictions remain.

This has revealed what might be "the new normal" in terms of restaurants and bars. What has been closed and still is will likely never re-open. Casualties include Cordon Blue, Tuxedo, Slow Boat buffet, Pizza/Co near Duna Club, big Italian behind Playita, El Sombrero, Casco Viejo, Sushi Bar, Sanus and the eyesore thing next to Fazz,  not to mention Italian coffee bars which resemble musical chairs in management and nomenclature.

Of the rest quite a few stayed open throughout the various levels even if that meant tables in the street, others re-opened without a fanfare and are catching less discerning tourists when the good ones are full! Worthy of note as new ventures are:

El Anzuelo expanding into the premises of El Sombrero with a fancy grill area in-between

La Bolada doubling in size

Da Uli moving to the premises with roof terrace formerly a burger joint between music squares

El Cobijo de Carlos opening as a tapas bar at the top end of Grandes Playas next the closed Loft: (the staff having moved from El Patio Andaluz, which now opens only in the evening)

Jacque Mate located a block back from the Health Centre with a chess theme, and doing BBQs with music and aimed at surfers.

On the shopping front we have lost Zara and an unmemorable trainer store, but gained in the place of the latter a bundle of fun near Hoplaco. Bob returned from a ride to say there was a second model cow in town (the other is outside El Anzuelo)  and Ruth had seen an outbreak of carrier bags bearing the name of a store on Cantera beach in Las Palmas. In fact a branch of Ale-Hop has opened with its eclectic range of gifts, toys, knick-knacks and gadgets. 

Also offering something a bit different - and actually open since shortly before we left in May is Epicure:- a "deli" specialising in French and Canarian delicacies. Greyrocks has bought a few bottles there!!!

Will it ever look thus?

The harbour is undergoing a major expansion and some land-based prettification. The long-term plan is to adapt so that small cruise ships can dock. This was proposed over ten years ago.

During Greyrocks' absence work began on doubling of the number of berths for fishing and pleasure boats. This involves taking heavy tubes out to their position and driving them into the sea-bed, then placing pontoons. Fascinating to watch!

And so to three leisure pleasures for Greyrocks that have been denied by Covid:

A bus trip to El Cotillo. We have nervously been on a bus on the island to do business in Puerto, but this was the first time since March 2020 that we have been for pleasure. It was whilst Neil and Maggie were still with us. En route we stopped at Lajares for the craft market. The village was heaving with traffic. We were unexpectedly asked to show proof of vaccination at the "entrance" to the open-air site, and our visitors struggled to get UK passes accepted. All the stalls had novel items for sale, and the music was good. We managed to pick up the next bus onward. (This is made complicated by an up-and-back route and no timetable on display)

El Cotillo has been much beautified in 17 months, and the bus arrangements changed! But after seeing the sites and a great lunch with Lanzarote wine we got back safely!

Then there is the live music! The blog tells of Bulgarian rock in Cyprus, and Greek rock/pop in Paleo, but not much of it! We have - since returning - caught some unamplified and percussion-free offerings, and we have been twice to the Paradise Friday jam sessions.. but what we craved was to sit in comfort to some Classic Rock from a proper band! This remained a dream until ten days ago, We can now go to both Retro where Straight Ahead play on Fridays, and the Rock Café  where the house band play in some configuration every night. Hugs all round!

Finally we celebrate the return to near normal of the Corralejo Blues Festival! It was back to the usual square, but because of the "vaccinated and seated only" policy there was tall fence of obscure netting all around, and the plastic chairs were carefully spaced, We chose to forgo the visual experience (other than poking our noses through gaps!) and listened on both nights from Domingos with very nice tapas and wine. Unfortunately we missed out on Madeline Bell and Friends by trying to get in when it was full! Hey ho!

Go Cristobel, go!

 

Pausing to note that Spain has a colonial history with much to be ashamed about Greyrocks sends greetings from Fuerteventura on 12th October.  This year it is a Tuesday, which makes it possible for some workers and all schoolchildren and students to have a long weekend or puente. Today is a national holiday.

Corralejo has been heaving over the period. English is dominating the languages spoken amongst tourists as much as it did pre-Covid, but there are also many visitors from the mainland. Bar and restaurant owners are delighted, and the traffic is bad! Normality may be in sight!

As the day is celebrated throughout the Spanish-speaking world (and as Columbus Day in USA) here is a little quiz about the flags of 21 such nations. 

Enjoy!

"It is better to travel than to arrive"

.. but not like this!

Greyrocks is in Puerto del Rosario as planned, and the idea of having a couple of days here to relax seems prescient, as we suffered a lot of stress in the preceding 37 hours! The previously unspoken suggestion that we might be getting too old for this has been uttered!

We started with a 4am taxi to Chania airport with the driver who regularly does the anti-social hours run, and who told us how dead the airport would be. It was indeed with very easy check-in and ages to kill. The flight to Athens was full but arrived early, so we simply walked through the labyrinth of the airport (Schengen arrival so no checks) to find the Vueling check-in. There was hardly any queue at the desk but an employee was checking Covid status before allowing people to get there. We proffered our "Fast Control" QR codes and had trouble identifying the problem, then realised the date on them was today - not yesterday! (It was Ruth that had made the error with the confusion arising from two consecutive days of travel, but Bob had checked it before submission). She said we would have to do new ones and there was plenty of time for that!

We found some space in an increasingly crowded airport and spent an age trying to start again with no success. Communications defaulted to the original. We tried to find Vueling's agent but they would not be there until it was too late, then with the check-in queue now growing alarmingly Bob got past the "filter" and was told we could check-in from the main queue provided we took the risk of not being able to enter Spain. (This would have been disastrous as we were on day 90 of the wretched 90-day allowance) So we joined the queue and from this point were just another two passengers in it. This lasted at least an hour with folk trying to butt in and a distinct lack of social distancing, but we made it and reached the gate with ten minutes to spare until the revised closure. An entire apron bus-full was even tighter in boarding, so we did indeed take off late. 

In Barcelona things were looking as if we might not need the paperwork as we were triaged, but they caught us and the QR codes were declared invalid, so we had to stand with a dozen other sinners and fill everything out again but manually, and were then waved through nicely. From there to Baggage Reclaim which had still not yet started - even after all this! It was late and slow, so we began to get messages about our pre-booked taxi having arrived, and then having gone as the waiting time was exceeded. Twenty WhatsApp later we eventually found it, having been at the wrong exit!  The driver was remarkably pleasant about it all and sped us to the Best Western, which we had selected over our usual hotel, because that no longer had a shuttle during the afternoon. - only for us to discover too late that this one didn't either - hence the taxi! The evening was pleasant and we were knackered, so an early night, with the shuttle booked for 7.30!

Our flight to Fuerteventura was at 10.30 so we thought we had plenty of time to sort the known issue of residents' discount. Brexit has put an end to this sizeable perk of a 75 per cent discount on such flights. We had claimed months previously but had failed to obtain the certificates, which had hitherto been easy to get from the website of the council. We knew we would have to pay the balance and went to the Customer Services desk to join another queue. This one took until 9.20 to clear and give us access to a very helpful person from whom we could only buy a new full ticket. There was seriously anxiety about missing the flight, but she arranged a special check-in desk and we made it to the gate and even had upgraded seats. Out of control small children adjacent meant it was not the most restful flight, but we were elated and relieved to be on it at all! 

On arrival we were once again shepherded by originating airport and our certificates were not inspected. We got a taxi swiftly to the hotel.

We anticipate a good night's sleep!

In the News

 For those waiting with baited breath for this account of Greyrocks' final weeks in September it is here at last! 

The theme of this post is the ways in which we have been touched by world events:

1.The effect of Climate Change

Firstly the the general warming, for we enjoyed what most agreed was the warmest September in living memory! The sea was a little cooler than earlier in the season, and the evenings became chilly, but there were maximum temperatures over 30 degrees on over half of the days in the month.

Forest fires remained a worry. Chloë and Jack arrived with further tales of the devastation on Evia that they had seen during their short stay with friend Tim and his γιαγιά. On our rare trips outside Paleo we would see swathes of scorched land.

Yet more dramatic has been the volcanic eruption and tremors on the Canary Island of La Palma, which began on 19th September.

 We have been following unfolding events in the Canarian press, and there are appeals for financial help for the victims, but as yet there are no discernible effects on the eastern islands. The national paper El Pais has full coverage in English, and - of course there is plenty on YouTube. We await ash cloud and acid rain.

Eight days after the volcano so close to our home there was a serious earthquake in Arkalochori whilst we were still in Crete. It happened at about 9.15 am and several friends said they felt it. 

Through our final days in Crete there was consternation, sympathy and some anger! The last at a policy whereby only vaccinated homeless could use the emergency shelters and the weather was deteriorating!  (Greece continues to have much ant-vax stuff going on!)

An update is that on October 12th there was a 6.3 earthquake at sea, off of Sitia threatening a tsunami!!

2. Migration

The Canaries has - throughout the summer - been the destination of numerous "pateras" with  refugees from conflict and destitution in many third world nations. The migration crisis is the source of much argument between the autonomous region and central government over the process of transporting them to the mainland, as only a few wish to stay on whichever island has received them. The statistics are striking. 24th September was the day with the most arrivals at 340 in 8 boats into Gran Canaria and La Graciosa. The figure for the year at that point was over 11,000 and that does not include those lost at sea, which is estimated as 785 including 50 children. The authorities expect the high numbers to continue into the autumn.

Crete in general and in particular Paleochora has over the years seen some irregular migration by boat, but on 24th September an incident involving 150 migrants in a "stand-off" took place in the sea off of Paleochora.  Chloë and Jack, who stay on the "stony side" witnessed the action.

And - still on migration and from the tragic to the absurd- Greyrocks performed its annual migration from Crete to Fuerteventura as September ended. It needed to be done without landfall in any "third country" and take no more than two days. Details of the complications are in following posts. We also needed to clear all belongings from the rooms we have used each of eight summers to our new place. Our usual driver was not around so we were joined by Chloë and Jack in an attempt to shift it all in one trip on foot. Bob "borrowed" a supermarket trolley. When he returned it empty an employee came out to assist the old man with retrieval of the euro!

3. Covid data and restrictions

In Paleo there was a sense of "recovery" as more tourists arrived, the kids went back to school and curfews were eased, but there was little music beyond the street musicians and masks were still needed in the supermarkets. Fuerteventura, conversely, found itself the only island still on Level 3 restrictions, and that was what we expected to find on our return. We downloaded and completed the special form for entry into Level 3 islands, giving "return to regular domicile" as our justification. It went into the large folder of documents for travel, but it wasn't needed as on the day before migration the level dropped to 2. (Update: two weeks at Level 2 - as of 14th October Level 1 with all the other islands!)

4. Pulling down statues

Not as in Bristol etc the unseating of colonialist, racist slavers, but the loss of an iconic statue in Paleo. The silhouette in brown sheet metal was created by a Dutch artist, and based on a contemporaneous sepia photograph of early visitors, which has been on sale in postcard form for many years. He donated it to the village, but this was not universally welcomed and it has been located in several places - the most recent of which has been near the Palm Tree forming a pleasing addition to sunset shots!

But sometime in September it disappeared! There is a rumour that it was seen beside the road on the way to Chania. We hope it is there for repair (as it was getting a bit worn and vandalised) and no other reason! What did the guys do wrong - let alone the donkey? 

Waves

 

It's looking as if the fifth wave of Covid is over in Spain, and particularly in the Canaries, where Lanzarote has startled onlookers such as Greyrocks  with its speedy and dramatic reduction in active cases. Meanwhile on Fuerteventura it has been a mixed picture, with this week a new death (now standing at 17)  a drop below 100 in the active cases followed by a resurgence (currently 112) and the highest 7-day IA of all the islands. The good news is that as of yesterday there are no cases in the hospital. As Greyrocks sees their migration looming there is a sigh of relief,

The nome of Chania has also continued to see  much better numbers for daily cases, although there is a blip for yesterday at 56.

September has seen the third wave of tourists as far as Greyrocks is concerned. Older, child-free, deeply loyal to Paleo and determined to find a sunbed and umbrella - which is very tricky this year if they want to be in the naturist zone! The September thing has been recorded elsewhere in the blog, but what is striking this year is the shortfall of umbrellas. In charge this season is Yiannis' stepson - Boris (Bobby) from Northern Macedonia. He gets a hard time over this, as there are swathes of sand without any kit, and there are piles of unused beds. The reason is that erosion of sand has left so little on top of rock that further umbrellas cannot be buried sufficiently. There is also the issue of spacing for compliance this season.  He has also - in spite of it being well ultra vires - defended our tree spot and explained our situation to angry folk!

The heatwave is now a distant memory! But there has been a run of days with high and forceful marine waves! This has kept Ruth - at least - out of the sea for fear of being knocked over. We have seen several falls of this type, but some people never learn! Hassan was back after quite an interlude and produced a sand sculpture with two of his favourite subjects: a lion being cuddled by a young woman. It was destroyed overnight by the waves, and he is now unlikely to create any more this season! 

And finally a tribute to The Wave taverna (To Kyma) which hosted a party of 23 for Ju's 65th birthday. Many of us went for the fresh fish for which in Greyrocks' opinion this place is top of the pile (with some real "sharks" around)!

During the meal the strolling players came onto the terrace to sing and dance, and after it we  were entertained by Rainer's boys, and then Charlie. A lovely warm gathering of friends of long standing, taking place on the coldest evening this season!

 

Amber Update

 ... a speedily composed post to record some good news for Greyrocks!

Wind speed and gusts on 3rd Sept.

Yesterday (Friday) was "nothing to write home about"!

At 6.30 am Ruth was awakened by a gust of wind recorded as 74 km/hr! It was clear that we would not be going to the beach. We would be sand-blasted just on the walk! So we spent time on "useful things" at spiti, and then wandered around the village collecting free extra drinks and mezedes. "Someone has to do it!"

We were out early for dinner as we had an accommodation-related engagement, both of which activities turned out to involve more free drinks and sweets! Late in the evening we became aware that To Liri tis Papas was playing its usual excellent mix of music at normal volume and the atmosphere was jolly! Greyrocks had failed to catch the news - spread by word of mouth - that this was the day on which the nome of Chania (along with Rethymnon) came out of its three week "mini-lockdown". An end to the curfew and an end to the ban on music in bars etc! Apparently over at the cantina the band had "got together again" with gusto, but Greyrocks had missed it!

The relaxation of the rules is wonderful news for self-interest, but does also indicate that three-quarters of the island has seen much improved data, with Chania's latest figure for daily new cases down to 37 from well over 100 last week. 

 

We're out of the red!

Red to Amber, but not vice-versa! Phew!

 

It was a good "red moon" this month, with the best show on the evening after the full moon. Starting as a rising bright red orb and slowly becoming "amber" for the rest of its transit!

Red, of course, has a more vital meaning in the current Covid world! All of Crete is now "dark red" in EU terms, Chania was the first "nome" of the four to get this dubious distinction, and the others have followed one at a time. Our mini-lockdown has been regularly extended, and then in turn the others have joined. Greyrocks daily adds up the new cases for the four nomes to give a figure for the island, It went very high indeed last week. (The 15th effect?), but has now started to come down. Here we have seen no sign of serious enforcement of the special measures, but bars and restaurants are complying on the curfew as the fines are extortionate. There are plenty of groups armed with plastic seeing out the last few minutes after being ejected! The music rule is not even clear! Is piped music permitted? Are the street acts legal (when one even includes dancing)? Only a lighter red status will bring the music back!

It's red too for Fuerteventura - although the four numbered levels are widely used. We watch the reported data daily and the island has moved to a serious position amongst the islands - avoiding Level 4 (beyond red) by the skin of its teeth. as active cases stayed above 200 for a week or so, the hospital reached capacity and, sadly, this week a 16th person died of Covid. Before we left in May 50 active cases was considered worrying! Tenerife has recently moved to the dreaded Level 4, whilst Gran Canaria has just come out of it. Today's figure is 144, and declining daily!

Greyrocks also monitors Cyprus out of interest, and that is still "in a bad way"!

Potential travellers and the respective hospitality sectors in all three nations were nervously awaiting the UK's latest review of category listings for those returning. An objective data study would surely mean a move to "red" from "amber", but such would be the outcry and the chaos that it didn't happen. Phew! 

All three nations survive on the "amber list"

The "Fifteenth Effect" is still with us!

"Eleni, let's take the small car down to Paleo! Fetch the two dogs, five inflatables,
funny chairs, flimsy umbrellas, two cool-boxes and that new shelter
we don't know how to erect!"

Whilst Catholics name 15th August as the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Orthodoxy it is her Dormition. If this point of faith is of interest click here! Greyrocks simply uses the nomenclature to describe the desire for a long sleep that covers the "worst" of the period in a Greek tourist town! For 2021 the period began on Thursday12th and is still ongoing today! The number of Greek visitors has gone through the roof! There are the day-trippers from within the island, who are mostly here at the weekend, but also a huge number from the mainland! Of course, local businesses badly need the custom after last year and many cancellations by other Europeans and the Brits, but those to whom Greyrocks speaks will through gritted teeth complain about the stereotype of "rude, impatient and demanding"! For us the complaints revolve around appalling parking habits (cones and wheelie skips blatantly moved) and shouting. We have also been eating earlier each evening to avoid the rush! Tempers all round get yet more frayed with the weather, which has not been the best: first the tail end of the heatwave, and now some dramatic wind! Roll on, September!

On Monday we had respite! Philip had a hire car and offered to take us on his annual daytrip to Sougia. Greyrocks remembers walking there (!!) many years ago, and we may have done it by boat but -again- a long time ago! We went via Azogires with only a wave to the Alfa, made a viewing stop at a high point and glided into the village, which has been considerably "gentrified" from our memory of it. There we pottered about and had a nice lunch, then returned via Kandanos,  passing the Temenia factory

Just for interest here are the average wind speeds and size and time of each day's greatest gust for the period 12th to 22nd August (in km/hr):

Dining on the Other Side - with or without music!

For the last couple of weeks the "stony side boulevard" or "prom" at night has been transformed, and those of us who have been Paleo fans for many years will have a sense of deja vu! At 7 pm when the road (and the parallel main street) is closed all of the bars and restaurants from Livicon to Maria's are entitled to place a row of tables and chairs on the pavement opposite. So, of course, they all do, for they are a very popular! This completes a circle -part of which was an absurd and expensive policy about unifying canopies - for back in the good old days there were always tables there! Then they were almost on top of the shore's boulders, and a good few of today's young adult visitors will remember injuries secured when climbing! Now there is a deep wall and elegant pavement. Greyrocks has been unable to determine whether this is just a temporary regulation to compensate for greater spacing during Covid restrictions (as in Corralejo) or something that might last! It means harder work for the waiting staff, and a rush to get the tables moved at 7, but happy punters,

An aside here: Last night - for the first time - they was no interest whatsoever in those tables, as the Force 5 wind meant the queues were for shelter! More on this after the dreaded 15th holiday, but it was Friday 13th!

So, here we go with the annual update on eateries:

The talk of the village is El Greco! It has been a long time in the making. The last time people were welcome there was when Barry and Jenny had Calypso there before moving two doors down! At least ten years! Every summer we have looked for progress and seen very little! There is something about the roof that made us think it might open as a Chinese, but no! It is an offshoot of Odysseia pizzeria but with a bit of "class". In particular they have an upstairs serving area with a fantastic sea view. That needs booking well in advance! The food and wine are both good too, apparently; but Greyrocks is currently too loyal to Porto Fino next-door to find out!

No such problem with the other featured newcomer. That is the old Veggera on the corner of Palm Tree and Sandy Beach roads. We had disappointments there over the years and only revisited last September, during the medicane! It seems the name was a problem as it sounded vegetarian, so it has suddenly become Zephyros (god of the west wind) with an upgrade of both menu and décor. We like the staff and for sundowner drinks, but no dining for us until after 15th!

Straddling the food and music fields we have three new ventures trying to entice music fans. First is Pirates, which is the old Anemos. It should be good: Suzi cooks from a short well-designed menu, and they had a night some weeks ago when a band that included street musicians known to us was playing some excellent stuff; but we left when we saw that we would not be served where we sat and had an encounter with an antagonist on the news front. So that's off the list for a while and we can't comment on their offer! Next is a place near the church and next door to the newer Skorpios bar.  (Name to follow when determined)!  It calls itself a music bar and has shishas, but our only attempt to have a drink there failed through lack of staff interest, and we have seen no evidence of music in the current conditions! Finally (and if only it were) is what has happened to the old Dionysus restaurant in the middle if the main street. Having been closed for a couple of years it is now - oh dear! - Barons! This is a "night club" masquerading as a "brunch-coffee-bar" and did have a decent  live rock band before lockdowns but is now highly intrusive in both space and recorded music terms and put an end to the first (and only) acoustic session by Mats and Drapanias John across the road. We are not fans!

Two further snippets on the eatery front: The old Skala, which had some other name is now back as Skala and had what is so far the most successful music night to greet our arrival in July, and Niki's Pizzeria is completely closed.

 

Arty Stuff!

 Lots of creativity around at present! Greyrocks has enjoyed three examples in particular.

On Friday we went up the mountain to Azogires:- in part to find some relief from the heatwave, and in part to see this exhibition before it finished. We took a taxi to the Alfa Café and enjoyed some soft drinks, then walked up to the venue, which is behind the Alfa Rooms and has a wonderful view.

There were a dozen or so paintings and other artefacts evoking the wonderful colours of those red moons which we see each summer month rising over the Libyan Sea. We were the only punters at first, but Lucky arrived with toddler Sofia and offered us chilled wine, and then there was John and his dog. So a catch-up on events and people in the village! We learnt that Yvette's redundant cover, which we had donated because John's vehicle was similarly shaped, had in fact been used to cover his winter log pile!  There are pleasing sketches of the aforementioned folk on the website of Rebecca at the café. She now has work displayed in the GrosRouge Gallery, which we also visited before our beer and spinach pies!

Revised Version

Hassan has been busy with sand sculptures on the beach, but (as described in a previous post) their life span is short in this period of rough waves and high water lines, and so far there has never been a set of five intact at the end of his creative week! This week began with a huge and meticulously detailed crocodile with an open mouth and menacing pebble teeth! Next day he worked on one of his specialities: a female nude in prone position; but this one had her head between the croc's jaws. Hassan came down to talk to us and we jokingly said we were disturbed by this image. He promptly destroyed the lower half, and the victim became a mermaid! He said he didn't want to worry the tourists.

Bob's regular bus stop in his youth!

And - back in Blighty - or specifically Norfolk/Suffolk we were delighted to read of Banksy's "spraycation". All the sites have meaning for Greyrocks. Bob has lived in Yarmouth, Gorleston and Lowestoft; we visit a cousin in Oulton Broad and Ruth spent many chilly summers in and near Cromer with her ex. 

Details of the artworks here!

A Second Wave for Greyrocks 2021

There were a lot of "fare thee well"s followed by a hiatus in the first week of August, but Friday saw the beginning of the second wave of tourist friends we have met regularly over the years.

Oh dear!!

 Friday also saw the introduction of a week-long "mini-lockdown" for this end of Crete. Arguably so mini as to be pointless, or even counter-productive as it has had the effect of producing a huge wave of Greek visitors and a Saturday night in town that will not be forgotten in a hurry! The transition into the "red" status and the imminent 15th August holiday has caused fear of a real lockdown and "last chances" are being taken.

The current measures involve a curfew at 1 am and a ban on music at bars and cafés. During a normal August Greyrocks thinks carefully about where to eat on Saturdays. Most likely to be very busy are the pizza/ pasta places and grill/gyros houses. The decision was the Seagull which we expected to host mostly foreigners (like ourselves). It was absurdly busy, as was everywhere else! Daniela advised us to choose cooked dishes as there was a table of eleven still waiting for other items.

Big Bucks for Kostas in Lockdown!

 There will be more on both the live music scene and the changes in eating-out options, but for the present the interest is in Kostas - the solo bouzouki player (with backing track) who has been around for years and played at the wedding in 2018. He positioned himself lockdown-compliant and just outside what could be seen as the restaurant's purlieus and started to play, finishing after a handful of numbers and coming round with the hat! As he packed up to move on someone from the table of eleven offered him more money to stay, and this was then repeated. We were served quite quickly and stayed to enjoy the long session. (We later stupidly went to the crossroads where all bars were as busy as we have every seen them. It took just one round to teach us that this was not a pleasant experience, so we  slunk off to the wine bar, where - again - there was just one table unoccupied!) Last night our local ATM was out of dosh!

A new wave too on the climatic front as we come to the end of a week-long heatwave. No wild fires locally of late, but a few power cuts and exhausted workers. The weather station recorded these maxima temperatures. At the cantina the thermometer hit 47! So intense was the heat that even highly commited sun-worshippers like Mike and Gail gave the beach a miss on some of the days. Greyrocks are not in that league and has - even now after this peak - been getting there later than usual, or even not at all! The good news is that access to the sea in our area is still pretty easy, and the water is lovely!

"Bright Lights - Big City - Bit Scary!"

Well.. in places not enough light at night, a resident population of 88 thousand as opposed to 2.6 in Paleo -, and deteriorating Covid numbers! We crossed our fingers and went to Chania!

They still hang up octopus on the
  Nea Hora but this time they
look a bit scary!

It had seemed a good idea at the time! Savio -a former neighbour in Balham - would be at a wedding in Athens and suggested "popping over" to see us for a couple of days. We had pointed out that Paleo was a further two hour bus ride , and invited him to be our guest in a simple hotel in Chania. We took the bus. This was the first time we had done so in two years but we thought it would not be busy. It was 100 percent full! We cleverly got off on the outskirts of town, walked to the hotel and then down to the Nea Hora for a much-needed beer!

Tasos at our 2015 party

Within minutes we heard a cry and it was Tasos -formerly of Seagull fame in Paleo - now retired and renting out tourist accommodation close to where we were. He was expecting a friend (also with a Palo record), so we spent a long time on reminiscence until close to the time for meeting Savio. (Tasos also appeared on our third and final evening walking back with us and his bicycle.)

We ended up rushing to the bus station as the timetable for the airport bus had changed the previous day and messages were being exchanged about arrival times; but it all worked, we recognised each other after all those years and so began our 48 hours as Chania tour guides. Ruth had helped Savio and a couple of his friends with statistics element of their osteopathy training straight after he left school. He has recently reached 50, moved over to work as a breathing coach and lives near Glasgow where he is very active in several community ventures. He is also now suffering from "long Covid". We had a lot to talk about!

Sixteen years is a bit long!

Bizarrely the first full day was the cloudiest we have ever experienced in summer in Chania, and we walked by the scenic route to the private clinic where he had arranged the PCR test needed for return to Gatwick. Otherwise it was the usual: Venetian harbour, old fortifications, Catholic church (for him!), arsenal, old town, mosques, indoor market, etc. and frequent beer stops!

After his departure we stayed a further night enabling us to go to Baotao for some duck, and have some time next day on the beach and in the warm sea, before returning on a bus that was much more reassuringly spaced! We survived and have no plans to move far until mid-September!