Mallorca part 3

Saturday it was up early and off to take Tom and Ollie to the airport. First we called to see some of Stuart's family who live in Palma Nova. Something very strange happened on the way there, it started to rain. Actually it threw it down. Never seen the beach in the rain before, normally it's baking hot with not a cloud in sight. In a brief halt to the rain, we took Ollie for our traditional game of crazy golf which is just round the corner from the flat - we've been playing it with different kids ever since we started visiting there.  It's a great place, very exotic with waterfalls, plants and ducks. Unfortunately we'd miscalculated the rain, and it hadn't stopped at all, so we got wet. But, we played on, and even got a couple of holes in one.

Ollie won with the highest score(!), and then it was off for some lunch. Again strangely eaten under the roof rather than in the open air. Ollie was hungry and asked for eggs, beans, sausages and toast, and got the biggest plate of food for a 6 year old I've seen - and he ate most of it!

We had to swop our car for a bigger one at the airport as although we were dropping Tom and Ollie off for their flight home, we were picking up some friends who were joining us for the second week. Luckily the weather had improved, and after discovering that their flight was over an hour late, we drove down the coast and sat on the beach at Arenal for an hour.

When we got back to the villa late evening, the kids managed a quick dip in the pool before we went and found some dinner.

The next day started warm, but a bit cloudy, and we spent it mainly by the pool, with the odd game of table tennis and pool. Then in the afternoon we went to the beach, where Beka and I built a spectacular castle and the kids went in the very warm, shallow sea.

In the evening we drove to Poerto Pollenca for dinner.

Monday was very hot, and we hardly moved at all! Except to go the shop for essentials like beer and water, and then in the late afternoon, to a go-carting track. The Paul, Stu and the kids all decided to have a go, but me and Beka decided to be official photographers and watch. After some detailed instructions on how to drive ( right foot fast, left foot stop) and some complex helmet fitting which required the girls long hair to be piled up on top of their heads,

and some posing for photos

and taping the girls flip flops to their feet so they didn't get stuck under the pedals

they were off. Perhaps a sign of things to come, one of the girls had trouble stopping and not running the instructor over as she pulled out of the pits, and then crashed half way round the first lap, after a very fast run down the straight. With a big bruise on her elbow, the instructor drove her back and understandably she wasn't keen to carry on. So, the boys raced each other, and Alice drove very sedately round and made it without coming off the track at all.

Paul won, with Jacob beating Stuart into third place. Back to the villa for a quick dip, and then across the road to a bar for dinner.

Tuesday we decided to get out, and went to Arta, about an hour's drive away to see the caves. Very spectacular, with an amzing entrance overlooking the sea. Hundreds of stalactites and stalagmites, and some huge ones. There's a music and light display half way round the tour, and some of the bigger formations are hollow and make a noise like a bell when you hit them.

Home for lunch and some more time reading by the pool before staying in the resort again for dinner.

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