The Port has gradually become quieter and quieter over the last 3-4 days and now most of the hotels to the east of the centre of town, have closed due to lack of customers 😢 Today, for example, we drove down the road past the Villa Concha entrance and it had the white poster paint stuff all over the glass entry doors and was all closed up. I believe people still intending to travel who would've stayed there are being transferred to the Hotel Daina. But it's very sad to see and it means of course, that there are far fewer people to go round the bars and restaurants. Strange and challenging times.
In local news, Casa Calico - the fishing equipment shop in Calle Mestral (the road beside Burger King) - has closed for good. And sadly Manolo, of Bar Manolo in the square (and Hostal Borras before that), died on Sunday which was a shock to everyone as although he was quite elderly, he was fit and active and worked to the last. What will happen to Bar Manolo no-one knows; it's very popular and on certain days huge numbers of elderly Mallorquins gather in there, the men to play cards and the women to have a good old chinwag. It always makes me smile to see the genders strictly divided like this and have no idea what would happen if one of the ladies wanted to join in the card games - collective horror and much vocalising all round I suspect! 😂
It's been quite a quiet couple of days for us during which time I've reflected on life here in Mallorca (in no particular order whatsoever):
- It's all about the bureaucracy and paperwork; the more the paperwork, the better they like it here. Especially the government. They are world class paper pushers and official paperwork here has to be in triplicate, notarised to within an inch of its life, officially translated - you get the idea! And if they say they want a photocopy of your passport, they don't just mean the ID page oh no - what they want is every.... single..... page.......😲
- Tapas are a wonderful creation which should be adopted by other countries. That is all.
- Parking is unlike any previous experience you have had about parking. And here I am mainly referring to parallel parking. The British approach with care and caution - judging a space in comparison with their car, trying very hard to squeeze in if the gap is tight, taking care not to touch anything around them and even going so far as to getting out to check how much space is left etc. The Spanish approach is a tad more ....well, let's call it optimistic shall we? No? Maybe...enthusiastic? Either way, the approach is - I'm in a car, there's a space, I park my car. The fact that they may be trying to squeeze a large estate car into a gap made for at best a micro car is absolutely besides the point. In order to fit that large car into an insufficiently sized gap however requires a manoeuvre called the 'Spanish kiss' - in a nutshell this means you use your car to bump the cars either side out the way such that your car fits - simples!! In case you think this is a myth, it isn't as I have seen this done on more than one occasion with my own eyes 👀 In any event, the net result is what you might call tight parking and here is an example from right outside our front door yesterday:
Yep, couldn't get a piece of paper between 'em 😂
- Regular high temperatures and humidity mean sweat in places that really shouldn't be biologically able to sweat but somehow they do 😳
- Mosquitoes - they seem to prefer some people more than others, mainly visitors. I think they like new flavours. Maybe we're their equivalent of a packets of flavoured crisps. Certainly the longer you live here the less you get bitten and the less reaction you have when you are. Different preventions help different people but certainly anti-histamines do seem to help lessen the reaction you get if you are bitten.
- Whilst on the topic of insects - cockroaches. I wrote about my run-in with them at the radio studio recently so you'll be aware that I'm not over fond of them. Our apartment is higher up and so we have very few problems but unlike 'normal' insects who seem scared of an approaching human, cockroaches strut across the pavement in front of you like mini Rambos; I mean, are you going to squash one in your flip flop clad foot? No, me neither...
- Toilet lights of the push button variety. These are a particular bugbear. They seem to be deliberately set so that you get just enough time to, shall we say, settle. And then - bam! Lights out. There follows a Crystal Maze level multi-task during which you get to fumble all around the walls for the light switch you hadn't previously committed the location of to memory, whilst trying to complete what you went into the loo in the first place for. A good example of this is the ladies loo in Bar Manolo; if they re-open, my hot tip would be to use the right hand cubicle. The left hand one looks lovely and roomy which indeed it is but don't be tempted, it's a trick. The toilet is about 10 feet from the door. And the push button is by the door.....😱
- Toilet lights of the motion sensor variety. Second only to the push button ones. With these you're plunged into darkness BECAUSE you are... settled. I mean what kind of mind thinks that you are moving at that point in proceedings? Sooo, for ladies it means you end up doing a hand jive in pitch darkness to get the lights to go on. If it's the same in the gents I can only imagine the fun and games....😳😂 If you want to try the hand jive out for yourself, Bar Toni at the side of the church has them (other venues are available!)
Tonight we are meeting friends who are visiting their apartment and going for dinner at No.31 Restaurant which was taken over at the beginning of the year by Alex and Joana. The menu looks delicious so I'm looking forward to it.
Stay safe and hasta lunes!
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