That There Abroad Place
“Learning to fly”
Our last foreign holiday was
in March 2020, just as the world would change dramatically. Until now we’d
enjoyed our breaks to Cornwall and Yorkshire, satisfied to not have to go
through the hassle that foreign travel seemed to entail. However, as much as we
enjoy taking Nev away with us on holiday we were missing some guaranteed sun on
our backs, fronts and all bits in between for that matter. So, with a deal of
trepidation I booked an 8 night break back to the Barcelo Corralejo Bay Hotel
on Fuerteventura, the same hotel we stayed in back in March 2020. As the
holiday drew closer there were more and more stories of problems with EasyJet
flights being cancelled at short notice, along with industrial action being
taken by baggage handlers and other airport strikes and delays. In the last
couple of years I’ve become a bit of a worrier, far more than I used to be pre-pandemic.
The Sunday of our flight
arrived and I was a bit of a nervous wreck, however the trip to the Long Stay
car park, South Terminal, Gatwick was without incident, the bus dropped us at
the terminal and the EasyJet staff agreed to open the bag drop early for us. So
far, so good. Next up was the challenge of bag check at security. The queue
wasn’t bad at all and we breezed through, until my bag was diverted for a hand
check. No problem I thought, this always happens as I carry one set of meds in
my hand luggage as well as one in my hold luggage, I usually get stopped. This
time it wasn’t my bag of meds, it was the large bottle of sun cream that I’d
totally forgotten about. The Officer smiled and said I wasn’t the first of the
day, and wouldn’t be the last either.
Next stop, somewhere for
lunch. It seemed that the number of food outlets had reduced since our last
visit. We managed to find a couple of seats in a restaurant, ordered our food
and a much needed bottle of wine. Things were going well.
Then the things weren't going as well.
Our flight was due to take
off at 3.10pm, the gate was opened on time, we went through the final passport
and boarding pass check, took our seats and waited to board. By 3pm it was
obvious we wouldn’t be taking off on time. An announcement was made saying that
the incoming flight still had customers who needed assistance on board as no
one had turned up to help them off the plane. There was a murmur amongst the
waiting customers, a few who had possibly had a couple of drinks too many were
a bit more vocal. Eventually, an hour late, we boarded and settled down for a
much needed G ‘n T. The pilot had other ideas. A major tropical storm had hit
the Canaries, flights in and out were being delayed, diverted and cancelled.
We’d been on the tarmac for at least another hour, there was a possibility that
we’d be cancelled too. More groans from the passengers and some loud vocal
complaints from a wide mouthed drunk tree frog and her son. Just after 5pm, two
hours late, we pushed back from the stand, made our way to the runway and took
off. Carol is a nervous flyer, we always hold hands at take off and landing, it
usually takes a few days for the scars on my hand to disappear. The flight was
pretty uneventful, I stick my earphones in, play tunes, read my Kindle and
drink a G ‘n T. Because we were so late taking off it meant we’d be landing in
the dark, something we’ve not done for a long time. There was a certain amount
of turbulence as we approached the island, Carol’s grip got tighter and tighter
as we descended through the pitch black night. Eventually the lights of the
Island appeared, the wheels made contact and we taxied to the terminal. The
usual format at Fuerteventura airport is slick, but for some reason we were
kept at the stand for over 20 minutes. People had stood up expecting
disembarkation only to be told over the PA to sit back down. Three Guardia
Civil, two men and one women boarded the plane, armed with side arms, made
their way to the Wide Mouthed Tree Frog and her son. An exchange took place
before they were marched down the plane, handcuffed. The son was dressed
entirely in black, complete with a hoodie, bear in mind it was 25 degrees when
we landed. His mother was complaining loudly that the police were hurting her
son. It transpired that they had both been very abusive to the flight crew,
demanding drinks and swearing when they were refused. After they’d been
escorted off the plane we were allowed to disembark and make our way to
passport control. I was expecting a long wait, but we were through in 10
minutes. Mother and Son were complaining loudly as to the way they’d been
treated to the Spanish customers offices, who didn’t seem to give a toss 😊
We’d pre-booked transport from the airport to the
hotel, and at the last minute I’d agreed to share with a party who were on the
same flight. What I didn’t know was that they were Special Assistance customers
who’d be last off the flight. After waiting 40 minutes the Teletubbies arrived
and complained all the way to the resort. Luckily our driver recognised that I
was becoming a tad fractious so diverted to our hotel first. We checked in with
no problems, made our way to our room at gone 11pm, had a tapas dinner of
cheese and onion crisps, BBQ Hula Hoops and a bottle of chilled cava supplied
by the hotel. We went to sleep, tomorrow would be another day.
The Tropical Storm was still
having an effect on the island the next day, wind and showers. We took it easy,
bought the essentials, a bottle of brandy, a bottle of rioja, a box of Pringles
and some M & M’s. We’d pushed the boat out a bit and had booked a suite.
Massive bedroom, I swear the bed had two postcodes, lovely living room and an
outside hot tub which would get a lot of use. Our first day was largely spent
cooking ourselves in the hot tub.
We’d hired bikes from the
hotel so that we could cycle out to the stone circles on Flag beach, much
quieter and private than the main town beaches. It took about 20 minutes to
cycle out, including one fairly large uphill gradient, I was really proud that
Carol didn’t need to stop once. We fell into our usual routine. A few hours on
the beach in the morning, cycle back to the hotel. Walk into town to choose our
lunch venue. Back to the hotel where Carol would go to the Spa, I tried one
day, but freaked at my inability to breath. Instead of the Spa I’d take the
bike and cycle out to the headland and watch the waves crashing against the
rocks. I’d then cycle back to the port area of the town, prop my bike up and
have a beer at Afrikas.
I first met Afrika probably
five or six years ago. The habit of the afternoon cycle and then a beer became
one hard to break. During our 2020 visit Afrika and I began to chat, her
English is slightly better than my Spanish, but only just, however we
communicated. As a Lary the bit of plastic sticking out of my throat makes me
fairly recognisable, Afrika ignored that and fed me honey rum and beer. On Tuesday,
once the storm had passed I did the cycle ride to the headland. Turned around,
got off the bike at her beer shack and said “Hola Afrika, Buenos Dias?” She
looked up, took a second look, smiled and came round to give me a big hug, for
a slight woman she gives a great squeeze. Between haltering English and Spanish
we managed to tell each other how great it was to see each other again. I’ll
admit there were tears in my eyes, I was so pleased that she’d survived. During
the week I brought Carol down a couple of times to meet Afrika too, on our
final day we both got hugs. Afrika has lived a life, she looks older, but then
again don’t we all.
The other regular haunt
during our previous stays were Oscars Tapas Bar and Algeria Cocktail Bar. The
owner of Algeria took a second take when we sat down for the first time this
holiday, looked at me and said “Old Fashioned?” my drink of choice. The same
happened at Oscar’s, the bit of plastic has it’s benefits.
Someone on the We Love
Corralejo FB page commented that there’s more to holidays than eating, I quite
agree, but he missed my point entirely. I eat food in small portions due to the
effects of throat cancer, but when I do eat I want it to be both tasty and of
quality.
Whilst on the subject of throat cancer, I’d posted on the UK Lary FB page that I’d be flying for the first time in a while. After a few conversations it transpired that we’d be in the same resort as a fellow Lary, at the same time, so we agreed to meet up with Phil and his partner Sharon one afternoon. Over the last five years of being a Lary I’ve met a few others. There used to be a group who met at Royal Berkshire Hospital once a month, I went a few times but gave up in the end. Last year up in Leeds I met Tanja for a coffee and chit chat, meeting Phil would be similar. Immediate connection. Phil is only 12 months in, but other than the bit of plastic looks like the picture of health, hardly any visible scaring at all. A couple of hours swapping stories, concerns, small wins followed. Phil and Sharon were on the Island for 6 weeks, we were jealous.
The days and nights went by
far too quickly, soon enough it was time to pack our bags for the flight back
home. A few wider observations of our trip.
· Restaurants and bars are probably 1/3rd
understaffed, and that is just front of house. If your meal is a bit slow then
just accept it, have another wine. If you’re the owner of the restaurant don’t
shout and scream at your staff, it makes you look like a total A Hole.
· The sun shines, vitamin D is a wonderful cure for
being a stressed out tw*t.
· Flights are a lottery.
· Don’t get pissed on your flight, you may be on the
next one home.
· When Lary’s collide 2,500 miles from home it’s likely
that beer will be downed.
· Holding hands is good for the soul.
· Lying in a hot tub, with a glass of wine, and Mrs C, looking up at planets is good fun.
· If someone looks at you because you’re talking via a
Lary just smile.
· Try and remember which car park you’d parked in!
· A lot of business’s survived, a lot didn’t.
· We wish the new start up’s the best of luck.
· Corralejo has something to offer for most people. The “Strip”,
the Old Town, don’t judge others on their choices, it’s their holiday, not
yours.
The journey home wasn’t quite
as challenging as the flight out. We queued for 90 minutes to get through bag
drop and security at the airport, which left us little time to get any food or
coffee airside We boarded, took off and landed on time. A 40 minute wait for
the bags to come through wasn’t what we wanted. The coach trip to the Long Term
car park was interesting. We’d landed at the North Terminal, not the South!!!!
I had a bit of a meltdown when I sussed out my mistake. It took over an hour to
transfer from the North car park to the South one. By the time we reached the
car I was shaking. But, and it’s a BIG BUT, we got to the car, got home, had a
takeaway, woke up the next morning.
Despite the bollox of the
flights, the holiday was worth it. Great food, lovely weather, lots of exercise
and most all, the best ever company I could wish for. Carol is a NHS Nurse, throughout the pandemic she worked in Respiratory, dealing not always directly with COVID patients due to my perceived chances of infection. She deserved this "Sun all over holiday" more than anyone I know, it was a FAB few days.
Now the obligatory boring
Cancer stuff, after all that’s how this blog started in January 2016. A few
weeks ago I had an MRI to ascertain if my throat is contracting again, I’m
happy to tell my Consultant that it is as I’m struggling to get through a third
of the food that I need to. Back in July I was 92kg, I’m now down to 87kg and
falling. The stretch will have an immediate positive effect of meaning I can
swallow food properly. I hate wasting food, or having people seeing me struggle to eat. I’m seeing my Consultant on 13th October,
which happens to be my 60th birthday, I’ll be pleading to have the
stretch done prior to Christmas. Other than that things are pretty good. My
voice is as strong as it’s been for a long time. I still need “Dad Naps” but
that’s probably my age. I had applied to be a contestant on MasterChef but
failed at the interview hurdle, so it looks like my days as a media tart are
well and truly over.
As always, thanks for reading.
To be continued……
#Shoulder2Shoulder