After a couple of weeks of being here, I think I can safely identify the good and the less good about my existence in Arrecife.
Positivos
1. Weather. I mean, how can you argue against a consistent 70°F high temperature in November in the northern hemisphere?
2, Coffee: Really good coffee is available everywhere. It's not cheap, but it is good.
3, Bread and pastry: So, so good and inexpensive. I am living on .50 loaves of bread, and los postres? To die for.
4, General fruit and veg: Fresh and tasty. I honestly can't tell you if it's expensive or not. I just buy it.
5. Cheese: I'm eating both queso de vaca y cabra. It’s not particularly cheap, and comes in small packaging (kind of true for everything to be honest), but very good stuff.
6. Mi apartamento: In general, I like it, and think I made a good choice for what I got and its location. It's in a quiet place, small street away from the bustle, but instantaneous access to the main shopping and coastal areas. Definitely big enough for me (and another if another was along and was sharing my bed), decently sized shower with plenty of hot water, a comfortable bed and en suite laundry facilities.
7. Wine. El vino is ubiquitous, and so, so cheap. I'm drinking more wine than beer these days, and the last time I could say that was...never. Just take a look at those prices - and that's in the grocery store in the more touristy area. I don't know if it's significantly cheaper elsewhere, but why bother looking? Those prices are in euros; in dollars, it's about 15% more.
2, Coffee: Really good coffee is available everywhere. It's not cheap, but it is good.
3, Bread and pastry: So, so good and inexpensive. I am living on .50 loaves of bread, and los postres? To die for.
4, General fruit and veg: Fresh and tasty. I honestly can't tell you if it's expensive or not. I just buy it.
5. Cheese: I'm eating both queso de vaca y cabra. It’s not particularly cheap, and comes in small packaging (kind of true for everything to be honest), but very good stuff.
6. Mi apartamento: In general, I like it, and think I made a good choice for what I got and its location. It's in a quiet place, small street away from the bustle, but instantaneous access to the main shopping and coastal areas. Definitely big enough for me (and another if another was along and was sharing my bed), decently sized shower with plenty of hot water, a comfortable bed and en suite laundry facilities.
7. Wine. El vino is ubiquitous, and so, so cheap. I'm drinking more wine than beer these days, and the last time I could say that was...never. Just take a look at those prices - and that's in the grocery store in the more touristy area. I don't know if it's significantly cheaper elsewhere, but why bother looking? Those prices are in euros; in dollars, it's about 15% more.
Negativos
Not a whole lot of negatives, but there are some things about where I am that could be better. I'm sure I'm splitting hairs and complaining about pretty much nothing, but this is my blog, so here goes.
1. Automatically locking sliding glass doors. Wondering why? See this post.
2. Table and chair. The apartment has two barstools and a futon. No real table or chair. If I'm using the laptop for any length, a table and chair would be nice.
3. Television. The television has only 10 or so channels, of which none show any football (soccer). It's BBC with Dr. Who over and over and over, and a couple of other weird channels. It's like the dregs of a cable subscription. I haven’t bothered turning it on since about Day Dos. I'm glad I have the laptop and streaming services to provide the evenings' entertainment.
4. Cooking gear: (a) Trying to use the toaster popped the circuit breaker for the entire apartment. Raw toast for the duration. Thankfully for Positivo Numero Tres, above. (b) Not truly a complaint, but more of a whine. The stove was a bit of a challenge for me to figure out, and while effective for cooking eggs and such, (c) it does NOT work well with the stovetop espresso pot. which leads me to;
5. Instant coffee. Since I am not able to use the espresso machine, I'm relegated to instant coffee in the apartment. I do splurge and get an espresso at a seaside café on occasion to offset the Nescafe Blues.
Enough whinging. It’s time to go to the beach and lounge on a towel in the sand, and read in the sun. My to-do list is a brutal taskmaster, but, dammit, someone’s got to do it.
1. Automatically locking sliding glass doors. Wondering why? See this post.
2. Table and chair. The apartment has two barstools and a futon. No real table or chair. If I'm using the laptop for any length, a table and chair would be nice.
3. Television. The television has only 10 or so channels, of which none show any football (soccer). It's BBC with Dr. Who over and over and over, and a couple of other weird channels. It's like the dregs of a cable subscription. I haven’t bothered turning it on since about Day Dos. I'm glad I have the laptop and streaming services to provide the evenings' entertainment.
4. Cooking gear: (a) Trying to use the toaster popped the circuit breaker for the entire apartment. Raw toast for the duration. Thankfully for Positivo Numero Tres, above. (b) Not truly a complaint, but more of a whine. The stove was a bit of a challenge for me to figure out, and while effective for cooking eggs and such, (c) it does NOT work well with the stovetop espresso pot. which leads me to;
5. Instant coffee. Since I am not able to use the espresso machine, I'm relegated to instant coffee in the apartment. I do splurge and get an espresso at a seaside café on occasion to offset the Nescafe Blues.
Enough whinging. It’s time to go to the beach and lounge on a towel in the sand, and read in the sun. My to-do list is a brutal taskmaster, but, dammit, someone’s got to do it.
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