19th of July

Woke up “early”, not that I wanted to. As I walked down to the living room it was so quiet. Normally by now the TV is on, Arabic music playing from A’s iPhone, Mish huddling with his iPad on the coach. The sofa was empty, terrace doors shut, couldn’t even smell coffee from the kitchen. I was alone, Mish still sleeping, going to bed after midnight can’t be too good for him. Ex must have gotten in late from the casino. Had time to myself with my soy milk cappuccino. Wanted to take in the sights and smells of the garden.

We were leaving. Only for 6 days, but still leaving paradise. How will I handle leaving it in less then 2 weeks again? This time for quite some time.
Have you ever noticed that on the day that you leave the spot where you were vacationing, the weather is always great. If it was windy, rainy and cold the day before, rest assured that on the day of your departure gorgeous blue skies will be saying good bye to you. Just to make you feel even worse. I wasn’t feeling that bad, going to Gran Canaria after all. Taking a vacation from vacation. Love the airport in Madeira. Small, almost cosy, easy to find your way, like especially the top floor, it’s almost always empty. And you get the see the ocean from your table while sipping your drink. Left on time with Binter. Was an hour and half flight. Smooth, pleasant, apart from tiny little baby feet kicking the back of my seat. Made me think about babies. Did I wait too long? Is it too late? The loud voice of the pilot brought me back, saying that we are landing.

What can I say?
Twice as big as Madeira, about 1560km2, but too rocky, barren for me. Actually on landing it does remind me of Kuwait, though I think Kuwait is greener now. It is a very popular travel destination, being the climate very pleasant, warm almost all year round with loads of sunshine.
We visited it in April for the first time and we had a nice time spending it by the pool and visiting a few places of interest. Decided to repeat it, boys wanting just to relax on the beach.
The hotel we stayed at was the RadissonBlu, It is a resort managed by the group. You can actually buy the apartments here. Needless to say, I did go in and took a brochure, checked on the prices. Way too expensive. But the location is perfect. As you approach it by car, you don’t see much, but the minute you walk in, you are taken with the view. Just the vast blueness of the ocean below , since the reception is actually on the 11th floor. This time we got a suite on the 3rd floor, was not much to my liking. Before I had time to be upset about it, ex solved it. We got the top floor suite, with 3 rooms, great view and the icing on the cake is that we have our own roof top terrace. Must be great relaxing up there, gazing at the stars, sipping champagne, then getting into the jacuzzi, yes, we do have one, but this is a “divorced family ” vacation. Tried to write up there, but there is no wifi, which I need.
This being a proper apartment, it’s got a fully equipped kitchen, and on the second floor of the resort a Spar supermarket to stock up on things. That reminds me of another place.
I’ve been toying with the idea of going to Mauritius for some time. This is really shallow of me, but what put that place on my list of possible long-term residences was the Spar supermarket which I was told that they have.
Done with packing, shopping, “enjoying” the music coming from the various boats, ships out there, we headed out to have dinner.
Off to Maspalomas, about 15 minutes drive from here. Was late, strolled around a bit, bought tickets for Thursday night to the outdoor cinema. First show starts after sunset. Lots of couches to sit on. While enjoying the movie you can order cocktails, pizzas. It is currently ranked the 3rd best attraction on the island by Tripadvisor. Must find out the first two. I think I know it. We picked a restaurant based on the kindness of the lady standing in front of it. She was so enthusiastic about their food, so we decided to give it a try.
Had some tapas, cheeses. Tried their pina colada, the consistency was right, just enough pineapple, but sadly lacking alcohol. So switched back to red wine.
I have some sort of obsession with piña coladas. Keep ordering them everywhere, I’ve tried it in so many countries, places, yet I still like the one they make at Velence resort the best.
Meanwhile the ongoing saga of the iPad/iPhone obsessed kid continues, right now wicked witch (me) banishing poor kid to a land of books, beaches and sand castles. Will his nightmare ever end, will his wicked mum forgive him, will he ever see his best friend again?