Haunting pics of abandoned water park show how forgotten paradise has dried up and fallen into disre
THESE haunting images have captured a Gran Canaria water park described as a "forgotten paradise" before it is demolished.
The sprawling Altantida Water Park has fallen into a state of major disrepair since it closed seven years ago.
Graffiti has devastated the appearance of the site, which is covered in spectacular Amazon-themed decor.
The massive park next to Puerto Rico Beach is now set to be transformed into a £22 million shopping centre.
Photographer Bob Thissen, 31, from the Netherlands, slid past demolition equipment to capture the eerie establishment's final days.
He said: "The water park is pretty cool because it's not an ordinary water park, as I have seen often before.
"It's pretty large and it has a nice theme, you can see they spent quite a lot of money on the decorations - "I especially liked the skeletons and cobra-head a lot.
"Sometimes a location's surroundings make it a lot cooler, to me this water park is a bit like a forgotten paradise.
"I like the tropical backdrop of the park, the palm trees and rocky mountains.
"Wherever I go I always search for some abandoned places to explore and try to combine this.
"It turned out I was just in time, demolition had already begun and some demolition equipment was already stalled at the entrance."
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Bob has been urban exploring, also known as 'urbexing', for more than nine years and captured this location last year.
He added: "Although I felt safe walking around the water park, almost the whole village could see me.
"I could see a few people calling on their balcony and didn't want to spend hours in a police station.
"You never know how the police reacts to trespassers in foreign countries.
"So I made my way through the park, took my shots and left again."
To see more of his work visit www.bobthissen.com.
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