Travel Blog 3 Timin Tenerife

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Hola, copos de nieve!
Time for another blog I think beings as the weather's not so great today - we had some rain this morning, still only the 4th lot since I've been here. It's stopped now and looks like clearing up later. Now, where was I after the last blog? - oh yes, ten pin bowling with the Lions over in Las Americas. This was the first time I've been bowling since the Beverages jamboree over at Wellingborough years ago and I managed to get a few strikes but not enough to win. I did however skilfully avoid the chickenburger which was offered as part of the cost of admission and which made everyone who did have it ill! The weather generally has exceeded all expectations inasmuch as not only has it been dry most of the time but it's also been sunny with it. I've been keeping up the gym in pursuit of my continuing rehabilitation but I've not been swimming as much as I should, somehow I just can't get into it. Carol singing with the Lions the Saturday before Christmas was a bit of a laugh but not very well supported compared to the local 12th Night celebrations a couple of weeks later. I've met a guy who used to be a personnel manager at Port Sunlight and with whom I share a couple of acquaintances from the 70's and 80's from Colworth and who subsequently moved up there. He and his wife are out here for a few months doing the same as me - getting out of the seemingly incessant rain of the UK. All in all, it's very pleasant out here but I think that if I come here again I'll have to get a car for the duration. The buses are good, they run almost everywhere, they're reliable and cheap but they're so slow! The weekend service to Los Cristianos takes an hour and a half because of its Magical Mystery Tour route - it takes about 30 minutes direct by car, if that. God knows how long it takes to get to somewhere like Puerto de la Cruz over the mountains! Still, I've some friends coming out for half term the week after next so we're hiring a car for the week and will use it for a more extensive exploration of the island. The local papers are full of stories of political shenanigans by the island's and mainland politicians who make ours look like paragons of propriety, even Peter Hain! A development to build a beach and pool complex in Puerto Santago just up the road has been halted it contravenes the law about public access to the beach. They had all sorts of trouble earlier on in its life as the excavations to build it undermined the road which runs through Playa de la Arena ( where I am ) and Puerto Santiago to Los Gigantes, leading to its collapse. This meant that traffic had to go the long way round adding to the time it took the buses to get to Los Gigantes. There's a multi - storey car park that's still closed and seemingly untouched since I was here four years ago, the big new hospital being built near Las Americas has been put on hold and there are all manner of other shifty goings - on going on! Anyway, I've attached a few photos so's you can see what it's like here and I'll try to post another blog after the carnival which starts in Los Gigantes next Thursday. The rain continues to have stopped, in fact the sun's coming out so I reckon it's time to adjourn to the pub for a couple of Estrellas.
Hasta la vista!
Tom in Tenerife.
p.s. I tried to add some photos after inputting the text above but lost my Internet connection so I've had to try again another day. I managed to get some onto the gallery but then something else went wrong and I couldn't upload any more so I'll try logging out and logging back in again, see if that makes any difference. Isn't technology wonderful? O.K, I've managed to upload the rest of the photos onto the gallery. Carnival starts later this week so hopefully I'll get some decent pictures from that plus some from other bits of the island.

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Photos

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Puerto de Santago from Playa de la Arena