Well, another week bites the dust and it really is VERY quiet here. But more about that later. From my perspective it's a second busy week teaching and I'm back in the old routine already - albeit with masks, hand sanitiser, wipes....... and, for my adult classes, a visor! The adults prefer me to wear a visor so that they can see my mouth for pronunciation, and a couple of them also wear one; I must admit it makes understanding what they are saying much easier I must say, especially for those who have a strong accent. But my goodness, how many times have I knocked the wretched thing with my hands - I 'talk' a lot with my hands, don't judge me 😳 - and then have to re-position it, re-wash hands.......and repeat......often 😂
We've had quite a bit of rain lately but the last few days have been lovely, with blue skies and sunshine. This makes the lack of people here even more poignant as normally the season for visitors without children or with very young ones, would be in full swing. But the number of tourists here you could almost count on two hands - I exaggerate of course - but you get the idea. There are still plenty of places open to enjoy a drink or a delicious meal should you be heading out here any time soon, but there have been some recent closures of which the major one is Bar Bonys, who shut up shop earlier this week. So no more amazing cocktails for a while but they will be back next year 👍 However Stefanos in Gotmar (around the corner from the Rosa Blanca) has shut for good and Al Mattarello in C/Juan XXIII (specialist Italian food shop/delicatessen) is also closing for good shortly. Sadly I am sure they won't be the only ones 😢 However, in a triumph of hope and optimism in the face of all that this year has thrown at us, some brave souls have opened Manolo's in what was Rincon de Mami with an extensive menu, eat in or takeaway. They are apparently linked to Manolo's in Alcudia but not to eb confused with Manolo bar/cafe on the corner of the square near the church; as reported some weeks ago, the Manolo who owned that passed away and now the once thriving premises lie empty and forlorn.
During the past week a food bank in Puerto Pollensa, inaugurated on 4th September, for families in the area who are in need, opened its doors on Monday 7th; it is a joint enterprise by various bodies including the council and social services. People have also been donating felt tip pens, colouring pencils and other items of stationery via some local small business drop off points for those families who are unable to provide them for their children who are all returning to school, in staggered year groups, from tomorrow. The very large box of stationery that I saw in Tartas de Alba certainly indicated that people had been very generous in their donations 💕
This week we've been lucky enough to eat out twice - once at Liberty Kitchen where I had yummy fish and chips and Ian had their mixed grill, and once at Himalaya Curry House whose portions are so generous we always end up taking a 'doggy bag' home which provides Ian with a light lunch another day. Brilliant value.
Today we went to Cala san Vicente again for another Sunday dog walk, but in different woods to last week's walk. We are so lucky to be able to walk in such beautiful surroundings:
Both main beaches in Cala san Vicente were actually pretty busy (in a socially distanced way), lots of people enjoying the weather and water activities. But it is telling that very few of the cars we saw parked near the beaches were hire cars 😦
We have watched, with interest, the new restrictions announced for the UK as from tomorrow although it does make you wonder if people will have enjoyed themselves a little too much this weekend before the rules come into effect...... This week, the Balearic government announced a clampdown on the mandatory mask wearing and also on the prohibition of smoking/vaping in public places. The curfew for beaches and parks is firmly in place, and bars/restaurants must shut by 1am, and no more people allowed in or on terraces from midnight. The saddest restriction of all is to see the playgrounds all taped up again since yesterday, to prevent children from mixing there now that the schools are starting back from tomorrow. I can see the need to prioritise education but it is a sad sight to see. In addition, other children's leisure activities have been prohibited or limited. In gym classes the required minimum distance is now 4m, and fairs and festivals are forbidden. Difficult times but we need to pull together to get through it all and in the meantime I will leave you with this thought 😂:
Stay safe and hasta el próximo domingo!
No comments:
Post a Comment