We booked the flights to the Canaries some months ago as they were very cheap. We always knew that we would have to have a covid test before leaving the UK but somehow we did not think this would be difficult.
How wrong can you be?
You need a "Certificate to Travel", these are only issued by private labs, understandably the NHS won't waste their time on holidaymakers. The process is simple, the lab send you a test kit, you stick the cotton buds down your throat, post them off to the lab who then promise to email you the results within 48 hours.
Of course the swabs spend 24 hours in the post before they get to the lab so it could be 72 hours from when you did the test to getting the results, just too late for the Spanish government who say that when you arrive at your accommodation the test must have been done no later than 72 hours previously.
Much research was done and eventually we found a lab who, using some imaginative interpretations of the rules, manage to knock a day off the process but we had to make sure the all the right steps were taken at the right times. Our whiteboard was used to plan the operation which then got even more complicated when Bristol was put in Tier 3, we had hoped to stay overnight near the airport but this was outlawed.
We hope that as it is so difficult few tourists will bother so we might have the islands to ourselves.
So we did the tests (as you can see by Gill's face it is not a bundle of laughs) and passed with flying colours. Of course once we had the green light we had to then quickly book accommodation, the ferry and complete some forms for the Spanish Health authorities.
We then hired a car to do a one way rental to Bristol airport thereby avoiding the Tier 3 restrictions.
At the airport checks were made to ensure we had our covid certificates and had registered with the Spanish health authorities. We saw one chap turned back as he had not got his covid certificate yet, perhaps he was assuming it would be emailed to him before he arrived, he did not seem to be a very happy customer! Goodness knows how many others fell at this hurdle, the plane was almost empty. I got the warm feeling about my logistical preparations paying off.
Despite an empty plane they still ran the rule over our bag sizes - bastards.
There were only two planes leaving today so you would think they would park them near the terminal but no, we had a 10 minute walk to the gate furthest away. Tomorrow is a busy day, they have five departures!
On arrival in Tenerife we had a traditional dinner, Tandoori food washed down with pints of larger served by a Brit! Welcome to Tenerife.
That was to kill time before catching the ferry over to La Gomera arriving at our hotel with 9 hours to spare before our 72 hours was up.
We will spend the next few days getting our bearings and then explore La Gomera before deciding what to do next.