Is It Really Level Four?

Or could it be accused of being "Level Three Plus"

This would seem to be a new thing, the UK have just imposed an Amber plus level and although we have gone in to level four of restrictions its not level four like before. 
When Gran Canaria went in to level four a few months ago they had to have bars and restaurants closed by 6pm and no one could dine or drink inside. If I remember rightly, take outs could open longer but the restrictions were strict.
They are not so strict in the current level four restrictions as we can actually still stay open until midnight and we can actually still have a 50% capacity indoors and 75% on the terrace. It makes me wonder why they bothered to put us into level four in the first place.
Anyway, that said, for us its a good thing as the old level four restrictions would've left us with little choice but to temporarily close the bar.

There is one new restriction that says (although I'm not sure its officially published yet) that for people sitting inside a bar / restaurant it will be necessary to be able to prove that they are fully vaccinated so therefore they must carry a certificate, be it virtual or printed that gives the status of their vaccinations.

For us, this isn't a problem, we are vaccinated and have the necessary documentation that says we are, but what about people that have only had one of their two vaccinations? or those folk that haven't had any yet. Then there are the people that cant or wont have the vaccination, I really don't know where they stand!

I respect peoples decisions where the vaccine is concerned. For us and like many others, the last thing I really wanted was to have a needle stuck in my arm, particularly the second time round! (Blog June 29th). However, it seems that the only way to move forward is to roll out the vaccines, and being a business owner and having a lot of contact with many different people on a daily basis, it is in my opinion the right thing to do.

I feel that we have been put in to level four to encourage more people to get vaccinated. I also feel that maybe the proof of vaccine may be policed! I don't know and wouldn't like to call it either way. We have done our best to keep up with the ever changing rules until now and will continue to do so.

On a more positive note, our little island is definitely getting busier and its wonderful to see. Just yesterday I did the Alcala walk and it was busier than its been for months. There are more people strolling about and the bars and restaurants are getting busier, it is truly great to see!

So, we await the official publication and hope that this is another move forward to getting back to 'normal' whatever normal may be!

Until next time.

H x

Some of this weeks visitors!!!

Limbo Wednesdays and Pemptiphobic Thursdays!

Yes, this is what our lives have come to! We go through the week with relative ease and then Wednesday hits and the waiting game begins...... awaiting our next move which occurs on a Thursday. It can occur at anytime on a Thursday ranging from early afternoon to late evening.

The last couple of weeks they have left us in level three which we can deal with. Its not ideal but its ok and we can continue to keep our little bar open. It's the unknown, and the fear of what "might" happen and what further restrictions they out on us that puts us on edge every Wednesday. We have become Pemptiphobic! (The fear of Thursdays!)

We had a great day off this week. After sorting out some admin and delivering some paperwork to where it had to be, we decided the beach was the only place for us to be on a hot Tuesday afternoon.
I do love a dip in the sea, so Las Vistas beach was our destination for a couple of hours. We parked our car underneath the Vista Sur apartments, and for a couple of euros its worth doing as free spaces in the area are about as easy to find as rocking horse dung. 

We stopped for a drink on the prom first, just taking in the view. We had been down this way at the weekend and I was curious to see the difference between a weekday and the weekend. 
The weekend was very busy, the beach was packed but the bars and restaurants were virtually deserted. I'm guessing the weekend was mainly residents having a day out family and friends, cool boxes were in abundance so people were probably picnicking on the beach. 
Yesterday however was different! The beach was much quieter but people were using the cafes and restaurants.
Many cafes and restaurants are still currently closed which does suggest that its still very quiet, but there are signs of life and more tourists are beginning to arrive. You only have to look at the airport arrivals and there are many more planes coming in than there were before.

The ongoing rules are still making it very confusing and just the other night people walked in the bar, and because The UK has lifted most of the restrictions they thought the same had happened here. Sadly this is not the case and we still have many restrictions including mask wearing and capacity numbers both indoors and out doors. 

As far as the UK is concerned France has now turned in to an amber plus country which means those returning to the UK now have to isolate for ten days and take tests whether they are double jabbed or not. We hope that they leave us alone as we are still on Amber!

So, here we are, its Wednesday and we wait and see what happens once again. We wait in anticipation and hope that they will leave us alone for another week and not put us on level four. We once again keep everything crossed!

I end this blog with a thank you! a random act of extreme kindness that was shown to us just last night. You know who you are and we thank you x

Until next time

H x

Cheers

An extremely tall and lovely chap who visited our bar last week!

Taking a dip

Staying Local And Once Again In Limbo!!!

So, last week I promised to blog about our village of Los Gigantes and stay more local.

Los Gigantes like many other tourist destinations continues to patiently wait for the arrival of the tourists and now that the UK government are lifting the need to quarantine we hope to get a little busier. 

It does feel like the village is slowly coming back life and people are starting to visiting us. Los Gigantes is a great place for a day trip as well as a well earned holiday. There are plenty of places open and more places that have been closed due to Covid are also getting ready to open in anticipation of the holiday makers arriving.

As you walk along the harbour, most places are open and at some parts of the day you could be forgiven for thinking that there isn't a pandemic as there are plenty of people meandering about using the bars, restaurants and various shops. 

If your looking to be entertained there are a few places that are putting entertainment on, whether it be live music, cabaret, quizzes, its all here and it can be easily found.
Sadly karaoke is still banned! Some folk might be glad that karaoke is off limits but it is a great outlet for many people and c'mon lets face it, who doesn't love a good sing song? Many of us, myself included, all have that one song that we sing at karaoke and even those that don't sing, still have songs that they love to hear and sing along to.

We have a quiz night at 60's Bar on Sunday evenings and on Friday evenings the guitar comes out along with the drums and Eddie and I entertain you, not a backing track in sight! 

The Wine bar continues to have live music and cabaret afternoons along with their weekly quiz afternoon on Wednesdays, and Don Jose also puts on live entertainment on a regular basis. The main plaza in the village boasts two great eateries Jardin Del Sol and The Bouganville, whether you are looking for a coffee and tapas or a delicious evening meal. These are just a small selection of places that are all open in Los Gigantes, trust me, even in these weird times you are spoilt for choice!

Los Gigantes, really has something for everyone, so whether you just fancy visiting for the day or staying a little longer to really take in the vibe of the village, we really are a friendly bunch and we look forward to welcoming visitors both old and new!

As I write this blog our little island is once again in limbo as we are now facing the prospect of going in to level four of restrictions. This has not happened before in Tenerife and once again we wait with everything crossed and hope that we remain in level three. I am remaining positive and hoping that they leave us in level three. If we go to level 4 it means that we will have to close at 6PM, surely they wouldn't do that to us!!!! lets hope not or the cheese might really slip, it may even fall off!

until next time, stay safe as always

H x

The hotel remains closed but here are signs that suggest they maybe getting ready to open

Should we take a sneaky break?

Having gone in to level three of restrictions and being absolutely exhausted ,we contemplated whether or not to take a short break from work. We could close for a week, do some essential maintenance and have a well earned rest. It was level three after all which meant nobody could sit inside and a limited number could be on the terrace. A quick discussion and the decision was made, a week off to recharge and have a rest, no plans to go anywhere, just a week off. 

Our last night was on Friday just before level three kicked in and by mid day on the Saturday a short break to Gran Canaria was booked, we left the following day, nothing like forward planning!

We took the Fred Olsen fast ferry over to Ageate in Gran Canaria and drove down to the end of the GC1 Motorway and in to Puerto Mogan.
I have a theory that all the best places are the furthest away, for example, Port Pollensa in Mallorca is about as far away away from Palma airport as you can get, Los Gigantes in Tenerife is a fair old drive from Tenerife south airport although the new motorway has made things a little quicker and easier. Puerto Mogan is almost a round trip from the Port in Agaete, however it is more than worth the ninety minute drive to get there! 

Puerto Mogan is a beautiful village on the south coast and many years ago on a business day trip we vowed we would go back someday. I never thought it would take fifteen years and a pandemic to get us back, however I don't intend leaving it that long before we visit again. 

The beach at Puerto Mogan is in a sheltered cove, it is sandy and soft under foot, just perfect for a swim, then there is the harbour which is very pretty,
On our first evening we found an Irish bar called The Irish Tavern, they just happened to be serving roast dinners on the evening we were in, roast lamb for Jack and I, Eddie chose a steak.

Gran Canaria, like Tenerife was very quiet, however we found ourselves a friendly local bar, Outlaws Bar owned and run by Martin who was very welcoming and we will definitely be back to visit him in the future. 
We were recommended some nice places to eat by Martin at Outlaws, these included N44 restaurant, Taj Tandooi and Gran Shanghai Chinese restaurant. 

Puerto Rico, the next resort along has had a new shopping mall built that isn't dissimilar to Siam Mall in Playa De Las Americas. We found a lovely coffee shop there serving Columbian coffee, it was called Cafe Regina and is part of a small chain across the island, I have a new love for Columbian coffee and will be seeking out somewhere locally that serves it.

We spent our afternoons on the enormous terrace, there was a large supermarket just over the road so we stocked up and we made lunch every day in the apartment, the odd bottle of wine might also have been consumed!

While we were in Gran Canaria, Covid restrictions changed again and the "No people indoors" restriction was lifted which meant when we reopened on July 4th we were once again able to have people inside. 

We had four wonderful relaxing days doing very little and because we had the car, we were able to take our home comforts with us. for me it was my guitar, Ed took his laptop and Jack took his beloved PS4. 

Los Gigantes seems a little busier since we came back so hopefully this is the start of better times to come. I haven't really mentioned LG of late so my next blog will be much more local!

Until next time

H x

Outlaws Bar Puerto Mogan, 

Time To Chill

Eddie thought the rock formations looked a bit like faces!

Oops!

The Beach At Puerto Mogan

Puerto Mogan!