Hold the sprouts, I’m not quite ready yet but I could be tempted by sweet treats – especially if they are free. Arona Ayuntamiento (council) has arranged a bulging programme of attractions for Christmas and the arrival of a large marquee in Los Cristianos got my taste buds dancing in anticipation.
Saturday evening was the Fiesta of the Chefs White Hat and when I arrived just after the 7pm opening there was a steady tide of visitors making their way into the marquee. It was split into two halves, on one side the wine was flowing, all produced from local bodegas, being a beer man I just had a small sip of red. On the other side the tables were groaning under the weight of 100 metres of hojaldre, a pastry delight filled with gofio and banana cream. The massive pastry had been cut into 2,000 small blocks and many were cruising past for a second time to take a slice.
The pastry was delicious and the filling oozed out of the sides as I bit into one, and then several others. The tasty spread was made and presented by ACYRE Canarias, the association of cooks and bakers, and I noticed top chef Juan Carlos Clemente playing a leading role. The last time I saw Juan Carlos he was up to his gills in tuna at a show cooking event in Los Abrigos, my tummy purred with joy at the memory of the fishy samples.
The evening outside was a little cool but we were all warm as toast under the bustling canvas. It was a nice mix of older locals and curious tourists, many of them were wearing the tribute tall white hats that were being handed out. Apart from stoking up festive cheer, the idea was to promote local food and drink and it did a good job of that. The next night it was the turn of Tastes of Arona, I was only able to make the last knockings of this after heading back from Santa Cruz. CD Tenerife had win so I was in a jolly Dorada fuelled mood and the sight of the delicately crafted cakes and biscuits added a glow to my night.
Most of the stalls were getting ready to pack away, I loitered by a large display of Trucos, small pasties containing spicy meat. Canarian music had been performed earlier on a small outside stage and several people told me how much they enjoyed it. The last of the trucos were being handed out to grateful visitors so I took a bundle for a late supper, so much better than the stale, rock hard pies that haunted my old football days back home.
Tackles full of thunder, and theatricals worthy of the panto season but no goals at Atletico Granadilla v CD Marino. Early sun gave way to blistering winds off the hills and my little legs were shivering, the South Tenerife derby should have warmed me up but both sides lacked the killer touch.
Granadilla are a pale shadow of the side that has just missed out on promotion in recent seasons but they are picking up under new coach Antonio Gonzalez and they dominated the opening ten minutes. Alberto was in commanding form between the Marino sticks as the tricky Carlos caused problems for the visiting defence. Slowly Marino turned the tide and Balduino had a strong penalty appeal for a foul by Kevin after 15 minutes.
The ref was a strange one, as the teams emerged from the pitch side changing rooms he inspected them like an over zealous school sports teacher, I thought he was going to check their homework at one stage.
Marino tried to break with Sesma on the left and Pibe powering through the middle but found giant defender Kevin always ready with a crunching intervention, he reminded me of Jack Charlton complete with some of his more dubious tricks. Alberto was strong and punched clear when Granadilla floated the ball in, the ball spent far too long of this game hoofed up into the sky by both sides, the cattle grazing on the hillside must have been very distracted. The blues best chance came when Sesma beat his marker and slipped the ball into the Granadilla box but there was no attacker to meet it.
There was no easy welcome back to the pitch after the break as Kevin flattened Nestor with a slam that echoed in the cold air. Marino couldn’t create enough chances to trouble the home side and looked more and more content with a draw as the game went on. Granadilla wasted a clear sight of goal with a wide effort and Alberto easily covered a weak prod from Carlos. Marino added their own Kevin to the mix in place of Nestor, he had some initial success on the right as a flurry of yellow cards were branded at both teams.
A double sub saw Marino bring on Estefan and Mendy although the effect was minimal. The ref was having a bad day and sent Marino physio Angel Marrero off for for his helpful comments. The game was going nowhere, Sesma could have separated the teams with a header but it flashed high over the bar. Pibe surged through into a strong position but his finish let him down and there was more work for Alberto as he denied Granadilla with a low block. A draw should keep Marino top of their section but the pack are closing in and thus should have been a three pointer.