He explained that he had hit a lot of traffic and was running a little late. We gathered our things and he led us to a bus that he had rented specially for us. Juan informed us that the visit to the Air Force base had been cancelled because of certain issues but other things would be interjected into the schedule to make up for the missed visit. As we rode to the south of the island, he explained to us many different things about the various parts of the islands and talked to us about his travels throughout the district as the governor. Around 10 am, we pulled up to a coffee shop where we got out and had our second café of the morning. We met Jose Carlos, the President of RC Maspalomas, and Pablo, an older gentleman who is a Rotarian and a really good artist. 
They joined us in the bus and we went on our way to an area further south. When we had driven a little while longer, we found ourselves parked at a security gate where Juan Jesus explained who we were and we were immediately granted access. As we drove in, we learned that this was a former NASA facility that has been turned into an research institutes that monitors satellites for the government and private companies. INTA is located on a site that is at the same latitude as Cape Canaveral in Florida and was placed here to monitor space activity throughout the years. 
Not to long ago, NASA downsized and this facility was closed and reopened by the Spanish government and uses some of the highest quality satellite tracking devices in the world. Not only does this place monitor air quality, vegetation growth, space activity, and storm movement from outer space, it offers a service that monitors gps tracking devices to rescue people lost at sea or lost in various parts of the world. 
We got the royal treatment including a private tour of all the major equipment rooms and satellite stations. After we were all amazed at the access granted, we loaded back onto the bus and headed back to Maspalomas. Jose Carlos and Pablo directed the bus driver to take us back to some conference center where their meeting would be held. Around 2:30, lunch began and we gave a wonderful presentation to a group of about fifteen Rotarians. After several questions from the group, they decided that they wanted to take us around the area and show off their towns. We split up into two cars and were driven to Playa del Ingles. As we walked up to the beach, we were all amazed. This was unlike any other beach that any of us had ever seen. There were dunes that stretched into the distance and finally met the sea. 
People leaving the beach were walking along the tops of the dunes. The beach reminded us all of the pictures that we have seen of the Sahara and each of us could not believe our eyes. 
After a few pictures, I decided to take off my shoes and go walk out on the dunes. I became king of the hill (because no one else wanted to scale the dune like me) and enjoyed having my feet in the ultra fine sand. Next the Rotarians took us to a boardwalk type place a few kilometers down the road to have ice cream and enjoy the sunshine. We then loaded the bus and drove around the coastline and stopped at various miradors to see the beautiful views as the road went up and down the mountains and in and out of the valleys. The scenery was gorgeous.
We all enjoyed the relaxing time as we had been up very early this morning but as we continued to tour around the south, we realized that we were supposed to be back towards the north of the island at 8:30 for dinner at the RC of Telde…the problem was that it was closing in on 8:15 and Telde was a good 30 minute drive away and the Rotarians didn’t seem to be turning us around to head that way. Finally, we brought the facts to the attention of Jose Carlos and he made a few phone calls and told the Telde group that we would be late.
Around 9:30, we made it to Telde for dinner. We each sat around the table and talked about the experiences that we have had so far including our time on this island. We were served a light dinner and then performed for a group of 20 Rotarians.
Afterwards, we answered questions and then went our separate ways with our host family for the night. One week from today, each of us will be back at work…
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