When we started looking at dates for our trip to Spain, I knew there was a pretty good chance we'd be celebrating one or more birthdays there. Since Carolina's comes first on August 2, it was almost unavoidable. But being that she's a pretty easy going kid, I figured she'd understand the concept that we'd do something fun on her special day and then have a party when we got back home. And for the most part she did. Of course, she also complained about missing out and not seeing her friends. But I also reminded her of what happened last year when we were home in Sunnyside--almost none of her preschool friends could make it. So maybe waiting til the end of August wasn't such a bad idea. And clearly, heading to the beach in Spain for the first time wasn't such a bad alternative. I mean, I could think of worse places to be for celebrating. And after we scanned the beaches in Murcia and saw one that was named Playa La Carolina, I figured that was our sign. We'd go swimming on her beach for her fifth birthday. Before we left from Madrid, I had a chance to shop for a few extra items to make the day special. I picked up a couple of cute striped dresses on sale at El Corte Ingles and that was that. We wrapped things up the night before we left for the beach and waited til the next morning to surprise her with them in our hotel in Lorca. The girls came to our room at the ungodly hour of 7am (this after a good week of 10 or 11am wake ups!) and we managed to open everything and then snooze again in our big bed for another hour and a half. It was starting off to be a great day.
Yes, that's a cookie and a cat by the tail in her hands. What a kid.
These Playmobil volleyballers were part of the birthday booty
Couldn't have found a better place for lunch--that blue!
Barbie (with bangs!) also came along as a birthday treat
Swimming on Playa del Siscal near Calnegre...water was incredible
We chose to skip Playa La Carolina after all since we'd been the night before and found it a bit packed, though definitely beautiful. Instead we drove to Calnegre about an hour away and found a small dirt road turn off for the beaches there that contained three perfect little calas. The first had a small chiringuito that was recommended to us by Juanillo back in Madrid. But since we were still full from breakfast, we skipped that headed to the next beach over. Aptly names Playa del Baño de las Mujeres, it was a perfectly U-shaped little cove with rocks on either side and not too many people. The waves were manageable and so we decamped with our newly purchased sunshade and enjoyed a few hours of swimming. For lunch, we packed up and drove back to the village for a late lunch around 5:30pm. The beachfront views and deliciously grilled meats and fish were just what we needed. The girls even had a chance to run off and play on a little swingset nearby as we finished up. This day was working out just fine. After that, we opted for a last beach swim at the third and final cala down the same road. It was called Playa del Siscal and what a breathtaking drive it was to get there. Up and over a winding mountain road but the payoff was amazing. Again, the beach was a nice, small little cove with just enough people to let you know you were on to a good thing. We threw ourselves into the water and there were hardly any waves. Carolina practiced floating and bobbing on her own and Elisa finally shut up about the possibility of fish and got back in to swim with us. It was all working out and I really tried to savor the last bits of sunlight. What a day.
And finally, we made it back to the Parador in Lorca just before 10:30pm and rushed to the restaurant to order a little bite of dinner before they closed the kitchen at 11pm. Now normally, restaurants in Spain are just getting going around 10pm, but this was a sleepy weeknight in a small town. We finished the night with a mysterious almond dessert crowned with candle for our birthday girl. She blew it out and then opted for chocolate ice cream. Yes, this birthday girl knows what she wants. And at five, I'm pretty sure what she wanted and what she got was the same. We delivered a fun-filled day with all the swimming she could handle. Not bad.
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