Another week has passed us by with work, school, and activities. This year, Brooklyn is going to be one of the managers for the school’s wrestling team, along with three of her friends. Try-outs started this week so she was busy every day after school helping with equipment and weigh-ins.
On Thursday, Veterans Day was observed on base. Ryan was asked, along with some other Scouts, to raise and lower the flag at their school. Luckily, Matt was working and able to get a picture.
Friday was Veterans Day, so we made it a long weekend and headed to the island of Fuerteventura, in the Canary Islands, for some sunshine with friends.
Our outgoing flight was at 12pm, which allowed us to have a semi-relaxed morning. We were able to eat breakfast, finish packing, and drop off the dogs and car without rushing around like crazy. We normally like to be on the first flight out of the day so we can have as much time as possible at our destination, but this was a nice change of pace. We were traveling with two other families and we all met at the airport in time for our flight.
We flew on TUI Airlines. TUI is a European package holidays company that usually sells all inclusive vacations that include the airfare. We already had our hotel plans worked out so we just purchased the flight. The flights were pretty cheap compared to anything else flying out of Stuttgart Airport. The service was ok, but reminded me a lot of RyanAir, but more expensive. No food or drinks were included despite it being a semi-long, lunchtime flight. The flight attendants also made their way up and down the aisle several times to sell food and drinks, or items from duty free. We did get to bring carry-on bags for free so that was a major plus.
The Canary Islands are off the West Coast of Africa so pretty far from Germany. It is a huge tourist destination for Germans. When we landed, every single baggage carousel listed a different German city. We also noticed that although we were in Spain, all signs were posted in both Spanish and German. Most people assumed we were German and approached us in that language.
It was a four hour flight but with the one hour time change, we landed around 3:30pm and were at the hotel by 4:30. We stayed at the Sheraton Fuerteventura Resort. A friend of ours visited for a week over Spring Break and highly recommended it for a relaxing break. Right from the start, the hotel could not have been more accommodating. They welcomed us with champagne and then upgraded all five of the rooms that our three families had booked. On top of that, they comped all of our breakfasts and offered a free dinner at the hotel. Since there isn’t much to do on the entire island of Fuerteventura, except the beach, pool, or golf, the hotel offers pretty much everything you need without having to leave, including meals and entertainment.
The weather was in the low 70s so once we were checked in, we immediately changed into bathing suits and headed to the pool for a few hours before dinner. Even though it was only in the low 70s, they had a huge pool heated to almost bath temperature. If that got too hot, there was also a “cold pool” (probably for all the Germans 😉). We ate dinner at the hotel buffet, which may have been one of the largest I’ve ever seen. They had everything including steaks, a huge seafood board, so many sides, salads, soups (including French onion) and desserts. We finished up with drinks at the piano bar while the kids played in the arcade.
Saturday morning, we all slept in before going down to the HUGE breakfast, which luckily was offered until 11am. They had everything you could think of on offer, including mimosas! We had a long breakfast/brunch and then headed back to the pool where we hung out while the kids played for hours.
Later in the afternoon, we moved to the beach. The water was surprisingly warm and thanks to the jetty protecting the beach from the ocean waves; so calm. The sand was so, so soft; it felt like the kids toy, kinetic sand. I have not felt anything like it before.
We had dinner at the hotel again, this time at the Asian restaurant. Then, we finished up back at the piano bar again.
Sunday, we had another slow morning with a late breakfast and then hung out at the pool until after lunch. In the afternoon, we took cabs to Corralejo on the north coast of the island. There, we jumped on a catamaran that took us to Lobos Island for some swimming and activities.
The catamaran was equipped with snorkel gear, stand-up paddle boards, kayaks, and floats. The kids and the dads had a blast jumping off the boat and playing in the water while the moms took pictures and enjoyed the cava that was served onboard.
After we were done with activities and swimming, the crew served us a dinner of paella and more cava. When we finished up with our meal, we did a one hour sail around the entire Lobos Island. It was really rough at some points! Luckily the catamaran handled the swells really well and it wasn’t too bad, but we were happy when we arrived back in the harbor.
Monday, we slept late again, and then enjoyed the pool and beach for the rest of the day until it was time to leave for our flight. Our flight was at 6pm and once again, the hotel was incredibly accommodating. They allowed most us to stay in our rooms until 4, which made it so easy to get ready for the airport. They needed one of our friends’ room for an incoming party and instead of just kicking them out, they gave them a completely new room in which to store their luggage and to use to shower and change before departing. It was totally unnecessary of them to do so, and definitely created more work on their end, but it was so appreciated!
We all had a really good time on Fuerteventura. We have been going non-stop lately and it was good to be able to slow down and sit around, doing nothing. Ryan kept on thanking me for planning such a fun trip and Brooklyn even mentioned she enjoyed it, haha. The hotel was amazing, but I don’t know if I would go back to Fuerteventura again. There is just not a lot to do there if you don’t golf or want to sit by a pool all day. Lanzarote is supposedly similar so I think I would rule that out as well, but I am curious about Gran Canary and Tenerife so maybe we’ll do one of those on a future trip.
We were home by midnight on Monday and definitely dreaded the alarm on Tuesday!
Gilcrests Abroad 