this trip's overview

(about the Islands)

SFO to LHR

stranded!

LHR to LHR

spending Iberia's money

baggage arrives

along the beachfront

visiting el Medico

Isaac's first haircut

R & R

Faro Maspalomas

cockroaches!

San Fernando

All over...

Puerto de Rico & Puerto de Mogán

el penultimo

on to London

Thursday 16 January 2003

Back to the concept of foods tasking different: today we had local eggs with local speck (a bacon-like cut of pork). The egg yolks are a bright yellow, or perhaps a yellow-orange, that eggs at home aren't (even organic eggs). The speck tastes very different from the German speck we get at our favorite local import store. And the milk...

Isaac: Let's not ever leave.

He really seems to be liking Gran Canaria. It's quite a change from home, and we've been here an extended time, but other than a favorite train of his things are going swimmingly.

Isaac: My ears are cold.

The things a boy learns from his first haircut :-)

I was concerned that he'd be unhappy with short hair, but he's thrilled to be able to answer "no tangles!" when I ask him "how many tangles did I have to work out today?"

Isaac: I hold [the DVD] with my fingers on one side and the other side and not on the grey so it doesn't make the computer ache.

I'm so happy that I brought along three DVDs: Wallace & Gromit, Robbie the Reindeer, and Monsters, Inc. They give Isaac a bit of a break from being on vacation. We're using them in very, very small doses.

Isaac: If I have to urinate or defecate I'll just squeeze it away. (Said while being "naked boy" at the pool.)

We haven't returned to toilet training, but it's on his mind.

Enough with the bon mots. On to our trip to Maspalomas, the southern-most town on the island. We took the bus.

Maspalomas has a rocky area around the lighthouse and a sandy beach which stretches west and east (to Playa del Inglés, to the sand dunes). As you can see, Isaac is very, very happy to have been playing in the cold surf and running pell mell on the beach. (The ocean water is cold, and the colder air temperatures haven't been helping at all.) But it's quite pleasant, as long as you aren't expecting summer temperatures. Of course, the locals keep telling us it's freezing.

A close-up of the lighthouse. Pretty. I can't remember whether it functions. Evidently I've never been there after dark. [UPDATE: Miguel Fernandez says the lighthouse at Maspalomas beach still works and is used for navigation.]

The surf here is quite treacherous, having claimed a good number of tourists before being forbidden. It's no real problem, as one can swim a few hundred meters away.

From the southernmost-point point extends a pier-like walkway, south of the lighthouse. Here's Isaac, sitting at the end of the walk. Behind him are a board-sailer and a cruise ship.

Here's the family, sans the photographer, at the base of the lighthouse. There's tourist grafitti here and there; better than it's been.

The grounds of several hotels in Maspalomas are worth mentioning. One is the Hotel Maspalomas Oasis, which has gardens winding all around the hotel proper.

The second is the recently-built Grand Hotel Costa Meloneras. [Miguel Fernandez says melonares means "watermelon fields", harking back to a time when this area was all agriculture.] The condominium part sereproems dark and small, but the rest of the facility seems first-rate. Here we are approaching it from the lighthouse, through a guarded door. Omi is a sweet-talker. The guard didn't stand a chance. Rose and Omi are discussing the flora.

[Miguel also says "Technically, the Gran Hotel Costa Meloneras is located in the Playa de Las Meloneras, not in Maspalomas. If you stand in front of the lighthouse of Maspalomas, at your left hand is Maspalomas and at your right hand is Meloneras. Ten years ago Meloneras was a virgin beach, only sand, no hotels, no streets, nothing at all, but as I read, you have been coming to the Canaries since the 70's so you may already known. The site has changed a lot, to bad, IMHO.] Yes, Miguel, I remember when it was all agriculture and sand beaches, with no development at all. I liked it better then too. Of course, I'm also one of those outsiders who comes to visit, so I guess I'm part of the problem too. Sorry.

They're most proud of their pool. Through a deliberate optical illusion it appears to be an extension of the ocean, even though it's a good bit higher. They've put sand around the pool, and chaise lounges, so the illusion is even better.

To complete the illusion they've done a greyscale treatment of the pool bottom so that it looks like white sand going into the dark rocks which make up the real beach. Here's a close-up. It's a very clever idea.

Here's a view from the main walkway (at left). The sign (at middle) admonishes one not to walk across the grass, so you can appreciate the great risks I took to bring you the previous two pictures.

Near the main complex is a movable sun shade, composed of heavy canvas, poles, and cable. I might reproduce something like this for some choice spots in our house. That's Omi walking at the right.

There's four generations between the 90-year-old at left and the 18-month-old at right. This got me to thinking about genetics; one-eighth of Lila's chromosomal content is Omi's. Gregor Mendel rules!

Isaac wanted to sit next to Omi on the way back; a trip we took by bus. Buses which are driven like hot rods. The drivers stop on a dime, regard buffer space as something for neophytes, and can be judge and jury: when our bus hit a car driving too close, he got out, looked at the non-existent damage, looked at the tourist car, and jumped in and roared off. Nothing to see here, move along :-)

Lila was content to sit on Mama's lap, next to our monster baby carrier / backpack / toy box. (You can see the ball from the shovel / shapes / ball / bucket combo we acquired in Maspalomas.

I'd like to say that the day out-of-doors and the fresh sea air had us sleeping through the night, but it just wasn't so. Lila was awake at 01:50, and after a bit of carrying in the apartment and on the back porch, I took her into the intersection in front so she could enjoy the taxis, buses, and passers-by. After about an hour she put her head on my shoulder and asked to be brought in (actually, what she said was "ma ma meek").

Next, cockroaches!

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