Today is day 3 of our trip along the coastline of Costa Brava.

We are getting to know each other in our group pretty well, and have loved our time so far – which has just been jam-packed with things to do and see.

Day one that you can read here, and also Day two that you can read here.

So Day three is set to be awesome!

We again had breakfast at the cafe at Camping Valldaro and had packed up as we would be moving further up the coast tonight.

I like that I am not having to worry about planning and booking where we are going, but that this is all taken care of for me.

Sometimes as a single parent that is traveling long term around the world, I get really tired.  It is also hard to make the decisions and planning on my own because Explorason really couldn’t care less sometimes, and it is pointless trying to have discussions with him on every finer detail.

So now, the finer details are already planned, thanks to our tour leader, Anna, who has just been so incredibly great. So thanks to Anna and her team for all for all you did to make this trip a success. It really has been appreciated.  We have really liked Anna, and she has such a kind and generous heart and is always smiling.

Today we are off sailing along the coast, discovering Costa Brava by boat.

As soon as we have put our shoes and valuables away into the waterproof side hull holes we are heading out to sea.

I love the way the crew involves the children straight away.

They are pulling the ropes that haul up the sails, and another boy “K” is first off at the rudder. So it is just Explorason and his friend “Lucy”.

It is not too windy or cold, in fact, the sun is shining and I think I should have applied sunscreen a little more heartily than I did.

Explorason has a turn at the rudder. He is concentrating hard. It is interesting to me, as lately he has been talking between us on our long drives, and saying how in his opinion it takes no effort for me to drive, and little concentration.  I had been explaining to him that it really does take a lot of concentration.

This meant that in this very moment he really DID have to concentrate, and later he said to me he was concentrating so hard he couldn’t hold a conversation at the same time, or he found he went off course.  Lesson learned.

We really enjoyed the hour sailing, and Explorason said it was his favorite activity – so far.

We head back to the minibus and drive on up the coast for a while.

Next is a bicycle tour discovering the wine cellars in Calonge at Mas Ponsjoan organic farm and winery.

We had pre-requested a tandem bike for a bit of fun.  Also, one downside of traveling a lot is that Explorason doesn’t get time to practice his cycling so he is still a bit wobbly on his own.

I was glad we did. Not long after we took off we were cycling down a pretty uneven path. There was an ‘up and down’ section where I got to practice the gears. Next thing we were on a bit of a rocky and a very uneven path, with quite a few holes.

But we did manage to stay on the bike. We felt like that was quite an achievement!

We passed magnificent fields and even an old castle in the distance, and it was just beautiful.

It felt like a scene from a travel brochure biking our way through the Spanish fields of poppies, but this really was us!

When we arrived at the farm, there was lovely cool water waiting for us, and the farmer poured us a drink under the shade of a tree.  I really hadn’t brought a lot of clothes for warm days, and this day had taken me by surprise.

We had a tour of the organic farm and learned about a few trees which we were not familiar with.

It was nice to see the cherry trees in particular.

We then went through the family winery and cellar area that has been here for generations.

They actually have a little market shop on the side of the farm that is popular in summer too. I’d love to come back to this region and spend a lot longer.

I was really pleased when we emerged and there before us, was a long table set with nibbles and wines from their winery for us to taste.

The children were then taken to a separate area so the adults could relax.  They were educated in wine growing and the area.

To me, this was probably one of the highlights of the trip. I could have easily have sat there all at that long antique table in the afternoon sun.  It was a time for getting to know the locals, our tour guide, and our new friends. It was a majestic moment.  A moment I will always remember. I did purchase a few wines. Some started lower than two Euro a bottle – just incredible!

At the end of our time, the farmer put our bikes in the van and drove us back into town.  We were just too relaxed!

Back at Sant Antoni, we dropped back the bikes to the store (which by now was closed for siesta) and then changed to the minivan who dropped us back to the beach promenade area.

Here we had lunch in Guillermo Restaurant on the beach.  The kids played UNO (a Spanish pack Explorason had received for Christmas in Cuba two years ago) and they waited whilst the food was bought out.

The restaurant owner from Guillermo Restaurant laid seafood dish after dish onto the table.

I thought we were going to have our taste buds go into overdrive!  It was incredible.

The adults sat and chatted and ate. This was a great meal. 

When the kids had finished the walked across the promenade to the beach and sat and ate their ice creams and chatted.

They are really going to miss each other when this is over.

We were pretty relaxed after both the wine tasting and the lunch and ran a bit late for our next event – I am NOT surprised!

Arriving at L’Estartit which is a seaside village, we headed to the snorkeling store where they gave us a large net bag and took our sizes for flippers, snorkels and masks, and of course our full body wetsuit.

We headed down the wharf and hopped on the boat.

We needed to get ready for our snorkeling activity where we would be discovering the Meda Island and its fauna – thanks Club Nàutic.

We jumped in and the water was SOOO cold!  I didn’t last long.  However, this is where Explorason surprised me.  He really loved it +++++

In fact, it was decided THIS was his favorite activity of the whole family trip and he can’t wait to try it again.

After about one hour the boat headed back to the wharf.

We hadn’t changed from our swimsuits, and with a bit of embarrassment we arrived at Hotel Panorama and toddled in looking a complete mess. Never in my life have a done this, and I doubt ever again shall I have the chance to check into a nice hotel in my swimsuit!  It was a first and last.  Later we had a real laugh about this and it is another story to tell!

Our room had a lovely balcony that looked out to the sea, and to the island where the snorkeling had just taken place.

It really was a lovely room. Large and with a beautiful bathroom too.

We again were pretty rushed, and quickly changed and heard downstairs.  I used this time to sort through a few clothes I’d brought on the trip that I would leave behind.  Turned out to be a whole bag of clothes.

That evening it was dinner in Càmping Les Medes. We met up with another group from TBEX that were on their trip.

They had two or three more days of their organized trip to go after this, so were a bit more relaxed. They also didn’t have children and as a result, there were fewer activities and more social media time.

They were nice to chat to.  I also sat next to the Càmping Les Mede owner and it was lovely to talk to him.  We, of course, all talked ‘travel’. What a surprise!

It was a really lovely restaurant, and I liked the way they had vegetarian and children’s menu options available too.

Highly recommend Càmping Les Mede as a place to check out. traditional with class.

When we arrived back at the Hotel Panorama I was absolutely exhausted.  There before me was the beautiful sea, and my eyes and body were just too weary.

Tomorrow is the last day of our family trip. I know it was going to be another great day, but so far, this one was my favorite.

I fall asleep in a second.