Top fall destinations by Phillip

Gurkha, Reservoir Wall, Indian Creek

Besides driving around a bunch for work, this past month has seen two rock trips to Indian Creek, Utah and a trip to Yosemite Valley. Indian Creek is in southwestern Utah near Moab and is internationally renowned for crack climbing on red sandstone. The climbing is so good that you end up forgetting the 12 hour drives and dreaming of going back be it only for a weekend. Yosemite stands without introduction. I recommend watching the documentary Vertical Frontier if you are interested in the climbing history in this national park. Our Yosemite trip was spent trying to climb offwidth (awkward size) cracks and working on the Rostrum, a hard 800 foot route on the west end of the valley.

King Cat, Cat Wall, Indian Creek


Indian Creek overview

"It´s Grape Pickin´ Season. . . and guess what else" by Amy

Yes, we are coming to the ends of the vendimia or grape harvest here in Valdepeñas and all throughout the day there are tractors pulling trailers full of grapes to the many different wine cellars throughout the town. Andrea, the girl I nanny/teach english to, loves seeing the tractors when we go to the park. She says in english, "A tractor! grapes! mmmhhm" and then acts like she´s eating grapes. :) She´s starting to say a lot more phrases in english although she still isn´t close to talking fully yet.


In other news the deer are breeding. Yes, that´s right. In Spanish it´s called La Berrea. ´Berrear´ means to bellow and that it what the bucks do to call their mates. It is quite an impressive noise they make, especially when you can hear 5 or 6 calling one after the other. Gabriel and I had the opportunity to hear this when we were rockclimbing last Sat. in La Cimbarra. The next day we decided to drive on the back roads through an area in the country to see if we could see any animals. I guess it is somewhat ´popular´to do this during this time since you have a high chance of seeing deer. We saw lots of deer but unfortunately didn´t see any other animals such as the ´muflón´(a type of big-horned sheep). Muflón. It´s my new favorite word to say in Spanish:)

We saw much larger groups than these two but the others were too far away to be picture worthyLike the rock-climbers we are, whenever rock walls are seen from the car, it is a must to get out and hike over to check them out.

The azafran of Castilla la Mancha.

Alcornoque: cork oak. This one has already been de-barked to make corks for wine bottles.

So, it´s official: I have successively survived my first week of giving english classes. I have 78, or there about, students every week. Now some of those come once a week, some twice a week, and some five times a week. I have 6 adults: 1 a complete beginner, 3 very low intermediate (or high beginner), and 2 advanced level. One of these students is actually my medical doctor. Another is Nuria, my co-worker who tutors in all the other subjects except english. My average size class is about 6 students I´d say. My largest class is 12 and all of them are 3 years old! Thankfully that´s only a once a weeker. I do have a lot of students from the ages of 3-6. This year I have a lot more high school students who I enjoy helping. Now that I have one year under my belt I have lots of resources and it makes it easier to teach. The hardest parts this year will be more focused with coming up with material for 3 year olds, how to change some of my teaching methods/games for large classes, and how to deal with classes that are diverse in age (like the one I have with two 3 yr olds and three high schoolers). So far I feel pretty excited and energetic about all this (although when I get done at 9 or 10 I´m usually exhausted) so hopefully I can continue with that throughout the year.

This weekend is a puente: a long weekend. Monday is a holiday. I´ll most likely take the opportunity to go climbing and spend some more time than usual with Gabriel. Hope you all are doing well! Lots of love and kisses, Amy

The daily grind by Phil

Well, vacation is over, for now. I am still on the look out for accounting jobs, but I have been hired full time (despite being as noncommittal as possible) at Walter's Wholesale Electrical through the temp agency. I'm driving a 1 ton 12 foot stake bed delivery truck all over the county for them. It's down just into Vista and I start at 6am, which is good because I'm out by 3. I'm thankful to have a job even if it is something I don't plan on doing long term.

Friday night I went climbing at Woodson and ended up locking my keys in the trunk when I changed into shorts (I was tired). I ended up getting a ride home and leaving the car there until Saturday afternoon when I went climbing again. As we pulled up Saturday I saw a pile of glass next to the passenger side and I new I had been broken into. They stole the owner's manual binder which had my registration and insurance, took most of the loose change, stole my copy of Moby Dick (which I've been reading for a couple of years now), and popped the trunk and took my pants (with the key in the pocket), my climbing backpack with my camera and some of my less expensive climbing gear (fortunately the cams were at home). Just a bad series of events.

I'm taking Friday and Monday off work for the much anticipated climbing trip to Indian Creek, Utah. Trip update later.

A Trip to the other side of the Pond. . . by Amy

The first two weeks of September I was able to visit family and friends in the U.S. It was a short trip but definitely filled to the brim. Gabriel was able to come with me and experienced much since it was his first time in airplane, his first time to the U.S., his first time meeting my family. . . but he enjoyed it all and was able to see a lot of the country thanks to the roadtrip from Chicago to Escondido with my parents and Phil.

The first few days of our trip were spent in Chicago hanging out with Annette and seeing some of the sites. Unfortunately we only had two days in the area and I wasn´t able to see many of my friends in the area. The highlights were seeing baby Graham, staying in a hotel downtown with Annette, and taking the sunset boat tour of Chicago.

Then we hit the road in the camper! My parents and Phil had driven out for Josh and Caroline´s wedding so Gabriel and I took the opportunity to hitch a ride with them, spend more time with them, and see some of the country. Well, we stopped in Oskaloosa and got a tour of a farm there from Dad´s friend, visited the extended family in Denver and were able to climb also, stayed over with Andy and Kiara in Phoenix with a hike up Camelback Mt. and pancakes that are thrown at you in the morning, and then a climb up Suicide Rock in Idyllwild before arriving home 6 days after leaving Chitown.

Gabriel at the Black Canyon of the Gunnisen, Colorado

At the Grand Canyon

At home, the activities were packed in too. Monday was holiday and so all the fam plus some family friends came up for a BBQ. I was able to meet my new niece, Megan, what a cutie! Gabriel was a little over whelmed by the amount of people and his lack of English. . . thanks to Aunt Mary for chatting it up with him:) Andy and Kiara and kids came out for four days which was great cause we got spend more time together. We got together with Heather and kids to visit Balboa park, had a picnic there, Gabriel and I saw the expo of Body Works. We all went to the beach another day and enjoyed the nice temp of the water and then went for a great dinner at Jack and Cheryls beautiful house. Gabriel and I and Mom also went to the Wild Animal Park which is a must for any visitors to my house:) Dad took Gabriel on a tour of different constuction material stores since Gabriel works in one and was interested in the differences between the U.S. and Spain.

Watch out for the gorillas at the zoo, they might eat your finger!

What a lot of nieces and nephews, and Erin and Megan are missing!

That was our trip, before we knew it our time to leave had came and after a very looong day of traveling we were back in Valdepeñas. I will be starting my fulltime work this Thursday with a pretty full schedule of kids and also some adult classes. I´m excited to start and look forward to the new experiences and challenges that await me this year. I am going to try to be better at updates so if you don´t hear from me in a while don´t be afraid to give me a nudge.. . Also, I have set this up so that friends and family will receive an email when I make an entry. If you are reading this and did NOT receive email notice and would like to, contact me and give me your email address!

Lots of love to everyone I saw and didn´t get to see on my visit home!! Miss you guys,

Amy

Phil's return to the ranch

Walking the dogs (strays)

The Wild Side (Sella)

World travels have come to an end, for now. Funds are lacking, it's time to find a J. O. B.

Before heading for home I spent some time with Carlitos and Diana in Alicante. We deepwater soloed (no ropes) in the Mediteranean ocean, climbing from an inflatable boat over clear blue water. The best was climbing stalagtites in a sea cave, the downside was climbing with wet hands, humidity, and fear of jumping/falling into the water. We also checked out some other (drier) climbing spots, the highlight was climbing the Wild Side at Sella. Then it was back to Madrid to pack the bags and head for the States.

I spent some time first in Chicago for Nick and Melanie's wedding. I then came home for about a week before my parents and I loaded up the camper to drive back to Chicago for Josh and Carolyn's wedding. We made several stops on the way to visit people: Andy and Kiara in Phoenix, the Scholtens in El Paso, Mr. Bush in Missouri. We stayed one night at the Hueco Rock Ranch where I got my first taste of Hueco tanks, an international climbing destination known for bouldering (the V bouldering grade was developed here).

I spent a week in Chicago before the wedding, it was a good time hanging out with Josh and Carolyn before the wedding. I also went up to Michigan one day to taste some of Michigan's finest brew right from the source. Amy and Gabriel flew into Chicago and the long road called us west. We enjoyed the fields of corn and soybeans stopping in Oskaloosa, Iowa to see Dad's old aquaintances. Then we stopped in Longmont and Denver visiting relatives and quickly checking out El Dorado canyon (I must return to climb) and climbing a little in Boulder Canyon.

On the way to Phoenix to pick up my car we stopped at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison (no time for climbing) and the Grand Canyon (no time for hiking). Other highlights were lunch at the park in Gunnison with chainsaw carvings, pitching tent at a gas station in Indian country, and the scenic drive through eastern Colorado.

Before arriving home Amy, Gabriel and I stopped in Idylwild to climb Suicide Rock. Andy and Kiara and family showed up the next week and we had a busy week together with the nephews and neices taking full advantage of playtime with their cousins. Another highlight for me was taking Gabriel up to Tahquitz (where the Yosemite Decimal System rating system was developed) and doing El Whampo, a five pitch trad climb, we did it in true Spanish style, coffee at the cafe before and after.

Amy´s Summer

-The reservior in Montenejos-

Now that there is one month left of summer, time for an update :) My work schedule changes a bit for our summer school program. We work in the mornings from 9-2 offering classes of math, spanish, english, art and crafts, and free time to play in our play area. I have three classes of english: 2-5 yr olds, 6-8 yr olds, and 9-13 yr olds. Oh, I also have two days a week were I meet early with a 16yr old. I also give the craft class to the 6-8 year olds which i enjoy a lot. Sometimes I run out of cool ideas but really the crafts don´t have to be anything spectacular for the kids at this age to enjoy as I found out with making a comecocos out of paper (it´s basically is a paper oragami bird´s mouth) We had to repeat it the next day cause the kids wanted to do it again! I also work three hours in the afternoon having some tutoring classes but it´s not much work. Needless to say I am really enjoying the summer. The kids are fun and it´s a great atmosphere to work in.

-Gabriel and Manu contemplating the scenary from Moral, all the green are vineyards-

-cool sunset in Moral-

-Peñarroya is a spot where we go climbing, it is next to this reservoir-

-Sunflowers!!! close to Peñarroya-

Other things I´ve been up to. . . . I started running three times a week with Gabriel. Not the highlight of my days usually but it´s good and keeps me in shape. i´ve been gaining strength climbing after a spring of not climbing to hard. Haven´t been going to far away from home on the weekends so that we can go to church on Sunday. Gabriel and i have been frequenting Moral (20km away) and Peñarroya (50km away). This past weekend we had the summer fair here in Valdpeñas which meant that we had Monday off of work. Friday night I enjoyed baked potatoes with everything on it and a high flying fair ride. Then on Saturday morning a group of us ventured off to Montenejos which is close to Castellon (above Valencia) to go climbing for the weekend. We got stuck in a two hour traffic jam entering into Valencia which made for a long trip there (normally is a 5 hour trip) Montenejos is mountainous and has a big river which is full of people on the weekends. there is a reservoir and lots of great climbing. I saw a 9a route! We stuck to the 6bs though :)

-Montenejos-

-Gabriel, Alfonso, and Fofo by the reservior in Montenejos-

-Maria-


-Ana-

I hope you all are enjoying the summer, staying cool:) It´s been hot here lately. I find myself enjoying taking long afternoon naps to escape from the heat of the day:) I am looking forward to visiting in just three weeks!!! woohooo! take care and until then, lots of love, AMY

Phil´s trip to the Pyrenees

Hey all, I have 9 days left in Spain! I went up to Panticosa last week and met up with Carlitos and Diana for a music festival. We went to the first night of Pirineo Sur which was a concert with 17 Hippies and another group. We did some light climbing around there and bouldered in the Midi Valley in France, then we headed to Tourmoulet to see the Tour de France. We camped out on the pass with a bunch of other people. A bunch of waiting around until finally the sponsor cars pass throwing out freebies and then finally the helicopters come into sight flying over the bikers and we could see them come up the hill and finally pass by us.

Next we hung out near Bielsa, back on the Spanish side. There are some good sport climbing spots there and we were joined by Hosmar and made climbing friends with Pau and Victor. We ended up working our way back over to Panticosa for another day of festival (this time the Wailers and Jasta) passing by the Valley of Ordesa. In the town of the festival (Sallent de Gallego) I had posted my car for sale on an announcement board. I showed it to a Romanian guy who lives near there and the next day he bought it. He lives in an abandoned town where to repopulate the town they have given land/ruins to a number of people to build houses and it is a quaint little town with stone houses with slate roofs.

I took the bus down from Sabiñanigo, sending half by luggage to Madrid with Carlitos and Diana. I climbed in Rodellar a couple of days and passed through Alcañiz for a final goodbye, now I´m in Teruel heading for Cuenca? Alicante? Valdepeñas?...

Phil´s journeys, June and into July

Ok, June flew by. I was hangin around Alcañiz, then I got bored one weekend and went down to Vinaroz and met up with Ruben and Dina, some church/climbing friends. After spending Sunday with them, I headed over to Montanejos, a mythical climbing spot in Spain to check it out. Being alone, mid-week I didn´t climb much, the last day I got in a couple climbs with some climbers I know from Zaragoza who happened to stop by on their way back from a job.

Next was the big, much anticipated trip to France. Maky and I drove up to Gap, France to climb at Ceuse. It was a 9 hour drive, we stayed for ten days, in the dirt parking lot at Ceuse. The climbing spot is that good. It´s a nice parking area though, trees and a cold fountain and a friendly fox. She likes to drop in without warning and she got our loaf of bread one night when Maky turned his back... The climbing spot is known as one of the best sport climbing locations in the world with one of the worst approaches. You have an hour hike up the mountain each day to climb the cliffs at the top. Also the spot is very well bolted (protected), but as you get higher the protection tends to get rather spread out making huge falls almost inevitable, lots of fun!

Back in Spain I had a day to do wash and it was over to Barcelona to meet Rachel at the airport. Rachel had selected Barcelona and Rome for her first trip to Europe and I agreed to tag along. I enjoyed exploring Barcelona more in depth, we were especially impressed with the Sagrada Familia. Also on the list of highlights, were the Palau de musica Catalana, Parc Guell, menu del dias, cafe con leche, and the beach. In the middle of the Barcelona trip, we side-tripped to Montserrat, the serrated mountain which is another mythical climbing spot in Spain and also has a famous monestary. Cataluña´s most holy mountain is what it is...

Leaving Barcelona after 5 nights, we missed our flight to Rome by less than five minutes (you must get there at least 40 minuted before takeoff) so the flight to Rome ended up being later than expected and a bit more expensive... But we had a cheap hostel to make up for it. Rome was noticeably older and dirtier than Barcelona (at least our neighborhood), but the sights were also older and just as impressive. The first day we saw the Trevi fountain, the Spanish steps and enjoyed Italian coffee. The next day it was the vatican: St. Peters and the museums (which include the Sistine Chapel). The following day the Colloseum, the Domitilla catacombs, Palatino hill, getting soaked in a Thunderstorm and the Roman Forum. The last day was little more relaxing exploring some other neighborhoods in Rome and cooking an amazing pasta in the hostel.

Now I´m back in Alcañiz, trying to get rid of my van, and live cheap... I´m heading up to the Pyrenees looking for cooler weather, climbing and someone to buy my van. Sorry but I don´t think this post is going to include pictures.

Weekend Warrior- by Amy

Following off of what Phil wrote, a few weekends ago Gabriel and I went to visit Phil in Alcañiz. We had a great time and Phil was a wonderful tour guide. We visited the main plaza where the main church is and had coffee. . . Then we explored underground in some passageways that they used to use for ice-making among other things. . . Here is Phil, Evan, and Gabriel with the church in the background. It was a hot day.

The first night we went to a hill across from the town where there are a bunch of boulder problems. We enjoyed the view of Alcañiz at night.We also went to this wonderful natural park about 45 min. away. This picture is where we are headed to to do some rockclimbing and hiking. Phil is leading the way in his furgoneta (van) Beautiful place to climb, swim, hike, and enjoy the outdoors. . .

Gabriel and I are hanging out, literally, 100 or so meters up a rock wall

Phil, the hardcore rock climber ;)

LAST WEEKEND: Cahorros, Granada

This last weekend Gabriel and I went to the city of Granada to visit our friend Angel who is currently living there. The first night we enjoyed some excellent tapas, which Granada is know for and the next day we went to one of the oldest climbing places in Spain, Cahorros. It was another absolutely beautiful place, not only for climbing but also for the views and for hiking. There was a nice river that ran through this canyon and several suspension bridges to cross. This one was the longest. That´s Gabriel and Angel in the middle and Curo and Juaquin on the other side. . .

We followed this path that is built right along the river and right against the rock wall. Very cool. You can follow it all the way to the top of the Sierras if you want.

We climbed the whole day and were exhausted by the end. Here´s a group pic of us right before we belayed down from where we had been climbing all day to the trail below by the river. Angel is living there until July so we´ll have to go back, it was a lot of fun!

People come visit me!

The past weekend Amy and Gabriel came to visit me in Alcañiz. They also picked up Evan in Madrid, a friend from the Chicago area, who had been spending some time in Spain. They arrived Saturday night and after grabbing some dinner we went to camp out by the resevoir. Sunday morning we went to one of the churches here in Alcañiz. After church I showed my guests the undergound passages/old freezer under the central plaza and the castle. That afternoon we headed to los puertos de Beceite which is the mountain range before you get to the Mediteranean coast. We climbed a 4 pitch route while Evan swam in the river below. Amy and Gabriel were quite impressed with this natural park I have 40 minutes from Alcañiz. We got Evan on the rope after our multipitch climb for a little introduction to the sport. Then we headed to the free camping area in the same area. Evan cooked up a delicious risotto utilizing some wild herbs he found while wandering around with the mountain goats while we were high up on the wall climbing.

Monday morning we did a little hiking, being very unimpressed with Picasso´s cave, we headed up a stream which turned out to be a very beautiful little canyon with some technical rock hopping and manuvuering. Back at the cars we headed back to Alcañiz and bought some pork sandwiches for lunch and the visitors headed home. A good little visit.

It´s been a while. . .

So here are some photos from the past month or so. I went on a long weekend a little over a month ago to La Sierra de Segura. Gabriel and I went as the transfer drivers for Antonio and his mountain biking clients. We would drop them off at a point and then go pick them up somewhere else. In the meantime we went hike. . . first hike was to this big cave that we had tried going to on a previous trip but got lost.

This is from inside, it´s more like a cave/dome.

I am standing on deer poop. It is obviously the home to large amounts of animals since the floors are covered with droppings and it smells pretty bad too :)

Then the next day we saw the where a river begins. Pretty, deep, and so clear. . .

Here we are dropping the group off on the last day and the high parts of the Sierra

This is the group: two clients, Gabriel, a client, Gallardo, and Antonio. Just about to head off for a 6 hour bike ride , leaving Gabriel and I to pick them at on the outskirts of the mountain range we were in.

We didn´t know what we were in for. . . this is a picture of Gabriel when we crossed over from the Sierra de Segura mountian range to the Cazorla mountain range. It ended up taking us 7 hours to get to where we were supposed to pick them up. I think we drove on all the tiny, winding dirt roads that went up one mountain then down again, up then down, up. . . . you get the point:) Very beautiful though.

ABOUT A MONTH AGO. . .

Phil came to visit. It was rainy on Saturday so a bunch of us decided to go to Cueva Negra since we couldn´t climb. We watched this storm move in.

Here´s the cave. And what can you do in a cave?

Climb! of course! :) Here´s Blas doing a little bouldering action.

The next day was sunny so Gabriel, Phil, and I went to Puertollano (45min away) to do some routes. We had a good time and it was fun seeing Phil.

And finally, a cute little duckling that got seperated from his mommy close to where we went climbing this past weekend.

This coming weekend I have Monday off since it is a holiday in Castilla la Mancha. Gabriel and I are planning to drive up to see Phil on Saturday and stay until Monday. Should be fun. . . so stay tuned next week for some more pics from the north of Spain! Love ya all, take care

Amy

P.S. If you want to see some pics of me climbing and where I workout check out http://www.tytoalba.org/ You can brush up on your Spanish too if you want ;)