Beachin'

A busy day of tent chillin', sand castle buildin', moat diggin', boat rowin' and stone throwin' we packed the kids off to bed to spend the night round the fire wine drinkin' and chocolate munchin'.

Just as we got settled right into it, we were visited by 3 Spanish people who asked if they could join us. We couldn't see them properly as it was dark and we had absolutely no idea if they could speak any English, never mind what they might actually be like as people, but we couldn't actually bring ourselves to say no. I mean who says 'no you can't sit round our fire?'Not us anyway.

I'm so glad we did. They were hilarious and we felt like we'd known them for ages. They'd only come down to the beach for a couple of beers and a look at the view before heading back to the youth hostel for the night and then they met us and got steaming in the dark and had to run like hell at 1.30am for fear they weren't going to get back in! Sounds about right.

As they were leaving we tried to scrabble about drunkenly for a pen and paper so we could swap, well - what? Names for Facebook? Email addresses? Whatever it was, we all kind of came to the same conclusion that it wasn't really necessary.

I think we all thought it at the same time and had an extra round of farewell kisses and hugs as Miriam shrugged and said 'sometimes, this is just life!' And you know, what? That is exactly what it is. You meet great people in great circumstances and they change your life for a moment before they wander back along the sand, getting further and further out of the light of your fire.

And forever more they will always be the funny Spanish people whose faces we never quite saw but who's voices and laughter will always be clear as bells.