Spain in lockdown Phase 2 - Day 74

Wednesday morning means it's gym class morning 💪 so that was my first of the day's activities followed by a quick 2km run on the running machine listening to some great music on the theme of talking as suggested by listeners to the Graham and Sarah Saturday Show on English Radio Pollensa.  Currently we can't broadcast as the mayor has yet to give the go-ahead to the radio station returning to normal running, so each week I post a theme as normal, but instead of a live show I put together a playlist instead and share some of the music that would have been played had we been able to broadcast.  The suggestions are always so good!  Suggestions this week ranged from "A Little Less Conversation" Elvis and "Road to Nowhere" Talking Heads to "Jive Talkin'" Bee Gees.  If you want to find it then look on the I Love Puerto Pollensa FB page or go to the Graham and Sarah Saturday Show FB page 🎧 There's also the Top 10 from a year gone by plus a bit more great music from across the decades including one or two new releases.

I took the dogs for their lunchtime walk in La Gola which is slightly inland just before Tolos where the seafront goes over the water channel.  It's a small wetland where the SIller and Gotmar torrents merge and flow into the sea, so the water is a mixture of fresh and salt water.   Here is a view looking inland today:

It was restored and equipped as a little park in 2007/8.  There's an Ornithological Centre there which was built in 2010.  I haven't seen it open very often but it does open from time to time and there are signs throughout the wetland with information about the different birds that can be seen there.  This is a view looking out towards the sea:

The lovely family who live in the house with the tower used to be our landlords when we first moved out here and we have been in that house - and it's as gorgeous as you'd imagine! 😍

I left La Gola by what used to be the Buddha Bar which was empty for a while but opened up last year as Ca'n Pep Restaurant and Grill.  I had long admired the large elephant on their terrace and was interested to learn that recently he had been relocated on the roof but toady was the first time I'd actually seen it for myself.  Puerto Pollensa's very own Dumbo 😂

After lunch we headed off to Lidl to do the main weekly shop - it still feels to me like a bit of an event despite the fact that we now have much more freedom.  Lidl and Cala san Vicente are the furthest I've travelled anywhere since lockdown started 74 days ago so it's hardly surprising really!  

Updates from the Port include Arush which is the new cafe opening on Friday in what was the Australia Bar next to Nostalgia.  They will be doing breakfasts and snacks and will be open through into the evening apparently.  They're lovely and I teach their older daughter so I really hope they do well.  And the terrace at Marc's was being jet-washed today so maybe they're opening in the not too distant future although currently they still have brown paper up over the windows etc.  

In more general news, today Spain started the first day of 10 days of mourning for all those who have died from Covid-19 😢  Flags are being flown at half-mast in honour of the nearly 27,000.  And yesterday Spain proposed that the EU open up travel routes between regions in the EU that have controlled the spread of the virus.  Basically parts of a country could open up to tourism before the whole country which would certainly help the Balearic Islands' economy!  Meanwhile, the regional Balearic government has asked for the whole of the region to enter Phase 3 of de-escalation on Monday 1st June instead of 8th June which is the date currently scheduled.  Whether this is granted, we will have to wait and see.  Phase 3 is enticing particularly because it means hotels could open their communal areas at 50% of capacity so you can see where they want to head with all this........ 

Stay safe and hasta luego!