Gran Canaria Revisited: Puerto Mogán, March 2011

We found ourselves irresistibly drawn back to lovely Puerto Mogán, almost exactly a year after our last visit.

With Granny in tow this time, we stayed at the same hotel, but now we had the pleasure of a two-bedroom (and two bathroom!) suite with a huge balcony and fantastic views up and down the valley.

See the boys hamming it up on the balcony, and James doing his little bathtub dance (click on the links).

The weather was a pleasant 20-24 degrees, although it felt considerably warmer especially when the wind wasn't blowing.  We found ourselves on the beach almost every day, where Thomas built some impressive sand castles and James kept grabbing handfuls of sand to throw back into the sea.

Thomas was delighted to run into his friend Karl, whose family happened to be holidaying nearby at the same time!

This year we managed to explore a little bit more of the town, taking in the marina and some of the surrounding neighborhoods. 

More fun about town: Thomas walking along the edging wall past the cactus garden, blowing on dandelions, and checking out a neighborhood playground with Granny.

James also took advantage of the playgrounds, as well as exercising his legs by running off at every opportunity.  Both boys enjoyed working their way through the fruit smoothie menus at various establishments, and Thomas discovered some new board games including Ludo (Parcheesi) and Snakes & Ladders.

Pool and ping-pong tables also provided hours of enjoyment, especially with "Granny-assistance" and eventually also "James-assistance"!

It's not easy playing pool with a handicap! (click on the link to see the video)

Although James used every opportunity to stretch his legs, there were times when Dad's shoulders seemed the best place to be.  His appetite was not very strong during the trip, possibly due to more teething - but he did alright with the occasional plate of home-cooked pasta. 

Other sources of fascination included ping-pong balls, for which he invented two new games: 1. put in / take out of Daddy or Granny's shoe, and 2. knock off the table using a clothespin, in a rough imitation of Daddy and Thomas' pool tactics.

Over the whole week, we only had one serious rain shower, which lasted about 10 minutes but was so heavy that we had a couple of inches accumulation on the terrace!  Jonathan went out afterwards to help sweep it out the drains, allowing us to quickly gain access to the balcony again.

Overall the trip was everything we hoped it would be, with nice weather, good company, lots of R&R and a blossoming relationship between the boys and their Granny.

Updated 18.3.2011