A Week In Caleta De Fuste

We've been back from our holiday for a little over a week now. Life has snapped back in to normality. We are back to work, the washing machine is working over-time and tans are beginning to fade. It's always nice to be home though. Until the next holiday that is...

We have returned to a bit of a limbo sense of home as we have a house move in the not so distant future. In 6 weeks time we will begin to move all of our belongings to yet another home. Our fourth since conceiving Billy. We hope this will be the last move for a couple of years, and we look forward to this next step as a family. 

Back to the holiday. Ah, good old Caleta De Fuste. We've been there three years in a row now. I used to think people were mad to return to the same place year after year but now I get it. If it ain't broke, and all that. We fell in love with the place the first time we visited. It was just Peter and I. We adored the place. The following year we returned with our 16 week old baby boy. Another marvellous holiday. The little man slept a lot which meant that we even managed to have some lovely meals in the evening. He couldn't roll, crawl or complain about very much. I was breastfeeding and he was not eating solids. It was easy. This year it seemed like the obvious place to go. There was a lot more to consider when bringing a toddler on holiday so returning to a place we knew well was one less thing to worry about. We knew what it had to offer and it ticked all of the boxes for us. Family-friendly, beach within walking distance, nice weather, good choice of restaurants and a nice pool. 

We decided to stay here. We had never even heard of this place before but Peter came across it online and we couldn't believe the offer they had for an all-inclusive stay. We had never experienced all-inclusive before and never really planned on it. We like to eat out and try lots of different places. It's kind of our thing. But this deal made us consider different. We considered how all-inclusive might make life a bit easier with a toddler. We wouldn't be waiting for bills, we could take what we wanted, and we could even leave the house without our wallets. We took a leap of faith and booked a week's all-inclusive stay at Club Caleta Dorada. And how happy we now are that we did. 

It was a really fabulous place. We read some negative reviews on Tripadvisor about the food so I had fairly low expectations. It was a good deal, there would be things we liked - it would be grand. When we arrived I couldn't believe the set up. Every single meal had a fantastic spread of food. Breakfast time meant all of the usual hot items such as eggs, sausages, beans, rashers etc alongside an impressive fruit selection, yoghurt and fresh omelette's and pancakes every single morning. Lunch was basically a mini-dinner and always had fresh fish being grilled to order. The freshest fish I have ever tasted in my entire life. Out of this world. There was always a great selection of main-meals and a constant fresh salad bar which included olives also. To add to this there was always a variety of breads, desserts, sauces, soups and as much wine, beer, coffee and soft-drinks as you wanted. I could not fault it. If you missed a meal time (which would be difficult as they were in two hour slots) you could order chips, hot dogs or toasties at any time of the day. 

   How could I resist fresh pancakes? Slimming World was a distant memory as you can see. 

The flights to and from Fuerteventura were surprisingly pleasant. We were both a bit nervous because it is an entirely different kettle of fish bringing a toddler. At 16 weeks he just slept in the sling and fed during the flight. We stocked up on little toys from Dealz, brought plenty of snacks and drinks, and encouraged a nap. He slept for an hour and a half on both flights. A 4 hour fight went by much quicker than we imagined and other than his ears hurting him on descent back to Dublin, the flights were absolutely fine. 

As predicted Billy loved the pool. We couldn't walk anywhere near it unless we were definitely getting in for a dip. He would lose his mind and gesture towards it. He loves splashing around and had zero interest in just floating around on his inflatable ring (albeit looking fairly relaxed in the below photo). He wanted us to constantly swoop him through the water and be on the go. That's our boy, full of energy! 

People at the pool started calling him Tigger. To be fair, the swimsuit is the cutest thing ever. Peter picked it up for a couple of pound on the Sportsdirect website. An absolute bargain! 

We visited the water park and like all years I paid to be a photographer. I absolutely detest water slides. I never go on any of them. It's a nice family day out but I am usually relieved when we are all leaving alive and in one piece. I did enjoy the baby pool with Billy though. They had a decent children's section and he was loving every minute. 

Apart from not having to cook and clean - the best part of the holiday was seeing how happy Billy was. He was in his element being surrounded by so many people every day. We were lucky enough to have family and friends with us so he was never short of company and attention. We have come to realise that he is a total performer and show off. Can't imagine where he got that from....

The main town square in Caleta De Fuste was the perfect place to allow Billy to run wild. He has only started properly walking in the last couple of weeks so exercising his new found freedom made him very happy. 

And for the times his little legs were tired our Mothercare Xpedior did it's job so beautifully again. This pram has been everywhere and it continues to serve us so very well. It was perfect for storing our beach bags in during the day as the basket is a really decent size. It also flattens down so Billy had all of his naps in it too. We really love it! 

We visited the sand dunes, ate great food and soaked up everything that lovely Caleta had to offer. It was amazing to spend a week uninterrupted as a family. It was at a different pace this year round, but watching our little boy explore the world is one of the best parts of being a parent. Until next year sunshine!