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Published: January 18th 2010
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Tacky Christmas Decorations
Dyslexic Santas and a blow-up Christmas tree Maspalomas and the Ryanair Challenge
Of the group of people who come out to Gran Canaria each year there are five of us who are staying for 3 to 4 weeks this year. I see it as somewhere warm to live for a few weeks when the weather at home is at it's worst, rather than a holiday. With the accommodation we have found it is not much more expensive to live out in Gran Canaria for a few weeks than it is to stay at home. The search for the cheap airfares for the next year usually starts as soon as we get home from one Christmas season.
One challenge of being out there for a length of time is to try and fit everything we'll need for a few weeks into the baggage allowance for the flight. I usually travel out with a guitar and a large supply of Marmite each year - which doesn't leave much room for anything else! One of the harder decisions to make is how many Christmas decorations to bring out and there is competition to see who can have the most Christmassy apartment. Over the years this seems to have deteriorated
"Grow Your Own" Christmas Tree
We were disappointed with the "grow your own" pole dancer this year into a competition to see who can find the tackiest, lightest fit-in-a-suitcase decoration in a Pound Shop.
This year Helen was a runaway winner with the inflatable plastic Christmas trees. She also got bonus points for a streamer of Santas - the Santas are saying "Oh - Oh - Oh" rather than "Ho - Ho - Ho" - perhaps Santa is a bit shocked after going for a walk through the Maspalomas sand dunes!
Ryanair have recently started flying from East Midlands to Gran Canaria. If I'd held my nerve and left it until the last minute to book my flight, instead of booking it on the same day that I gave my notice in at work, I could have flown out for a Ryanair "advertised" price of £15. The Ryanair Challenge, then, would be to try and get out here with as few of the Ryanair "extras" as possible, keeping the cost as close to the £15 as possible and living here for 4 weeks. This, of course means only carrying hand luggage, bringing a bag of butties and not using the toilet while on the flight!
This year Dave came out with Ryanair
The Local Car Boot Sale
You should be able to get kitted out for a night at Disco Boney M here! and didn't seem too stressed out by the journey. He'd spent the flight sat next to a hysterical passenger but we can't really blame Ryanair for that. {
I wonder if Ryanair have considered making an extra charge to guarantee a seat next to a sane person?? One thing we've identified is a local car-boot sale where we'd hope to buy a lot of what we need for the 4 weeks {There was even a guitar for sale!!} at the start of our time here and then try to sell it back at the end. I'm not sure I could live for a month in the selection of clothing on sale at the car boot but I could certainly have kitted myself out for a visit to Disco Boney M for a couple of Euros!!
The
Ryanair Challenge is probably not a serious possibility, just something to keep us amused, but if you do see a group of people walking around Maspalomas in ill-fitting sixties clothing next year..........
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