Just Keep Swimming

This week has been an odd one at work.  We are in the midst of transitioning from the school year to summer and have also just finished an exam period so there are many students who are leaving the academy and many others who are signing up for summer classes.  Yes, you read that right: summer classes.  We do not have summer vacation like most teachers, except for one week in August; which is just as well because it means a steady income year round.  All the changes meant that I swapped my day off to Tuesday this week because there weren't any classes scheduled that day anyway.  So our family day was moved up in the week.

We packed up the car early Tuesday morning and headed for the beach, but just as we were coming over the summit heading down toward the coast, a few big rain drops began to fall from the low-hanging clouds.  Rather than push our luck at the beach, we decided to head west of Málaga to Benalmádena and explore the aquarium they have there.  It was a spur-of-the-moment decision, but in the end, quite a good one.

We parked rather far from the aquarium and walked although since we'd been planning to spend the day on the sand we didn't have our stroller or even the baby carrier.  Emily prefers walking anyway, so that was alright; our pace, however was a bit slower than usual. ;)  It was still overcast when we arrived which made for nice strolling weather, but just as we got to the aquarium it began to pour!  It was perfect timing.  We scooped up Emily and ran for cover.

It was amazing to watch this guy move--so elegant.

It's been ages since I've visited an aquarium.  I cannot remember the last time... Maybe when I was a child and we visited Sea World (does that cout as an aquarium?).  Zoos and animal parks are not my favorite places, but we decided that Emily would probably really like it; after all, she loves our neighbor's big fish tank!  And besides, I want to get into the habbit of visiting these kinds of educational places with her.  In the end we decided to buy year passes because they have events and things for children throughout the year and if we go three times in 12 months we'll have got our money's worth.  We are already planning a trip back with Grandma and Grandpa at the end of July.

It's hard to say if Emily was more interested in the fish or the other child visitors.  She was certainly entertained. Our visit was a bit poorly planned though because we arrived almost right at siesta time.  It was dark inside and there was music.  Between the gentle motion of the sea plants, the beautifully colored fish, the music and the sound of water Emily fell asleep before our visit ended.  Angelines and I also left feeling much more relaxed.  Maybe these year passes will be good de-stressors!

We saw Dory and Nemo...of course, Emmy doesn't know who they are.

The aquarium was very nice.  As I said, I don't really have anything to compare to, but they had a large portion dedicated to the marine life in the Mediterranean, of course, and then also the Amazon.  They have otters and perhaps also more fish, but we didn't get the chance to see them this time.  There were small-ish sharks, sea turtles, octopi, and giant crabs and snails.  There was also a "petting tank".  Emily seemed to like touching the sea cucumber, but I think she liked splashing her hands in the water more than anything else.

It was a long walk back to the car with a sleeping baby in our arms, but it turned out to be a great family outing and I'm looking forward to more visits to the aquarium.