New Flights to Chania!

Yippee!

Nikos Grigorakis in Paleohora has just informed Greyrocks that from Sunday 23rd May there will be direct Easyjet flights from
London Gatwick to Chania!

Three times a week (Sun, Tues, Wed). Here are current prices for the first couple of weeks. Times vary bewteen days and some are not that convenient, but hey!

See you at the cantina or in the main street!

Let's have a big hand for .....

..

.. the rest of our Municipality, and for saving euros!

Earlier this month we decided to visit the Saturday artisans' market in Lajares, which has been heavily publicised. This is done on the hourly El Cotillo bus which takes a very circuitous route via our administative capital of La Oliva. When we got there we went for a walk first around the village and found this delightful statue. And that was about it! We met a waiter we know, and we looked at the market stalls (a dozen or so).The products were all quite pleasing
and original, with a "new age" feel. We managed to resist purchasing anything and decided to catch the bus that we come on when it returned from El Cotillo. We had a coffee in Canela next to the bus stop:- it had a very tempting menu and ambience!

Next stop La Oliva! We walked round that in about 20 minutes! The attractive church was locked. The Municipal Offices were closed of course, but we saw where our local tax goes, and we failed to find the new indoor swimming pool (of which there is apparently a fiscal incompetence tale to be told later!) Nor did Bob find the monument "Casa de los Coroneles" because the signs ran out! So plans for long quiet lunch in La Oliva were abandonned and we got back on a bus to Corralejo, to have said lunch at La Lonja by the fish market. The sun came out and we stayed for a long time listening to old Majorero men singing traditional songs whilst eating something very "peasant".

This day of public transport was 30% subsidised by the island government (Cabildo) through their bono scheme.

This little card costs 12 euros (In Corralejo only from the 7 Dwarfs sweet shop on Lepanto) and goes in a machine next to the driver. Very good value!

As is the Hablaya card with which 5 euros gives 200 minutes of phone calls to UK landlines (from public or home phones).

Another bargain is the new(ish) Chinese Wok restaurant where about 10 euros plus tax gives access to the exquisite buffet including sushi, bespoke wok cooking and the teppanyaki grill. The staff are delightful and you can sit there all night if you want to.

A final money-saving tip:- wine in a tetrapak at 80 cents per litre (white and rose OK but red best used to clear drains!)

Careful with that cake, Eileen!

Last Saturday was Eileen's birthday, and we were invited to join her for a picnic at Africa's shack (chiringuito). This is one of her (and our) favourite spots in the world, with its view of the bay, boats, Lobos and the mountains. Centre of attention to start was - of course - one of the huge tuna caught so regularly on the Sina Maria 3 under the skilled eye of Chris the Fish (Eileen's partner). We took Ruth's tortilla espanola, chorizo and local cheese.
Then came the cake! She said the only cake she would want on her birthady would be her own, and it does have to said that Spanish (like Greek) cakes tend to disappoint on the eating front. So we shared this very scrummy chocolate and strawberry number from Eileen's kitchen, whence now come quite a lot of celebration cakes for ex-pats and others in the know.

She also makes quiches, pies, interesting preserves and phenomenal chocolates - described as making Thorntons taste like Cadbury's! (0034) 651331627 for orders and info!

The weather was kind that day after a bit of nonsense. On Ruth's recent Thursday shows the reports were:

• March 4th: Hot but strong wind
• March 11th: Lovely, then a sudden shower
• March 18th: Calima that lasted until Eileen's birthday!
• March 25th: Beautiful

We haven't seen much of the calima since we moved to winter-only residence. This early one was not too bad really, and was mercifully not followed by the locust clouds that sometimes occur after a bad one. To learn more about this Canarian weather phenomenon click here!

Carnaval - a cultural melting pot!

An abandonned float symbolises the silliness, possible political incorrectness and thematic diversity that is the Saturday night parade and follow-up cavorting in Corralejo's carnival.

The street parade itself was - as usual - nearly two hours late and we watched its passage from the American with a nice fillet steak brochette and bottle of Rioja! There were fewer floats (Avenida restaurant was absent for a start), but plenty of people in the marching bands and a good standard of costume.
What to wear for a Jungle theme?
Amongst the public there was a fair amount of camouflage kit - but as our Paleo pal Nogbad has asserted - to wear this when not on active service is distinctly naff!
So thinking caps went on and secrets were kept uuntil the night in question.


The two Sandies - also retired and with nothing better to do - were stunning as tropical birds with brilliantly constructed masks, wings and general attire. Pete had threatened to refuse to dress up, but in fact wore Dave 's costume from last year, and was thus an inhabitant of that famous jungle in Andalucia! And as for Dave himself.. we have failed to capture the full glory - in fact all that is visible is a bit of his wig. This is a terrible shame as he was so glorious that strangers were approaching him in the street. Sandra had made him a loin-cloth (and blanket for later) in leopard skin, and with a golden long-haired wig and oiled body he made a sensational Tarzan.

Ruth went more for the props than costume and was a 19th century white bug-and-butterfly collector. Here she is seen with a rather larger specimen - Trev from Chester - a Greyrocks reader!

Bob is a regular refusnik on these occasions, but managed to integrate his glasses with a Balou mask, and wears only tropical shorts and shirts of an evening anyway, so could be said to be appropraitely dressed! Later when irritated by the mask he put in on the back of his head and said he was a "bear behind"!

The night was balmy, and long!

On Sunday night we were all out again around sunset for the Funeral of the Sardine, which was very much more impressive than last year's mean affair! This could be as a result of charging for some parts of Carnaval (see last post)

Whatever the reason, it was a joy - with a good-sized gleaming fish effigy, roaring pyre and then impressive firework display which lasted a reasonable amount of time and included huge palm-like explosions high in the sky, and some of the "bouncing off the sea" type that we loved two years ago!

We now have a collection of plastic insects and other related paraphenalia. Any takers?

Down in the jungle...

It's been Carnival time again!

This year the theme for La Oliva (including Corralejo) was The Jungle (La Selva) - rather easier to work with than last year!

The council has made some changes too - some of which seemed a bit mean. Decoration in the High Street consisted of some very pathetic cardboard cut-outs of wild animals stuck up some lampposts. Such was the quality that discussions took place as to whether we were talking monkeys or lizards! Two days before the start there were still no posters with the programme, and the website would not deliver it as promised. The tourist office handed out A4 versions with the words in 8-point green! Then just in time there a flurry of this "King of the Jungle" poster and all was revealed!

Most of the static activity took place as last year on the ground in front of the Sports Centre. A long line of portaloos graced our route to and from town, and with the works on the boat lift there was room for only two fairground rides on the road behind.

Quite a few of the shows (including of course the ever-popular Drag Queen spectacular) had an entrance fee, and we wondered how this could be enforced. The answer was that they put up a perimeter fence and covered it with light but opaque green stuff. Very many people did pay, but plenty of others peeled back the green stuff and peered through holes! No-one seemed to mind. Nor was there much enforcement of this ban on the botellon, which is taking in supermarket booze to share!

The party on the first Friday night went on until 6.15 am.

Meanwhile - down at the Blue Rock- Claire and her helpers put the council to shame with their decoration of the bar (inside and out) as a jungle hut (complete with hanging mosquitoes and a "waterfall" to be negotiated en route to the toilets!)

The three monkeys on the windows formed a triptych showing stages of inebriation.

Our neighbour Sandy showed that some primary teaching skills are never forgotten by mass-producing the leaves and fronds!

Careful with that block, Eugeno!

With the pedestrian area declared finished, the engineeering focus has moved to the harbour, where for the last couple of weeks there has been diggin, dredgin and underwater concrete pourin, in pursuit of a new boat-lifting facility.
Here we see an example of the continuing Lego-like construction, involving (many) concrete blocks and a frogman with a very long airline and a communication link to the driver of the crane, who ensures each base block is correctly aligned.

Hours of fun for the retired or holidaying spectators! Next month - watching paint dry!


So far, nothing has been dropped - but there are many, many more blocks!


And - on the subject of engineering feats, take a look at this sent by Barry in Paleohora. Nothing more needs to be said!

We do like to be beside the seaside!

Time to post an update to cover the month of February!

To say that the weather has been varied is to completely understate it!

We have had some beautiful days, such as the one when this yacht was spotted between our Bristol promenade and the islet of Lobos.

...and then there is the handful of bad storms! A particularly nasty one started on 31st January. There had been some warnings, but we went out with neighbours Sandy, Pete and Gary in the afternoon for a round of mini-golf at the Baku water-park. We had a great time (although three of us pulled various muscles!), but the dark clouds were massing. We thought we should be close to home for dinner so went to La Luna and caused havoc with raucous chat and laughter a la Saga Louts!

At about 10pm there was a huge thunderstorm which continued into the early hours. The streets were ankle-deep in rain, and they stayed that way with the Monday being disgusting. One thing you can say about Canarian weather, however, is that improvements happen fast. By Tuesday afternoon we were sunbathing at home, and on the Friday it was worthy of a big beach visit! This was the first since late October. Last year the mid-winter gap went on until the end of February, so we are arguing that this winter has not been as bad as last. Many disagree! The good spell this time lasted a week - until 13th when it turned dull, and on the Sunday exceptionally wet. Ruth had won another free English breakfast at Penny Lane (the other end of town). We arrived there - equipped with Saturday's Guardian - as the heavens opened. We left to move on, stepped outside and immediately turned round and went back in for a beer until they closed for the afternoon. Then it was a long and very wet walk back. The following week (largely English half-term) was pretty bad too with either very strong winds or rain or both. The talk was all of what horror was on its way and whether our island would catch it, but on the Tuesday there was a tiny afternoon window of glorious sunshine and stillness. We went for a walk around town and then decided the opprtunity was too good to miss and stopped for tapas at El Bribon. This is a rather flash and recent addition to the seafront, which our other neighbours swear by for lunch, and it was indeed great value and with a beautiful view. We talked to the staff about the coming storm, but the sun continued to shine and we ended up staying so long that we saw three ferries come and go! Next morning the storm had still not arrived, but we remained on red to orange alert. As we needed shopping for staples we ventured out and made a quick stop at Africa's shack. She was (as usual) despondent about the weather and its effect on the (already dwindled) custom. At 3.15 it happened! All hands to the pump to clear her tables, chairs and plants and a frantic dash back home! This was a Wednesday - the most significant transfer day for Brits - so the restaurant over at La Luna, which is part of a big hotel, was heaving with people who couldn't venture any further for dinner. We joined them and watched news flashes on local TV showing that Gran Can and Tenerife had - once again - suffered worse than us. Once again the streets were awash, and Ruth had a very soggy walk to the radio station next day. By Saturday we were realising how lucky we were as we saw footage of Madeira!

The weather has gradually improved over this week, with a glorious day to report on Ruth's next Thursday programme, and 28 degrees until late evening yesterday.

We went to El Cotillo on the (very hot) bus. It was too windy for the beach but we had a walk round the town (village?). The sea was wild! Three closed adjacent restaurants and nothing happening at the biggest hotel suggest they are suffering badly from the recession, but at La Capitana and La Vaca Azul there was plenty of custom. We had a very pleasant light lunch at the former, bringing a sardine home in the bag!

Today we are again on storm alert! It keeps you on your toes!