Saturday 7 January 2012
Some of Dian’s Simpsons memorabilia was offered to Alan and he proudly wore a “cast pass” around his neck for the rest of the day, as well as treasuring a “how to draw Bart” sheet. Frances received a hand-painted mermaid and merman purse courtesy of Dian, which she seemed to like.
The hiking day with Frances and her family had arrived and we were up for our first real trek in the mountains with an experienced guide. After getting up at 9 AM we met Frances, her son Scott, his wife Carmen and their nine-year-old son Alan at the gas station near the highway. We had an hour and a half drive to Montanejos following them in our van and arriving around noon at our hike entry point. We had a quick cortado at the local bar then began our ascent of the steep gorge. The sheer cliffs are famous worldwide for excellent rock climbing (Top 10) but we didn’t see anyone rappelling down the sides. The pace was set by Alan and we all kept up pretty well although on the descent Frances enlisted Nicole and Alan to go at a quicker pace (“break-neck speed,” as Nicole put it) so the three of them could fetch food from the car so the others would not have to walk so far after working up a big appetite.
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| Left to right: Nicole, Frances, Alan, Charles, Carmen, Scott |
The three and a half hour hike was fulfilling and we opted to have our picnic rather than get in the thermal springs which were, by 4 in the afternoon, too cold in the shade.
The food we shared tasted OH SO DELICIOUS and Scott treated us to a beer to go along with Frances’ ensalada. We had gourmet potato chips, hard boiled eggs, pepperoni and cheese sandwiches, tomatoes and chocolate. We caught the last rays of the sun and even though Carmen and Alan spoke very little English, we all communicated easily.
Some of Dian’s Simpsons memorabilia was offered to Alan and he proudly wore a “cast pass” around his neck for the rest of the day, as well as treasuring a “how to draw Bart” sheet. Frances received a hand-painted mermaid and merman purse courtesy of Dian, which she seemed to like.
Having been invited to Marta’s country home for tea, we drove the 20 minutes to her cool “Gaudi-style" home where she was working on mirror tiles for her living room wall. With a fire in the wood burning stove and a “brau brit moonlit nich tonich”outside, we cozily drank our tea and told stories of anarchy and aliens.
Ajfan arrive from her place down the lane (her country home, not to be confused with the beach house we were staying at), and after she contributed some chocolate chip cookies and relaxed with a cup of tea, we gave her the original canvas painting Dian had done of her, Emparo and Claire. She seemed pleased.
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| Moldy sign-in book |
Upon our return, Charles generously gave Dian and Nicole foot and body massages to soothe their aching bodies.
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