Live From The Rooftops In Los Gigantes!

 Los Gigantes was the location for live music this Saturday night, from a rooftop in the center of the village. The Tio Franklin Band entertained the locals and the few tourists that are here for two hours, performing live music from across the decades. The idea was to promote our area and inject a little positivity to our very quiet village. We were unable to watch the full show as we were at work, however the feedback from people was brilliant and many live videos were shared on social networking sites.

It also brought some much needed business to the local bars and restaurants, here are a few snap shots for you to look at!

As always #besafe #ridethestorm

Until next time

x

 

Ever Changing News!

You turn your back for one moment and the news has changed again, 

From Thursday evening this week the pubs in the UK have to now close at 10PM, Is Covid dormant after that time? It seems most strange doesn't it. My guess is that people will just go out earlier and worse still, when the pubs kick out they will just got round their "Mates" gaff and carry on..

Back in the day (don't I sound old) when I was gigging on the UK pub circuit, pubs closed at 11PM and last orders was 10.40PM, Sundays was half an hour earlier. I think people may have been a little more accepting of these times but 10PM, even in my opinion is a little early. 

The local pub for many, particularly older folk, is a safe place where they can sit among friends, have a couple of drinks and put the world to rights, for some people, its the only interaction they get. Its the community hub. My parents local in Worcester is just that. Its friendly, its safe, and it has a warm atmosphere. Sadly, it seems that people will just have to alter their social habits.

The news in Tenerife also changed last night and our closing times have also been brought forward. Until last night we could have people in until 1AM, this has now been brought forward to midnight, so it will last orders at 11.30PM and all out by midnight. Also we cannot have new new customers after 11PM. These new restrictions only apply to the larger Canary Islands.

This new ruling is for 15 days, however what worries me most is that back on march 14th they told us lockdown was only for 15 days so we will watch this space and wait and see.
Apparently this is to bring the incident rate down to somewhere below 50 so that certain countries will allow air bridges. Its all very confusing if you ask me.

I feel very sad this week, my son is now back at school and after 6 months off the poor lad is exhausted. His body clock is so out of wack its unreal. What upsets me most is that he leaves the house at 7.15AM and returns at 2.30PM and he has to wear a mask the whole time he is out. As a parent I find it really sad. These are kids and it almost feels like they are having their childhood taken away from them. My son has adjusted well to wearing the mask but 7 hours solid in a mask is extreme.

We took a trip out this week to the El Galeon outlet shopping center in Adeje and although it was nice to have a mooch, we were practically the only people there, I've enclosed a photo of the coffee shop. I've also enclosed a photo of Stevie at the Chicken shack, He's got my favorite wine, we will be paying you a visit soon!

What ever you are doing this weekend, have a good one and whatever you have planned, do it an an or two earlier. We will get through this, if nothing else, as a human race we adapt brilliantly and we will continue to do so.

#besafe #ridethestorm

A Giant Leap!

Today's headline refers to a series we've been watching on Netflix called Away, I can highly recommend it, and I thank my wonderful parents in the UK for telling be about it!

Take a look at our lives 6 months ago, just cast your mind back

Holidays were two a penny, we never thought twice about booking them did we, Nights out in the local bar with none or very few restrictions. family lunches, who could ever have predicted this???

These days we are afraid to leave the house without a mask because if we are spotted by the local law, a massive fine could be the outcome,

I, along with many others find myself questioning absolutely everything. Business is obviously quiet so this would be a perfect time to book a cheap flight to visit family for a few days. I could kip on someones sofa and as happy as i would be to self isolate, it would neither be fair to the people I was travelling with, or to the people I was staying with. I could visit my family but not my husbands, or we could visit his family and not mine and that is simply not fair. I am tempted by the 7.99 price tag for a flight but for now I will be staying put. People can fly here to see us, but most of them cannot do the two week isolation upon return let alone get travel insurance. 
Now with the news of new restrictions coming in to force there is the added risk that we would be unable to get home.

The news is also changing by the hour with more local lockdowns, although I think the media does make the headlines far more dramatic than they actually are.

A headline can read
"Lockdown immanent" however when you open the article it says that this might happen or that might happen and we are left none the wiser. 

We enjoy our weekends working but we actually enjoy our down time too. We have got very adapt at filling our days. I continue with my guitar practice and I am desperately trying to improve my Spanish. We support our favorite places, we visit friends and we enjoy taking a drive out. 

Lockdown it has to be said, has sadly brought out the negative in some folk and its sad. It has turned some people very angry which is completely understandable as the whole situation just messes with your head. I can be really positive one moment but in the next I am questioning everything. our future, our location, our finances, the answer's usually the same

"I don't know" 

We just find ourselves plodding along,
In lockdown the house was cleaned to within an inch of its life, but now we are spending more time there it gets messy, we hardly spent anytime at home before lock down. 

Sometimes you just have to look at the positive and for me it has taught me that life isn't all about work work work and should any kind of old normal return we will definitely not be running around like loons and working all the time like we did before.

We took a ride out to Playa San Juan again this week as we love swimming in the sea and for us, this beach ticks all the boxes. Easy parking close to the beach, showers, and a nice bar cafe where we can get coffee afterwards. Sadly we almost had the beach to ourselves.

When lockdown began I suggested to Eddie that there would be a baby boom in nine months and although I don't come across many expectant mothers the Lidl catalolgue this week is full of things you would need for a new born. It make us smile, maybe my prediction was right!

Where Do We Go From Here?

Its a question we are all asking ourselves at the moment, where do we go? what do we do? there simply is no end in sight, no light at the end of this long tunnel.. We simply just sit, hold tight and ride it out, nothing more we can do!

Someone asked how we were doing last night and my answer was this. Business is tough at the moment but its like a big pie. If we can all just get a small slice, just enough to keep going then we´ll be alright. Fortunately, we are just getting enough of that pie, one night we can be fairly busy, another night we might get no one through the door. You never can tell from one night to the next!

We were out a couple of days ago, a family day out to kit our son out ready for school, a rucksack and some stationary etc, all the things he hasn't really needed for the last 6 months. It was while we were sat having a coffee that we got talking about the virus. 

"A cure is what we need" Eddie said

"The reality is that I think we already have the cure"comes my reply

OK, Maybe not a cure. However, if we all exercised common sense IE, mask wearing, social distancing, hand washing and stuck to it, the numbers surely would come down. This is simply my opinion.

My son then said

"This is prevention, not a cure!"

As the old saying goes, prevention is better than the cure!

My son is now back at the school, the Facebook live broadcast took place, no more gathering in school halls. One of the things that the school announced was that if they get three or more cases of Covid, then the school will close, I´m giving it two weeks, Eddie reckons 10 days, I will keep you posted. Fingers crossed we are both wrong!

I haven't spoken about cheese and crackers lately, and that's because my cheese has pretty much stayed on my cracker, although it did slide a bit yesterday, I just had one of those days, the emotional roller-coaster that life is at the moment. The massive limbo and uncertainty that we are all dealing with, I let it get to me yesterday!
After s steady night at work, some good laughs along with good people I am happy to announce that the cheese is back where it should be!

I've added a couple of photos of Tenerife south airport, just so people can see how desperately quiet it is over here. We really need the 2 week quarantine to be lifted and we need those air bridges!

Until next time, have a good week and stay safe

xxx

Lying In The Longest Grass I Sit And Wait!

Well actually there isn't really any long grass around here to be waiting in, its a song lyric taken from a song by Gary Barlow called Since I Saw You Last. I love a good song lyric and thought it would make a good blog title.

The weather has changed in Tenerife, I've always called September the humid month and at the moment its certainly living up to its title. We've even had a bit of rain this week, although it was sandy rain and all the cars now need a damn good wash, ours included!

The UK has a new rule this week stating that gatherings of more than six people are no longer allowed! Yet one can go to a football stadium along with a few hundred other folk and watch a game of football. One can also board an aircraft along with many other folk and fly off somewhere hot. It just makes no sense. 

A few weeks ago I was scrolling through my news app, The Daily Mirror (other news apps are available) and one of the headlines was that kids were at more risk of catching the flu, or being in a car accident than they were of catching Covid! I then scrolled down a couple of articles and the story was that X amount of schools had had to be closed because teachers and pupils had tested positive for this damn virus!
It feels like the media, along with the government are just contradicting themselves all the time. Someone actually said to me a few days back, if the media post enough contradicting stories then at least one of them will be correct, maybe that's the case, who knows???? 

This week in Spain, the kids are returning to school after a whopping 6 months off. I think it will be interesting to see what happens now that all the kids are mixing together.
My son, who is 16 will also be returning this to school week and I´m curious to hear what new rules and regulations will be adopted in schools and colleges regarding safety for both the students and the teachers. One thing that I do find interesting is that my sons school has announced that there will be a Facebook live broadcast for the parents to watch which will outline the new rules. Could this be the end of parents gathering in school halls at the start of the every new school year? We await the live broadcast!!!

After a steady weekend in the bar, you lovely locals are still showing us the love and we are still truly humbled and grateful for your support. On Tuesday morning I had made a decision that we would go swimming.  I hadn't decided whether it was a pool or the sea but one way or another we would swim. We ended up in Playa San Juan where we practically had the beach to ourselves. We've bought beach shoes as its a bit hard under foot but apart from that its a nice beach. I was expecting the sea to be really cold, it is the Atlantic after all but I have to say after the initial plunge it was just fine. We spent a good forty minutes or so just bobbing around and we absolutely loved it. The swimming shoes were a godsend as I definitely wouldn't have gone in without them. We've decided to make swimming a weekly routine, and hope to go at least once a week, maybe even twice!

That's all from me for today, have a great day whatever your doing and stay safe

H xxx

When Is A Glass Not A Glass?

When you are drinking a delicious Pina Colada at TJ´s Cocktail Bar in Los Gigantes!

After entertaining the lovely customers at the Wine Bar, and a light supper, we walked down to see Paul at TJ´s as it was their first night opening after we all got closed down in March. He has done a lot of work in there and the place looks amazing. After pondering over the vast menu of gorgeous cocktails I decided on a Pina Colada and Eddie chose a Cherry Ameretto. A short wait ensued and a few moments later we were presented with our drinks. Mine came in pineapple shaped affair and as well as looking amazing it tasted amazing too! Paul has really studied his craft and his knowledge is just second to none. From knowing the exact ingredients and measures, and the correct presentation, he really does have an eye for detail. He also knows the origins of all the drinks he sells. If you are visiting Los Gigantes then this place is certainly somewhere i would recommend you visit at least once.

This week Eddie went off filming the village, he had a wonder around the town at approximately 9PM on Thursday evening.  A few people have criticized his video and said that it isn't a true account of Los Gigantes in the evening. Sadly I have to disagree with these people as the village is very quiet at the moment. Don`t get me wrong, there are still people here, just not enough without the tourists. That said, a holiday is what you make it and people should not be put off coming here. There is still plenty to do, plenty of wonderful places open and it is gorgeous.
Eddie and I lived in Mallorca and the winters there are really quiet so for us the lack of people, and having to be slightly more select in our choices doesn't phase us at all, why would it? There is no reason why it should.
Someone even said they hoped their holiday would get cancelled which in my opinion is just ridiculous. If you can travel and do the fourteen day quarantine then do it, soon enough they will probably open the flood gates, flight prices will probably sky rocket and it will be a free for all! Come and enjoy your favorite bit of paradise while it is like it is. It will never be this way again.

Until the next time, take and be safe 

xxx

In Search Of...........

In search of what?
I´m not really sure. We are all living this massive life of limbo at the moment. Things are changing from one day to the next and no one really knows what is going on. On the one hand we want to enjoy all this free time that we have, but on the other hand we all want to return to something that feels a bit more normal.

We find ourselves wanting to go out but we simply don´t know where or what we want to do, and of course we are all on a tight budget. 
A recent morning out for us was a drive to an industrial estate just past San Isidro to drop off some empty beer barrels that we had accumulated since we reopened the bar. Very boring and mundane one would think! but actually is was a nice drive out. The weather was boiling hot so being in the car with the air-con on was just perfect. The roads are quiet here at the moment so it is a pleasure to drive along them. We got to the warehouse, stopped and had a chat with the owner of the supplier which again was nice as its something that we wouldn't normally have the time to do, and twenty minutes later we were on our way. 

"Lets go for coffee" Eddie said
"Where?" was my reply

There is simply everywhere to go but by the same token there is nowhere!
I'd left the house with a really positive attitude and after taking coffee at Parque Santiago 6 (Ed can have a ciggie and the coffee is nice) We decided to have a drive around Playa De Las Americas. We started off near Zara and cruised our way all along until we got to the Duke shops area in Fanabe. 

The Positive attitude was soon replaced with complete devastation. It is so sad to see what used to be such a vibrant buzzing resort, now reduced to empty locals. Many of the places are temporarily closed but many of them are gone! Even big stores, they now lie empty, and who knows if or even when they may be back in business. Don't get me wrong, there are still places open, many restaurants, cafes and bars are open but there is simply not enough folk around to occupy them, and you wonder how long they can remain open to such a small population of people
It has been suggested by a few people that this could be the end for Tenerife tourism, I certainly hope this isn't the case, Tenerife has been the home for my family and I for nearly twenty years. Sadly there will be many places that don´t reopen and we, along with many others, hope to be one of the ones that survives, we hope we are able to ride the storm and come out the other side. The problem with Playa De Las Americas is that it is simply a tourist area. theres not many residents who actually live there, unlike places such as the Golf Del Sur, Los Cristinos where there are more residential areas.  Lets just hope that things improve in the not too distant future.

This week Jet2 have once again changed the dates that they will start flying here again, and they are not due to start fly here until late September, again this is subject to change. Frequent visitors to the island have had so many flights cancelled that they are either now so far out of pocket while waiting for refunds or they are simply reluctant to book more. That said, on a more positive note, airlines are still flying here and I have heard that Insurance companies are starting to cover people again with new rules regarding Covid.
The island is still beautiful, the weather is amazing and the beaches are quiet. Providing you take it for what it is there is no reason to not enjoy our little island. Remember a few weeks ago when I blogged about our favourite place in Mallorca? We had an amazing time. we had our own little piece of beach, and two or three places that we would frequent over the day and that was perfect for us. We had walks, we swam in the med, we sat on the Jetty, and we ate at the Coral restaurant. Would we go again with it being so quiet? in a heart beat 110%

Back to our little village and yes, its very quiet but like many other places on the island we are ticking over and doing OK. There are many residents here and we are all doing our little bit to support as and when and as best we can. 

We went along to the quiz at The Wine Bar yesterday which is always well supported and last night we were invited to a friends house down in the village where six of us got together, and a wonderful night was had by all!

Don't forget if you are out and about in Los Gigantes, our little bar, The 60's Bar is open Friday,Saturday, Sunday and Monday from 7PM, pop in, we would love to see you!
You can also find me on at the Wine Bar & Terrace where i sing every Thursday evening! 

Until next time, take care and be safe

xxx

When Life Throws You Lemons!

You make lemonade right?

So when you get the opportunity to make the positive of a bad situation you take the bull by the horns and do it!

It was while we were sitting having a coffee the other day that the subject of needing a break came up! A change of scenery, a break from the norm, an hour later it was booked! Puerto De La Cruz was the destination and the duration was for one night! all on a small budget of course. The hotel was the Monopol and the company was Eddie and me, along with four friends.

We´d never stayed at the Monopol before but we know a few people that have. Its an old hotel, probably one of the oldest in Puerto. The rooms aren't that big, but they more than adequate for a one or two night stay. It has a swimming pool, a Jacuzzi, friendly staff and it was perfect for what we needed.

After checking in, and meeting up with our friends we headed to the main square for a bite to eat. A lovely setting, great food and 25% discount on the bill just for being residents. From there it was a walk around the local area where it was quite obvious that Covid and its restrictions had hit this town in the same way that it has hit many other tourist resorts. Although there was plenty open and the town seemed to be buzzing, this was mainly due to it being a bank holiday weekend and probably the last time that families could go away before the start of the new school year. Sadly there are many places closed for business and quite a few premises up for rent or transfer. We returned to the hotel and spent the afternoon at the pool area, Swimming, sunbathing and sitting in the Jacuzzi. A few drinks were consumed and between us we put the world to rights.

That evening we were booked in to Titos´s Bodequita, a new restaurant for us but one that our friends had visited in the past on several occasions. There were eight of us as purely by coincidence, another couple who we knew were also staying close by and had booked the same restaurant. 

My Pork medallions with sauteed potatoes were delicious as was the bread and Ali Oli. Sometimes the simple things are the best, and bread and Ali Oli, as simple as it is, is one of my favorite things to eat. Just sit me in a corner with a glass San Val, and a plate of bread and Ali Oli and I´m more than happy!!

Eddie chose the beef chop although when it arrived it was more like half a cow on a plate! OK, maybe I'm exaggerating a little but it was huge, bigger than the plate. Eddie said it was delicious and managed to almost make his way through it, only leaving a few vegetables. The setting at this restaurant is beautiful, see the photos enclosed, and a great night was had by all!

Its been a fabulous weekend and just the tonic that we needed in these times. Its very difficult to stay positive especially when all you hear about is so many places closing and so many people leaving. 

Keyboard warriors are a big bug bear of mine, and while scrolling through the book of face a few days ago, someone made a comment about a restaurant they had been to. They hadn't enjoyed their food. Fair enough, this happens but was there really any need to post all over social media? and if they had enjoyed their meal, would they then have been so keen to tell all their friends? I'm not sure

In my opinion, now more than ever, we need to look for the good, and support each other. My philosophy is, if you've got nothing nice to say then say nothing. Its that simple!

Stay positive people, we have this! but most of all.........stay safe!

xxx

 

A Walk Through Town

Just a quick one today to tell you that Eddie and I had a walk around the village yesterday. We looked at what was open and spoke to a few of the locals. Please subscribe to our channel and set your notifications to receive more updates and videos.

xxx

The video is here A Walk through Los Gigantes

Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don´t!

What does one do these days?

It seems we´re damned if we do and we´re damned if we don´t.
We can book holidays, we can book flights, however its a bit like russian roulette as to whether said flights and holidays will go ahead.

We all like to travel, we all love holidays, so should we keep booking them?
My answer is yes. A place is as safe as you personally want it to be. If you follow the guide lines and you are sensible then why not? 

There is so much negativity going around at the moment, its just so damn confusing.
We recently took a trip to Mallorca and we couldn't have felt safer or been made more welcome. We stuck to the rules, kept away from crowds, used hand wash wherever it was available and had a wonderful relaxing time. 

Now lets talk about Los Gigantes. Its a quiet village on the west coast of Tenerife. Everyone has that one "go to" destination where they like to unwind, ours is Port Pollensa in Mallorca, but for many, it is our little village, Los Gigantes or LG for short. 

Our busy season is in the winter,usually from about late September right through until Easter, however, hotel reservations are in excess of 60% down on last year.
We have a bar and as you can imagine the main topic of conversation is Covid! We also have a Facebook group "I Love Los Gigantes"
We are constantly asked the same questions

If we come in October will it be busy?

Will the hotel be open by November?

Will Jet2 cancel my holiday?

Will Ryanair cancel my flight?

What will it be like at Christmas?

The list goes on and the simple answer is
"I don´t know"

So where does this leave the future for LG and many other of our beloved "go to" resorts

Well, I can't speak for everyone else but my opinion is this;
My family and I will continue to live our day to day lives as best we can. We will go on holiday if we want to (and funds allow)
We will keep our bar open (as long as it is feasible to do so)
For me, until a vaccine is found (another can of worms that I´ll save for another day) we should carry on living our lives and being careful. 

Things change on a daily basis and my philosophy is that the only regrets in life are the things you don´t or didn't do, so book those holidays, make those memories, and if it doesn't happen then maybe it just wasn't meant to be!

Whatever your views are on this subject, stay safe, and just be careful

Have a great week x