You might have noticed from some recent posts that we’ve been on our summer holiday. As soon as school finished for the summer we headed off somewhere sunny and I’m pleased to report that we had the most amazing time!
We weren’t really fussed where we went, our main requirements were lots of sun and a pool. Having been to Tenerife before and not being too keen on it, we weren’t really considering the Canary Islands. However, we saw a fantastic hotel in Gran Canaria (which I’ll blog about separately) and we were sold. We were not disappointed.
The area we stayed in was called Meloneras which is in the south of Gran Canaria, next to Maspalomas. It’s quite an upmarket little area, full of designer shops, bars and cafes. Not an English pub or Irish bar in sight which pleased me as I hate all that “Englishness” when I go away.
It’s a short walk to the famous Maspalomas light house and the sand dunes. We went for a walk down to the beach but didn’t spend the day down there. We walked a little way into the sand dunes, which definitely do make you feel like you’re in the desert. It was too hot for Little H to walk too far though.
The average temperature for Gran Canaria in July/August is supposed to be around 26 degrees which we were happy with. In reality, the average daily temperature was 35 degrees, getting as high as 40 degrees on a couple of occasions. We love the sun so this wasn’t a problem for us and we just spent the hottest days in the pool.
We went on two day-trips which we booked through the Thomson reps at the hotel. The first was to Palmitos Park which was about 20 minutes by bus. Palmitos Park is a wildlife park up in the hills behind Maspalomas. There are parrots, flamingos, reptiles, kangaroos, and a fantastic dolphin show. Little H even had her photo taken stroking a dolphin which I think made her year.
The second trip we went on was a boat trip to Puerto De Mogan. We got the coach from Maspalomas to Puerto Rico and then a glass bottomed catamaran to Puerto de Mogan which is such a pretty place. Mogan is full of whitewashed buildings with little lanes covered in beautiful, bright flowers. There’s also a beach and plenty of restaurants and shops. Little H enjoyed the boat ride and we spent most of the journey sat downstairs looking through the windows at the fish swimming by. We also enjoyed sitting on the top deck and checking out the amazing views out to sea.
In the evenings the hotel put on a Mini Disco which was a good time for the kids to tire themselves out before bed. After the disco, they put a kids’ film on the screen which was great for getting the children to wind down, and of course for the parents to drink more cocktails. And we drank a lot of cocktails!
One evening we visited the Moonlight Cinema which is right next to the hotel and we could actually see it from our balcony. This was my favourite cinema experience ever! Sitting on comfy sofas under the stars we watched Despicable Me 3 while waitresses brought us drinks and popcorn.
The main aim of the holiday was to relax which we definitely did. Little H loved the kids’ club at the hotel which ran from 11:00-13:00 and 14:30-16:30 every day. She didn’t go to all sessions but to enough to give us a break and her the chance to make some friends. Apart from that, the husband and Little H spent most of the time in the pool (or pools, there were loads!) and I had so much peace that I read 5 books!
Unfortunately, we had to come back, to rain and work and so the holiday feeling has well and truly disappeared. I’m currently looking for our next holiday but sadly we’ve run out of days off until next year.
Luckily we have some great memories to keep us going for a while. If you are looking for a holiday destination then I’d definitely recommend checking out Gran Canaria. Watch this space for more holiday posts!
Gran Canaria Local
Looks like you had a great time, Sarah. Look forward to reading your Baobab hotel review. We’re sure it’ll make for more interesting reading.