A strong breeze blew across their ever changing peaks. It barely cut into the intensity of the desert-like heat, but had grains of sand dancing a merry dance.
Every step was one further from civilisation; and that made every peak we topped a mini victory.
For Jessica, aged five, the journey ahead must have appeared monumental.
Not concerned with the beauty which surrounded her, nor the evident power of mother nature at her rawest, she instead focused on the oasis in the distance – in the shape of a lolly shop.
Our journey may have been Lawrence of Arabia-esque to the tiny legs of the three children in our midst, but for the adults, it was a different story.
The Maspalomas sand dunes on the south coast of Gran Canaria cover a huge expanse of the island and are a national park in their own right. They cut impressive figure, set back from the Maspalomas beach.
Our afternoon walk was peppered with outbursts of laughter from the youngsters; anyone who ventures into the depths of the sand dunes cannot escape the area’s naturists who think nothing of taking a naked stroll or secreting themselves into a hidden dip in the sand cover to get all over tan.
For Sam, aged nine, it was an eye-popping experience. So deep were his belly laughs at what he spotted, they were at times infectious.
Even the low growl of my best “dad’s warning voice” cracked, doing little to cut through the laughter. So we picked up the pace, with the eastern extreme of the dunes in our sites.
Our holiday to Gran Canaria, the so-called island of eternal spring, had to that point been relaxing – in relative terms, at least, since we had set off from .
With our car secure and the calm of the airport’s memories of yesterday, we had checked into the newly-refurbished Club Hotel Riu Gran Canaria in Meloneras having made the short trip from the island’s east coast airport.
Our suite at the Riu was in an unrivaled location. Just the promenade separated us from the deep blue waters of the north Atlantic Ocean. The view was unbroken and made for a stunning backdrop to our spacious balcony.
There’s something ever so exciting about the first few days at a holiday hotel. That initial desire to explore every corner is invigorating; it took a few days to work our way through the many bars, restaurants and pools before finally declaring ourselves resort experts.
The complex was able to strike a balance between being child and family friendly, while catering for couples and older adults too.
Certain areas were for grown-ups only, and that worked fine, with a huge children’s pool and three further main pools at families’ disposal.
We spent our mornings having lazy late breakfasts at the Atlantico, a modern, glass walled restaurant overlooking the sea. By nights it was transformed into a restaurant which could give any high-class eaterie a run for its money.
The was all inclusive – a real weight off the mind when it came to mealtimes and endless requests for drinks from the children, half of which they knocked over.
It meant there were no boundaries, other than a real fear of not fitting into our clothes, once back at home and hit square in the face by reality.
There were five bars at the hotel; a cocktail bar, one in the main lounge are, a pool bar, a night club and our favourite; the chilled-out Purple Bar which had stunning views out to sea.
There were an equal number of restaurants too; some speciality serving Asian and Canarian food, others serving a variety of dishes.
Gran Canaria is the third largest island of the Canaries, and boasts approximately 147 miles of coast with sandy beaches, predominantly concentrated in the south east.
We had found our heaven – and it seemed during our stay that the Western Sahara, which lies just 130 miles east, was playing its part. Temperatures rarely dipped below 25C.
Average rainfall for the island during the summer months of June to August is zero.
When on family holidays, we have always been careful not to foist the kids club upon our children in the quest for a little peace, instead believing precious time away should be spent together.
But this year there was a genuine desire on the part of our youngsters to enjoy a little independence and join in with some of the activities.
The club and its team were amazing, and, far from the children feeling they had been abandoned, they barely had time to bid us farewell as festivities began.
In some ways it was hard to see beyond the grounds of our hotel, so immersive was the experience, but we did explore past its boundaries.
Meloneras and Maspalomas were worthy of visits, both serving tourists well with a mix of restaurants, bars, shops and, if you fancy a flutter, casinos.
It was in the capital city though, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, where the true spirit of the island resonated. It had history – lots of it, after being founded on June 24, 1478, under the name “Real de Las Palmas”, by Juan Rejón, head of the invading Castilian army.
Old met new in the most stunning of settings.
Areas of the city centre are included in the tentative List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the historical centre, known as Vegueta, which was peppered with impressive colonial buildings which lined its narrow streets.
So too was there an injection of modern architecture in this most eclectic of capital cities – also home to a number of stunning beaches.
There is a reason why Gran Canaria is a firm favourite among tourists – it has it all. Sun in abundance, beaches as far as the eye can see. Culture. History. People with a desire to make visitors feel welcome.
Rarely does a place register on our list of places to revisit, on the basis there is so much of the world to explore.
But we may well step on Gran Canarian soil in the not too distant future. For the island served us well.
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