Having deactivated the card and ordered a replacement, I was still curious to know if I really had lost it in the airport at Arrecife, so I tried to call the lost property office.

I started by looking for a number to call on the airport’s website.  Just calling a number in Spain can be a linguistic nightmare.  I’m usually quite happy to talk to the person on the other end in Spanish, but they see an incoming call from Germany and detect a British accent in my Spanish into the bargain.  So they usually attempt to answer in German, only to move to English a couple of sentences in, resorting to Spanish only when they don’t know a particular word.

To add insult to injury, the number of the website couldn’t even be called using my Skype flatrate!

The first person that I spoke to gave me a different number to call.  That at least had a Lanzarote STD code for a normal landline.  However when I called it, the number diverted to the mainland.  After going through the voice-controlled computer system I actually spoke to someone who tried to put me through to the airport, but failed.  So they gave me a different number to called.

The next number took me to the same computer system, and again I answered the questions and ended up with someone who was at least in Arrecife.  They took down my details and wanted to ask if the SIM card had been found.  Then the line went dead.

So I called again, went through the computer, only to discover that they were not actually in the lost property office, but were going to ask there for me.  Except that they couldn’t reach anyone.

Guess what?  They gave me another number to call that would go straight to the lost property office.  Only they told me that there is usually no-one there, because they are out around the airport, and I should just keep trying.

And try I did.  Eventually I managed to speak to someone.

No, they hadn’t had a SIM card handed in on my day of departure.  Oh well, it was good Spanish practise!

The German supermarket chain is opening 11 stores in the Canary Islands, and apparently there were long queues to enter the store when it opened on 11th March.

Lidl during the construction phase

Comments online have talked generally about the opening being good for tourists and locals alike, who will benefit from lower prices compared to those found in the smaller supermarkets in the resorts.

Of course, those tourists who stay in self-catering apartments but do not have the use of a hire car will not be able to benefit directly, so it is vital for them that the other supermarkets do not suffer.

Lidl is located on the Eastern side of Arrecife in Calle Océano Atlántico.

What do you think?  Have you been to Lidl in Arrecife yet?

(See a photo of Lidl’s opening day on TwitPic)

One bookshop in Arrecife even issues receipts that show prices in both currencies:

Does anyone know of other examples?

I had passed it on previous occasions, but being en route to the new airport to catch a flight to Madrid I did not have time to visit it. Instead, I always made a note of going there on my next visit.

The aeronautical musum at Arrecife airport, the original passenger exit is on the left

This time I actually managed it, and although I was not disappointed, I did begin to understand the problem that the museum has, because there was almost no-one else there!

The building is located further inland than the current terminals, near the main road. It has its own car park, but for some reason the entry to the visitors’ car park is confusingly preceded by a sign declaring that “authorised vehicles only” may pass.

Although Lanzarote did have an airport in the 1930s and was even flown over by airships on their way to the USA, this closed during the Spanish Civil War and it was not until 1946 that a civilian airport was opened again. The passenger terminal was very modest, consisting of a few rooms and a small control tower on the front. The aircraft would roll up to just in front of the building, at which point the passengers would come out through a side door and walk over to them.

Inside the original control tower

However until the 1970s the only flights were to the other Canary Islands – there was not even an air connection to Madrid – so this was probably more than sufficient. In 1970 the current Terminal 2 was opened, and flights to the Spanish mainland started.

The museum contains interesting photos and artifacts of those years, and as such is worth a visit. You can even go into the old tower and see the radio equipment that used to be operated by a single person. Entry to the museum is free and the staff speak Spanish, English, German and French, although most of the descriptions of the photos are only in Spanish. Tours can be arranged in advance, but are not a requirement. Opening times are Monday to Saturday, 10am to 2pm.

They charge by the minute.

Admittedly the price is only between 1 and 2 cents per minute, and as of 2009 the first half hour is free.  So effectively that is about 1 Euro per hour, making it cheaper than most car parks in Germany.

But still, as fair as it might seem to have such an exact method of charging, imagine what it must be like to have to wait in a long queue at the ticket machine on your way out  and see the minutes ticking by!

Airport parking charges, October 2009