Fishy feet
A day of new experiences. We've had 10 consecutive days of sunny weather and today was the day that the weather broke - temporarily. It had said rain on the five day forecast all weekend for today so we were expecting it and with a return to hot sunshine tomorrow, I have to say, one bad day isn't a problem - in fact a break from the sun was quite welcome. Even so, it wasn't even that bad. Even on a day with grey cloud overhead, the latitude of this place means it's still very bright - and the rain itself didn't amount to much - the odd short shower, however, as I sit late in the evening on the patio typing this, it is dry but lightning flashes can be seen in the distance.
With the weather unbecoming to pool and beach activities, we decided it was time to do some souvenir and various other shopping so we took a nice stroll down the main street of Corralejo which is a good mix of touristy shops and a few designer boutiques. Just the right mix. I wanted to take a few little gifts back home for my closest friends - so difficult to know what to get, but I noticed many of the shops had large displays of fridge magnets of all shapes and sizes, beach shoes, lizards, windmills, even frogs - don't panic Jo Jo - when I saw it you came to mind but I'm far too nice to bring back anything like that - I also remembered that my Sunday night team mate Gema likes fridge magnets - so job done - fridge magnets all round.
Now - on to new things. Claire has often fancied having her hair braided and there are a group of African ladies on the street who do it - I've seen the results and they are very good. The negotiation didn't go exactly as I'd planned - I had a set price in mind, it's all haggling here, but eventually we ended up paying 30 euros - I did say leave the talking to me - I drive a hard bargain. Reckon we could have got her down to 25 maybe even 20. Anyway this went very well and the end result was very good - hopefully I shall have a picture to accompany this blog entry by the time it is posted.
Now for my new experience. As you know I have had a few foot problems and have tried certain ways of getting the hard skin off with mixed degrees of success. Anyway I have for some time been quite fascinated by these fish spas, since I saw them in the Clarendon Centre in Oxford. Anyway there are all over the place here and at 10 euros for 15 minutes I thought I would give it a try. And very nice it was too - first I had my feet washed and dried by a nice young Spanish lady then the feet went in the tank. It was quite tickly and at first the fish seemed more interested in my legs than my feet - possibly as there's a fair bit of dryish tanned skin there, but they were soon buzzing around my feet too. I couldn't feel much around the heel area but then I can't at the best of times. Afterwards she dried and moisturised my feet and I have to say I am impressed with the results. Although I've still got plenty of hard skin on the heel it is much smoother and all the little dry patches on the edge of my feet and toes have virtually disappeared.
You'd have to say I enjoyed my first time and may have to go back for a second go before we go home - if we have any money left. Which is a case in point - I had put a decent amount of cash in my current account before I came out but have twice visited the cashpoint to take out 200 quid since arrival despite bringing cash with me. We have dined out a lot and bought a few things though. I got both the boys a t shirt today and also went back to the dodgy electronic shop (If you know what an R4 card is you will know what I mean) to pick up an Ipod dock/ portable pair of speakers. These things were advertised at 49.99 but by doing my usual thing I got him down to 10 - then once it was agreed he tried to get me to buy a "better" model for 20 - the only difference I could see was that it came with a charger. So I got a whole load of spiel about wasting money on batteries etc, but I wasn't going to be fooled. I knew the one I wanted had a USB cable with it to plug into the power slot which is all you need. Ever since I got my universal charger with USB slot in I can pretty much charge anything. So I've got this nifty little pair of speakers for 10 euros, (9 quid) and they are going to come in very handy around the house and garden - they are also very small which is ideal for travel. And they look very stylish too.
On to the highlight of the evening - the Slow Boat - chinese buffet - slightly upmarket from the cheap one - 6.99 that we have used before - this one is 8.95 per head and 4.50 for kids. Though under 3s eat free so nothing for Jamie - which is just as well as he promptly fell asleep soon after arrival. Now over the years I have been to many " All you can eat" chinese buffets which haven't fitted the bill. Either they involve complicated rules - such as ordering off the menu, only 3 dishes at a time, 2 hour time limit, you pay for uneaten dishes etc etc - or, they are poor quality. This place is amazing. For a start it's huge and the decor and lighting are lovely - it's clean, modern, there's a big pool with koi carp, etc. That's just the dressing. But the selection of food is amazing - and every single bit as far as I could tell was of the highest possible quality - absolutely gorgeous meats - ribs, chicken wings, pork, prawns - you name it - succulent, gorgeous, and so much to choose from. But it gets better. There's a whole separate area with raw meats - and I mean sirloin steak, lamb chops, chicken breast, fresh white fish, prawns, mushrooms, you name it - it's there - which you take up to the chef and he show cooks it in front of you - adding dashes of this and that - absolutely amazing, and some of the most gorgeous meat I have ever tasted. I am sure all of the veg was lovely too - it certainly looked amazingly fresh and tasty, however owing to my carnivorous nature my plate was mainly piled high with meats - not wanting to waste any stomach space. OK so this sort of show cooking isn't exactly new - but in a restaurant where you are paying 8.95 euros per head? What a find. And so different to the horrible restaurant here in the hotel. We're low on funds but I've no aversion to eating out at these prices.
Lovely, beatiful Corralejo, can you ever get any better? Sorely tempted after so many bad experiences elsewhere to just say sod it, let's come here every year.
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