Big Al's Karaoke
First day dawned in Corralejo and what a fantastic morning. I've not always been lucky on holiday but it was clear blue skies and bright sunshine. This island has an amazing climate - because it's in the Atlantic and at almost tropical latitude, the sea keeps the island at a fairly steady temperature all year round - it's hardly ever too cold in the winter or too hot in the summer. The daily high ranges from low 20s in the winter to high 20s in the summer and it never drops below about 15c at night. In fact I believe the lowest temperature ever recorded here was 10c and the highest only in the 30s. Perfect. The only problem really this place has is it can be quite windy. But not on day one.
Breakfast at the restaurant was pretty woeful, but we were able to fill up enough on what we needed - and there was a nice and free coffee machine. Bit of fruit and yogurt for the kids, toast, boiled eggs, sausages etc. But criminally - NO BACON, but apparently there is some days. We got what we needed though. After breakfast we went into town and did some shopping. Everything is very good value here, providing you avoid the tourist shops and as an old hand, I know where to go. It seems that the famous Hiper-Dino has taken over here to the extent that Tesco has in England, but they are full of bargains - baguettes for 37c, cans of San Miguel, 6.20 for 12, that sort of thing. And of course local delicacies such as Serrano Ham are great value - a nice packet for 1 euro which they charge about 3 quid for back home. And knowing which things are more expensive here is useful too, so we brought our entire 2 weeks supply of nappies from home.
The hotel complex is lovely, landscaped gardens full of pine trees, cacti, and various other flora, with paths winding pleasingly up and down and around the apartments, no nasty straight lines here. 3 massive swimming pools and a kiddies pool - sadly very cold though. I think I am going to have to make heated pools a pre-requisite of future jaunts.
The weather can be a bit hit and miss at this time of year - temperatures stay pretty steady but you can get cloudy and windy days, even the odd rainy day, so we made full use of the first day to play by the pool. Kids had a whale of a time. We bought a few inflatables and watering cans and such like to play with. Also I took Ollie in the big pool with me in his armbands and he was very frightened about letting go of me, but together we conquered our fears and I was immensely proud to see him take his first few tentative kicking moves towards learning to swim.
It was a hot sunny day, we all took our precautions, but Claire underestimated on her sun screen and used my factor 4, which left her pretty red in places. Kids with their factor 30 were fine.
I've been having a lot of trouble with my sore feet recently, but have discovered that the best things to wear are my hideous old blue crocs which went out of fashion about 5 years ago but they are the perfect things for here. Ollie thinks so too as he decided he wanted some, so went in search of some in the town, and found the perfect pair - in yellow, with a picture of Spongebob Squarepants on them. He was very happy with them. Less so with the water squirter which he and Jamie insisted on fighting over pulling at it until it broke. One very upset Ollie, but lesson learned, one hopes.
In the evening we walked into Corralejo, and I was pleased to see that despite some obvious changes in four years since our last visit, it was quitessentially the same, and a lot of our old favourites were still there. We waked down into the old town, looking around for somewhere nice to eat and found a new restaurant close to one of our old favourites. I was on a steak quest, and got exactly what I wanted whilst the kids filled up on chips and bread. 43euros for 2 big mains a bottle of red wine and all the kids bits and pieces, plus a few freebies was good by me.
We went for a walk into the locals area of the old town, where like in other Spanish cities, the kids were playing happily even after dark with their parents in a lovely clean open park, no syringes under the swings or swearing going on here. And then decided to go and try and look up some old friends.
Up at the top end of town are three bars that have been there at least 20 years, The Underground - a London themed bar complete with red phone box, Golden Years, a 50s/ 60s style bar and The Talk Of The Town complete with its own chip shop. Many years ago these places were packed out everynight, however in recent years they have seemed to have gotten quieter and quieter. The same staff and entertainers though seemed to be here year after year and they became almost like old friends. On our last visit in 2009, Big Al, one of the entertainers who has worked across the 3 bars for years had taken over Golden Years along with his wife Deb. But they had their worries, the recession was biting and it was very quiet that winter. Another big problem not only here but elsewhere is that the ever growing trend towards all inclusive resorts by the travel operators means that people are less and less likely to venture out into the town - it is literally killing business.
I was concerned for Big Al's chances back then but hoped he would make it as he is a great entertainer, he could do it all, so my heart sank to see today that Golden Years was gone, although the other two were still there. We walked past all 3 - there was new bar where Golden Years used to be, but what struck me was that by this time, gone 9pm, the bars were almost empty. It seemed in four years, things had fallen ever further. There was no sign of our old friend Dave Brown at the Talk Of The Town. Dave used to pack them in, even though he has basically been doing the same act with the same gags, play your cards right, quiz etc every night for what seems like decades. But it works. Or at least it used to. But he wasn't there. So we wandered back up and decided to quickly pop into the Underground as there were a few people (i.e.about 10 in there) and lo and behold there was Big Al, setting up his karaoke gear. We had a good chat and he explained they'd closed the bar two years ago, it didn't work out. Deb hadn't had a job for 2 years and he was still getting bits and pieces of work - including just these Sunday nights doing Karaoke at The Underground. I couldn't help feeling a bit sorry for Big Al, he was one of those who'd come out here to live the dream and was now it seems in hard times - he even hinted he was only paid for the night according to the takings. So we stayed for the evening and spent a good few euros over the bar, and along with a few other diehards made it a bit of a night. We had to leave by about 11:30 as the kids were exhausted but we promised we'd be back next Sunday. So on my first Sunday night off in a very long time, I found myself supporting an old friend on his - it's the least we entertainers can do for each other.
Couldn't help thinking afterwards how we all moan back home about how Tesco etc are destroying small businesses, but what's happening over here with the tourism is really having far more of an impact. Every hotel that goes all inclusive effectively putting all the money into the cost of the holiday rather than providing spending money is ripping the heart out of the bars and restaurants and I can see first hand what impact it's having on the likes of Big Al. After we left, we noticed that the other two bars were already closed - this would have been unheard of a few years ago. So if I wasn't before, I'm even more anti-All inclusive now - besides which, it's boring anyway being tied down to the same hotel. I can understand the point of it in some Caribbean resorts where it probably isn't safe to venture out but it's all wrong in a place like this.
Jason xx
The only problem really this place karaoke machines has is it can be quite windy. But not on day one.
ReplyDelete