With Thom’s Crocus Vacation perfectly timed at the end of February, I found an apartment on Gran Canaria that had a pool (heated, of course, just in case).
It seemed like the ideal setup for a week of relaxation. To make sure Thom had youthful company, her friend Alina joined us, so the girls could entertain each other while Yoni and I took a well-deserved break.
The trip, however, didn’t get off to the smoothest start.
Our flight was delayed for nearly four hours, and when we finally arrived in Gran Canaria, we were greeted by a swarming, chaotic car rental desk.
Three hours of waiting later, we got our car and made it to the apartment at 10 PM.
None of this fazed the girls.
As soon as we unlocked the door, they threw themselves into the brightly lit pool, shaking off all the pent-up energy from the day of delays.
They splashed and played until midnight while Yoni and I soaked up the luxury of our apartment and finally started to relax.
The rest of the week was pure indulgence.
Our apartment was part of a fancy resort built on the mountainside, complete with a little cart to shuttle residents around.
Of course, the girls quickly turned it into their personal toy, striking model poses as they cruised the grounds.
By day, Thom and Alina were glued to the pool while Yoni and I reveled in our rare moments of peace—reading, watching movies, and, yes, sleeping.
But it was the evenings that unlocked our fun side in ways even Thom hadn’t seen before.
Each night, we put on ridiculous performances—becoming human tomatoes, cucumbers, coffee machines, and Yoni’s pièce de résistance: the Cactus.
We laughed so hard, the girls couldn’t get enough.
We even demonstrated how to “get drunk” on water (a trick Thom didn’t find quite as convincing in her teen years, but that’s another story).
The week was so magical and fun that we returned to the same apartment two years in a row, escaping the gray, snowy grip of Amsterdam’s winter.
Little did we know, a few years later, we’d find our forever home on a different Canary Island altogether.
