Gloria Palace Thalassotherapy (or However You Spell it!)

I'm not sure if I've spelt that right but on my way to Netto a man just gave me a free ticket for the thalassatherapy (alternative spelling!) in Gloria Palace Amadores which was very nice of him! He got it free for sitting through a timeshare presentation and he is going home on Monday and isn't going to use it so his wife sent him out to give it to someone. My mum is coming over next month so we'll both go one morning (the leaflet is dated so she can claim she's been on holiday in Gran Canaria for 2 months - lucky her!)

What is Thalassotherapy?

Rather than try and explain, you can have a look here to find out what it is and here for the Gloria Palace website. And you can expect another post in May telling you whether it was any good!


Photo by G@bry

Actually I had some treatments at the Gloria Palace San Agustín hotel (same chain) a few years back. I had a massage, algae treatment and some kind of wrap, then half a day in the spa pool. It was pretty good and you do come out feeling nice and relaxed.

I really love stuff like that but it doesn't come cheap unfortunately! I've only ever had 2 massages - one in Gloria Palace San Agustín and one in Holiday World in Maspalomas (the Wellness Centre part not the rollercoaster part!) and I really liked them.

Good Morning

Grr, first a customer wakes me up at 06:50 to ask what time the fishing starts (it does say on the flyer), then I can't get back to sleep and now the coffee machine won't work. Hmmmph.

PS I didn't win the lottery this week either.

Alcohol

Alcohol is a big thing over here. A lot of people drink a lot more than they should. Bear in mind when you go out that a spirit and mixer (vodka and coke, gin and tonic etc) is about half alcohol and half mixer, so if you are not used to drinking you will be under the table after a couple of drinks!

Canarians often have "carajillo" for breakfast which is half brandy and half black coffee with plenty of sugar. Not the healthiest start to the day.


Photo by Editor B

Canarian Wine

The wine is quite hit and miss here. The lower end restaurants and bars will offer Lyria (avoid at all costs), Viña Sol (dry, bland and unexciting) and San Valentín (medium white wine, not great). The better restaurants and bars might have rioja or nicer wines. Malvasia is a white wine from Lanzarote which is well worth tasting. You can get dry Malvasia or medium Malvasia and both are really nice. Expect to pay 7€ in the supermarket or 17€ in a restaurant.

Spanish Lottery

I was lucky again last week. I won 104€ on La Primitiva. I won 96€ on it a few weeks back. I think I've spent about the same as I've won if you take it all into account but it gives me a bit of excitement for 5 minutes while I check the results. (And normally a bit of disappointment immediately afterwards).

How to Play the Spanish Lottery

There are 2 choices if you want to play the lottery in Gran Canaria. First of all you can go into a lottery shop. Alternatively you can buy a ticket from one of the lottery sellers who walks around. The lottery is a bit thing here and most Canarians love a flutter!


Photo by Alvy

With La Primitiva, which is the one I usually play, you pay 2€ per line and you get 1€ if the "reintegro" comes up (an extra number), 8€ for 3 numbers and varying amounts for more than 3 numbers in a line.

There are others too, such as El Bono and the Euro Millions. With the current pounds to euros exchange rate and the quietness here it is causing, a win would be much appreciated!

Checking Your Numbers

I check the La Primitiva results here and you can click on "ver" which means "see". Alternatively you can go to the lottery shop where you got the ticket to check the numbers. You can probably watch the draw live but I don't watch Spanish TV so I wouldn't know! I have my fingers crossed for tomorrow night though... I have 6 lines... maybe a hat trick for me!

How to Get a Job in Gran Canaria

If you want to know how to find jobs in Gran Canaria it is a bit harder than it was 10 years ago when I came over. I found my first job online. It was in Eddie Rockets (Empty Pockets) in Playa del Inglés (it's not there any more). I applied online then came over and had to wait a couple of weeks until it got busy enough for me to start.


Photo by Pieterjanviaene

I'd never waitressed before so it was a big of a learning curve (and a bit different from sitting around typing and sending emails all day!) It took me a while to hold a tray (and I mean with 2 hands and only 2 plates on it!) I have a photo of myself with my Eddie Rockets uniform on (bow tie etc) which I am not going to put on here - you can imagine it for yourself.

Anyway that was the first of many jobs I had. I moved on to bar work then was downloading the Top 40 and selling CDs to the bars and clubs and then I taught myself to DJ and did that for 2 years.


Me as a DJ - hee hee!

I currently spend the mornings writing articles for websites and the afternoons selling sea fishing trips. It's a nice balance because I wouldn't want to be at home alone all the time and I wouldn't want to be sitting in the harbour all the time either.

Tips for Finding a Job in Gran Canaria

First of all, you will have more success if you are actually here. I know I found work online but that was 10 years ago. It's pretty quiet this year in general because of the crap exchange rate so jobs aren't exactly growing on trees.

Buy a package holiday to Gran Canaria or a flight (whichever is cheaper, it does vary) and make sure you have enough money to last for 6 months. You might not find work immediately or you might find commission only work and not get paid for a while.

Get yourself a Spanish sim card for your phone. Movistar, Vodafone and Amena are the top 3 phone companies here and you can get a 15€ sim card with 15€ of credit on it. Go around all the bars, restaurants and shops, leaving your name and phone number.

Don't give up hope. Once you get to know other workers you might hear of jobs through the grapevine.

Scandinavian season tends to be from October to April and most tourists in that period are Scandinavian. Languages do help but if you speak only English you can still find work. Spanish helps of course (with finding an apartment, finding things in shops etc).


Photo by CornholioLU

Have a look at http://www.studyspanish.com/freesite.htm and http://spanishfree.org/ to begin with. You can also find a Spanish teacher when you are over for group learning or 1:1 classes.

You can advertise your skills in http://tipsandinfo.co.uk/ if you are looking for work too but nothing beats being here and doing the legwork from place to place.

Legalities

If you are an EU citizen you can work here. If not you will need to find out about visas. You should get a contract when you start and if this enables you to receive medical care and unemployment benefits. Lots of places take on casual staff (they don't bother with contracts) so watch if it that applies to you because you won't be entitled to anything if they suddenly don't need you any more.

It's Hot Today!

It's roasting hot outside today and the skies are blue. That's what I like to see and you can remind me in a few months when I'm complaining that it's too hot. I love it in the summertime when the laundry dries within 15 minutes and I don't shiver getting from bed to the shower. But I suppose I prefer late spring and early autumn here when it's nice and warm but I'm not drenched in sweat. They do say that Gran Canaria has the nicest climate in the world - nice and warm and not too humid. And I'm inclined to agree. That's the main reason I came here in the first place anyway!