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.