Spring Break: Part II

We left Paige's for the Frankfurt airport on Saturday (April 10th) around 5:30 AM. Not the best way to start a long trip but the boys seemed really excited to be on our way so they didn't give us too much trouble waking up so early. Our flight took us from Frankfurt to Madrid, where we had some lunch and played in the fun airport playground. Then we boarded another plane and headed from Madrid to Gran Canaria. We were all feeling tired from the long day and still had an hour drive to our hotel but at the same time we were happy to finally be at our destination.

Sorry for the MANY photos, we had such a great time and I just wanted to share some highlights.

Day One: We walked around our little resort town of Puerto Mogan. There were lots of shops to look at, lots of gelato to try and a beautiful view of the ocean.

Day Two: Time to hit the beach! This is the beach right in Peurto Mogan. It is in a protected bay so there weren't many waves to play in but we all had lots of fun. Yes, Emerson is REALLY that skinny! He just doesn't eat!

Julian had so much fun at the beach. He put a few handfuls of sand in his mouth but it could have been way worse. He loved dipping rocks in his water buckets and then sucking on them. I think he must have liked the salty flavor.

Day Three: Hike up to Tamadaba. When we put the address for this Park into our GPS it said it was 47 kilometers away. 4 HOURS later we finally got there! The whole trip was switchbacks up and down mountains. It was really a beautiful drive if you could get past the extreme nausea!

The boys did great on the hike. They loved running around the forest and picking up different seeds and pine cones. We brought home some seed pods from a eucalyptus tree to add to our "nature collection" on our bathroom window sill.

Instead of driving home the way we came we decided to cut across the island to the coast and take the very straight and lovely highway home. This is the town of Teror, famous for their wood carved balconies.

The beach at Las Palmas. We hadn't planned on going to the beach this day so I didn't have the boys swim stuff. They still loved running and playing in the waves. Note to self: Next time you are on vacation on an island, ALWAYS have the swim stuff with you!

Julian playing in the waves at Las Palmas

Day Four: This was kind of a rainy day so we didn't do too much. The boys made a collection of all their favorite rocks they found at the beach. No, we didn't bring these home with us on the airplane!

We also took a boat ride out on the ocean. We were looking for dolphins but weren't lucky enough to spot any. It was still a fun 1/2 hour on the ocean.

It was sort of WINDY out on the deck!

Our hotel had a swimming pool. When the weather was sunny (usually in the afternoon) we headed up to the pool for some fun.

Emerson takes a running jump!

Day Five: A trip to Maspalomas. We did the very touristy thing and took camel rides. Quite expensive but I think you should ride on an animal (other than a horse) at least once in your life. The camels walked out into the sand dunes for about 1/2 hour. I think it will be something the boys will remember. They were really brave to ride on the camel all alone. Hyrum and I (and Julian) were on the camel directly behind them.

Hey, everyone else on the beach was naked, so I figured, why not?

Day Six: Palmitos Park. This was probably the highlight of the trip. The landscaping in this park was fantastic. They had palm trees and beautiful flowers everywhere. They had lots of animal shows that the boys really loved. Here you can see a cocatoo wearing sunglasses and lounging in a beach chair. The boys thought this was hilarious. I actually really liked it myself:) Those birds were great performers!

Townsend and Emerson inside the butterfly house.

Julian waiting for the dolphin show to begin.

The birds of prey show. It was really amazing. This lady let this eagle go and it flew up into the sky so high it looked like a little black dot. After it flew around up there for about 10 minutes it just came slowly back down. I think these birds must love those few minutes of freedom they get but at the same time they must love their homes because he DID eventually come back.

Goodbye Canary Islands. It was lots of fun exploring and having fun with my family. This last picture shows the boys doing what they love to do, collecting rocks and seashells. Thanks for the great memories!!