Final blow-out

With the start of a new week the pool area got a little busier, which prompted us to find the "big" pool further down the twisting roads of the urbanizacion. This was next to a small bar and sales office for the estate and also a tennis court, but the thought of running about in the heat did nothing for me. The sunbeds were a little less pristine and the bigger grass area a little more rough than the surroundings of the "small" pool but it was a nice enough spot to while away the afternoon. The boys certainly enjoyed the change of scenery and when the Threlfalls arrived there was great whooping and hollering, no doubt much to the disdain of the other residents and holidaymakers who who have preferred a quiet afternoon in the sun. All the children were lining up to be thrown hither and thither in the water by me, Axel and Sharon in her "Witchy Woo" persona. Noisy, it was!

Even Angus was up for being thrown in the water. He's been very confident in the water this holiday, admittedly with his armbands on and using the tube floats to great effect, but it's good to see him enjoying the water. Rowan too has been good, up to a point where he either gets cold or bored and has had enough. His swimming still isn't improving noticeably. Leaving his custom-built prescription goggles at home didn't help as he undoubtedly isn't happy when he can't see properly.

We headed back up to the villa and pulled together a quick dinner party for the Threlfalls to come over later in the evening. Axel's Mum has had one of the terraced properties across the way for twenty years but it was the first time he had been across in Villa Cantarranas and he certainly enjoyed the view and the novelty of looking down on his Mum's property that he's been visiting all this time. The kids ate and watched a DVD while the adults sat out on the balcony and chatted till the sun went down. It's been good meeting a new couple and getting to know them a little and I'd like to think we'll keep in touch with them. Jane is a writer for Sky News and Axel is the anchor for Reuters Business Insider internet TV channel so they are an interesting couple, working in the media and living in Shepherds Bush in London. It makes a change meeting people who exist in a completely different sphere.

As night fell the boys were keen to repeat their skinny dipping exploits of the night before. This started with Finn jumping into the pool with his T-shirt and shorts on and carried on in a similar vein although Angus and Oskar were a little too tired to join in. We finally called a halt after more diving and synchronised jumping in and each retired to their own house.

Tuesday was our last full day and involved plenty of steady packing up of stuff and using up of the last of the food in the house. Once again we sought out the big pool whre the boys were having fun on Edie's inflatable crocodile and playing with the dive sticks although it took me an age to locate and retrieve one from the middle of the deepest part of the pool.

We saw out the final evening by our "own pool" with a final chance to catch the glorious late afternoon and evening sunshine filtering through the palm trees as we read and had a last, leisurely swim. We headed into Mijas, parking down the side street and walking up into town and on up to Calle San Sebastien, an asthetically pleasing upwards curving street lined with restaurants and shops and whitewashed houses. The Secret Garden caught our eye and we headed inside and through the back to...the not so secret garden, judging by how busy it was. Sharon and I shared the Argentinian barbecue while Sean and Finn tackled the aptly named Mega-hamburguesas. You'd have needed to unhinge your jaw to get your mouth round one of those. I'm increasingly ambivalent about barbecued meat. Generally I find it tough going with food inevitably getting stuck between my teeth. A sign of age I suppose. This one was nice but a bit too meaty and could have done with some vegetarian balance.

We staggered out stuffed, but still had room for a stop at the nearby gelateria where the boys feasted on yet more ice-creams before waddling back to the car. A full and fitting last night out to end a fine family holiday in the sun of Spain.