Nowhere To Go: Parking and all-inclusives

A Tuesday. I'll be in the office. Not me, someone else. Another little meeting. Another little waste of time. Ho hum. But being a Tuesday, it was worse than it might otherwise be. A Tuesday. Alcúdia old town. Oh, oh. Market day. I thought that I should park up by the primary school, where you can always park, market or no market. But then I thought. Nah, don't fancy the walk. I'll risk it.

By the side of Eroski, back of the auditorium. Nowhere. The streets are full of cars. Sod it, I'll go to the finca opposite the church, the overflow parking which is more THE parking, given that the proper parking by the church is inadequate. Bump, bump, gravel, gravel. Nowhere. It takes a while to even get out of the scruffy and stony dustbowl. Not just because of the number of cars exiting.

The exit to the parking finca. It has always been like this. No one seems to have ever thought to do something about it. There is an incline and on top of the incline is a ridge. It has never been flattened. It causes problems. To get over the ridge you have to give the accelerator some. The some can sometimes be so much that you shoot out onto the road, unable to stop. Or you manage not to do this but then realise you can't see left because of the parked cars. So you edge out, thus adding to the delays in exiting. Why can't they level the bloody exit? Is it really that difficult? No, it isn't. The answer why they haven't is probably because no one (town hall-wise) has had the sense to sort it out.

Having escaped, there is only one solution. The parking by the primary school. Where I should have gone in the first place. The walk was, despite everything, quite pleasant. But the office. Ah yes, the office. The door was shut. What a surprise. How does anyone get done in this damn place?

Oh, and remember what I was saying yesterday about people not phoning. I drop by somewhere else. All I need to know is whether or not I can include one line in a design. Chap's not there. What a surprise. So I leave the design with the mother. Maybe he can give me a ring and let me know. "Oh, don't count on that," she says (in Spanish). "He doesn't ring anyone." Didn't believe me yesterday? Well maybe you now do.

My head is exploding. What the hell is it with people here?


More evidence of the coming end of tourism life. Down The Mile way. Talk of a petition. Against what? What do you think? Yep, all-inclusives. Why? Because it's getting worse, it's being said. Now you're getting folk coming into bars - well lagered-up already - and watching the footy while taking on just a Coke during the match before returning for more lager, courtesy of the wristband. But more than this, there are complaints about behaviour, and remember we're talking The Mile here. The lagered-up ones coming to bars, falling over pissed, being abusive. And not, of course, spending much.

Away from the north, I hear that Santa Ponsa is a ghost town. It's going to be interesting to hear how the authorities talk their statistical way out of the miseries of May.


Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.