I had some business around Puerto’s old town this morning. It’s always a pleasure to wander along the narrow streets and through the picturesque squares, but recently it has become even more enjoyable.
Puerto's small harbour
The Mayor, Lola Padrón, and the council have undertaken an ambitious project to spruce up the historic old buildings, many of which been looking tired and run down, with cracked façades and peeling plaster ever since we moved to Puerto.
Not so now. Now they’re looking as good as new, lovingly renovated in keeping with the original style.
Casa Iriarte
In fact the entire old town is looking great and the 30+ temperatures and sunshine today showed it at it’s best to the groups of visitors who walked the recently cobbled street between the Ayuntamiento and the harbour admiring the old architecture and wooden balconies and stopping to take the obligatory photo beside the statue of the fish wife beside the harbour.
This renovation is a real boost for the image of Tenerife’s original tourist resort and for tourism in general.
Casa Aduana - the old customs house
Why then, when I turn on the TV every night do I see the same Mr Angry, gesticulating aggressively at the camera, slagging off everything that the current council is trying to do? This guy has got to be three heartbeats away from a thrombo; his blood pressure must be higher than the Petronas Twin Towers. Venom positively oozes from his lips. There is a Spanish phrase which springs to mind every time I see his angry face – un hombre antipático. He is also a fervent supporter of the previous mayor.
Personally I would never place my trust with anyone whose tactics are disruptive and destructive. These sorts of people have their own interests at heart, not those of the people they purport to represent.
Classy facade for a hairdressers
When we first moved to Puerto nearly six years ago, we were charmed by the place, but there were a lot of little things which let it down; gave it a tired look. I mentioned the peeling façades of the old buildings, but there were other little things like the waterfall at Playa Jardín being broken for two years without a cascade. There were signs of neglect all over the town which wouldn’t have taken a lot of effort to put right.
I’m not suggesting that a pretty façade is the most important issue a mayor has to think about when running a town, but when a lot of your revenue comes from tourism it should at least be up there on the agenda. I didn’t feel that was the case until Lola took over the mantle a couple of years ago.
Puerto's looking good Lola - Nil Bastardi Carborundum
As far as I’m concerned Mr Angry can shake his fist at the camera till he’s blue in the face, but the photos with this blog don’t have a political allegiance, so I’ll let them show the sort of job that Lola Padrón is doing to improve Puerto de la Cruz.
