Our final days in Spain and our trip home

The American family we had visited the week before asked if we wanted to meet them at a waterpark on Monday, June 29th.  The waterpark had just opened.  Since we spent the weekend cleaning and packing and the weather was going to be nice, we decided to go.  As you can see in the photo of the wave pool, we kind of had the place to ourselves.  

We had our rental car until June 30th, the day we were originally supposed to fly home.  We had tried to negotiate an extension to our lease, but the agency wanted triple the daily rate.  We ended up reserving a van from another agency while the girls went on the water slides.  I also added additional baggage to our flight reservations now that we knew we needed an extra bag.  

After the girls checked out all the slides, they wanted us to go down their favorites with them.  Shawn and I climbed the stairs to do the blue body slide first.  Since there were so few people at the park, there was no wait.  The waterpark had taped lines on the floor so you knew how far apart to stand while waiting, but the lines weren't needed that day.  

This was our first time at a saltwater waterpark, and I wasn't prepared for the salt in my eyes and mouth.  We went down all the slides at least once, including the "toilet bowl".  I ended up swallowing a big mouthful of saltwater on that one.  Yuck!  However, it was nice to not have to wait in any lines.  We had packed a lunch and were allowed to carry it in, so we stayed most of the day.  

The view from the slide platforms was amazing.  I wish I had a waterproof case for my phone so I could have taken some photos.  The waterpark was right on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and the water was like glass that day.  There were a few snorkelers out exploring.  It would have been a great to day to snorkel, that's for sure.

Shawn had to return our rental car on Tuesday morning.  When he went to pick up the van we had reserved, he quickly determined that we would not be able to get all of our luggage in the cargo space.  He ended up renting a bigger van, which proved to be an excellent decision.  As I mentioned, we had tried to extend our original lease.  It's a good thing that didn't work out as we hadn't thought about all of the luggage that we needed to transport to the airport.  It definitely would not have fit in the car.

On Wednesday, July 1st, we drove to the fresh water reservoir near Ardales for the afternoon.  We brought yet another picnic and rented a different paddle boat.  Aliah had gotten an underwater camera from Grandma and Grandpa for Christmas, and we remembered to bring it this time.  Since the water is so clear, you can see the fish swimming in the shallow water from land.  We tried really hard to get some underwater photos of some, but you had to be really close to get a good shot.  We had fun trying though.

After we returned the paddle boat, Haila asked if she could get herself and Aliah something to drink.  Shawn said, "Sure" then jokingly added, "See if you can get me a beer.  And if they have something for your Mom, get her something too."  Aliah went with her.  Five minutes later, they came back with two sodas, a beer, and a wine cooler.  What!?!  Shawn and I were both shocked.  Haila said she asked for two sodas, and then asked for a Cruz Campo (beer).  The guy told her they weren't cold, but he had cold Victoria beer.  She said she'd take one and a Tinto de Verano.  He sold her both with no questions asked.  I'm not sure if I'm more shocked by Haila (my rule-follower) asking or by the guy who sold it to her.  

We decided to go to the beach one last time on Thursday.  We found a restaurant on the beach in Torremolinos called El Gato Lounge that had an interesting menu.  We stopped there for lunch before hitting the waves.  I wish I would have taken photos of our food as it was as eye pleasing as it was delicious.  Shawn ordered salmon sashimi, and it was amazing.  The girls had toasted coconut sundaes as a special treat.  They even came in coconut shell bowls.  Delish!

I had wanted to go hiking on my birthday at El Torcal de Antequera.  Since we didn't make it there that day, it was still on my list of things to do.  I realized after my birthday that they offer guided hikes, so I booked us a sunset hike for Friday, July 2nd.  The guide explained that this area was once the bottom of the sea, but it's unique in that the sea floor was lifted without buckling (as it had in the gorge we hiked a few weeks before).  Over time, wind and water have eroded the sea floor layers and it now looks like piles of pancakes in some areas. 

Just like at El Caminito del Rey, we were shown fossils.  This one was particularly large.  We saw others as well.  Some were pointed out by our guide and others we noticed on our own.

The guide explained that people will use certain rock formations to help them keep track of where they are within this area as it's not uncommon for people to get lost.  If you look closely in this next photo, you might see the profile of a monkey wearing a hat and holding a mug. 

In case you couldn't spot him, I zoomed in.

Here is an alligator head.  Can you see it?

Some of the stacks are wider at the top than at the bottom.  Hikers call these screws.  You can see a screw peeking up near the top in this next photo.

This was different than other areas we had hiked, and I was really glad we chose to do this as our final adventure in Spain.  It was the day before a full moon, so we got to enjoy the sunset and the moon rising.  The drive home was lovely as well.

We spent Saturday, July 4th finishing up our packing and cleaning as we were leaving early Sunday morning.  We video called our landlord to do a final walk-through of the house.  We also stopped by several friends' and neighbors' homes to say goodbye.  We went to dinner at Papa Miguel Restaurante and wished Mama and Papa all the best.  We also stopped by the pizzeria to say farewell to the Maleni family.  There was no doubt we would miss the people in Alozaina.  Everyone had been kind to us from the start.

We did our last minute packing and were loaded in the van by 5 AM on July 5th.  I had tears in my eyes as we said goodbye to Alozaina, our home away from home for the past six months.   

Our return trip was pretty uneventful.  The airports were pretty empty as were the planes.  We think our residence cards may have expedited our departure from Spain as the officials were scrutinizing our passports.  When one of the officials asked if we were residents and we produced our residence cards, we were immediately told we could proceed.  The official in Ireland was also carefully checking our passports and questioned why we didn't have a stamp from Ireland.  When Shawn explained that we switched planes in Dublin without having to retrieve our bags on the way to Spain, that seemed to be an acceptable answer.

We arrived in Chicago an hour ahead of schedule.  We got off the plane and were immediately escorted to an area operated by the CDC where we had to fill out questionnaires and have our temperature checked.  We had gone through customs in Ireland, so we were allowed to head directly to baggage claim after we cleared our health check.  Thankfully, Kayla and Greg had delivered our Honda Pilot to short-term parking at O'Hare that morning, so we just needed to retrieve our vehicle, load our bags, and head home. 

We had planned to stop in Janesville to get a Culver's fix.  Shawn's step-Mom Dana had offered to pick up some of the other things we really missed (like bacon, cotton candy grapes and maple syrup...) and deliver them to Culver's as they live in Janesville.  She and Shawn's Dad met us there as did his two step-sisters, their hubbies and all their kids.  We were super surprised to see the whole gang who we hadn't seen since Christmas Eve.

When we got back to Madison, we found TWO welcome home signs.  One was made by the neighbors and spanned the bottom of our driveway and the other was made by my sister Lisa and her kids and spanned the garage door.  The neighbors were out in the cul-de-sac to greet us.  It was a super warm welcome.  We certainly felt very loved and missed.     

We would like to thank everyone who helped make this sabbatical a reality.  Our niece Mikayla hosted us in her Chicago apartment when we applied for our visas exactly one year ago.  Our friends Kayla and Greg were instrumental in getting us to and from the airport.  Kayla drove us and our baggage to Chicago on New Year's Eve to see us off, and then she and Greg delivered our vehicle to O'Hare on July 5th so we could get home as quickly as possible upon landing stateside.  My sister Lisa and her kids stayed in our house for almost 5 of the 6 months, checked on it after they moved out, mowed grass, washed windows, and made sure we had clean sheets and TP.  My sister Ann and our BIL Joey collected our mail and paid our bills.  Our neighbors Jake and Allie picked out a new paint color for our shutters and front door, created new house numbers and planted flowers, and reassembled our house after Jake's painters completed interior and exterior painting in time for our return.  Jake also had an electrician check things out after another neighbor's limb dropped both our power and cable lines.  Shawn's Mom and step-Dad Jay stocked our frig and brought us flowers and balloons.  Shawn's Dad and step-Mom Dana bought us all of our favorite American foods.  Shawn's technicians, John and Adam, and graduate students, Emma, Lindsay, and Haleigh, kept the Coolbean program running smoothly.  And I know there are things I am forgetting, so thank you to all who supported us during this incredible adventure.  We couldn't have done it without you!