I decided to play hooky today and return to Sella for some climbing. I went with three Erasmus students and one Spaniard. For those of you not familiar, Erasmus is the European study abroad program. This group has been in Alicante since September and are beginning to disband and return back to their respective universities. Not only are they all fabulous people, but they speak Spanish slowly, clearly, and without a heavy accent (usually). So seeing as this was possibly the last opportunity to converse and go climbing with them, school could do without me for one day.
The day started out cold, windy, and cloudy; the weather forecast called for 40km/hr winds all day. Not ideal climbing weather. I would say I felt as though my fingers were going to freeze off, but I couldn't feel my fingers - so I guess that doesn't really work. However, over the course of what couldn't have been over an hour the skies were wiped clean of clouds, the wind subsided, and the temperature jumped. We couldn't have asked for better climbing weather! I worked a couple climbs, including one that easily was the scariest sport route I've done in a long time; the bolts were terribly spaced and during the crux moves. What's more, apparently whoever bolted it thought that the end was easy enough to not bolt the last 20ft to the anchors. Sketch.
February 14th, 2013
Happy Valentine's Day! Unfortunately, Spain killed my tradition of painting pottery on this day. But compared to all of the wonderful things Spain provides me every other day, I'm willing to let it slide.
Yesterday I tried my hand at ultimate frisbee on the beach. After creeping for about 10 minutes with Julie, another girl from my program, we were beckoned to join in. We ran through a couple of drills and afterwards played some matches. I knew I wasn't great at frisbee, but comparatively speaking to the other players...ouch. We played for three hours. We ran for three hours. In the sand. I can't wait for next week already :)
Afterwards, I met up with some friends from another program to attend what was described to me as a "Funeral for Sardines". It is supposed to signify the end of Carnaval, as well as be a political holiday of sorts. People wearing the same costumes as the festival last Thursday came out with a giant paper sardine covered in profanity and the faces of political leaders. This was followed by a guy with a megaphone getting the crowd all riled up to parade down the streets chanting about Spanish political complaints. I didn't understand most of what was being said, but I hardly understand the political issues of my own country, so I just rolled with it. They were giving out free cookies, so how could I say no?
Valentine's Day isn't nearly as blown-up here as it is in the states. Yes, there is chocolate, and yes, it is recognized. But I didn't walk around and feel like I was drowning in a sea of red hearts and "forget-me-nots". Nor did I see Easter take over the next day. It is kind of nice to enjoy a holiday for the holiday, not the sales. Plus, I received a nice little Valentine's day surprise of my i-Pod, filled with music, from the US ^_^ My bus rides are now that much more exciting.
February 18th, 2012
Calpe. Penon d'Ifach.
Saturday, I organized a a group to travel north to Calpe to hike the breathtaking Penon d'Ifach. I figured since I am not experienced enough to do the multipitch or trad climbing offered by said mountain, hiking to the top would be the next best option.
I was not let down. After a two hour tram ride and one hour "Okay, how do we get to the mountain from here" walk from the station, we began. The difficulty of the hike changed drastically as you continued upward; from paved winding switchbacks to slick boulder scrambles perched on steep cliff sides. My attire followed suit as I went from being bundled in three layers to just a sports bra and shorts. I even got to enjoy a beer at the summit :D Despite cloud-cover in the morning, it turned out to be a wonderful day of sun, exercise, and laughs. And some VERY good seafood for those of us who stayed around the port for a while afterwards.
However, I did not leave the mountain unscathed. When I arrived home that night, my ankle decided that it was actually in quite a bit of pain. Ignoring this, I went out today to climb with some people from the rocodromo at Lliber. Probably the the most unproductive climbing day ever. I slept on a rock for the first half, too exhausted to even move from Saturday. The second half, well, my ankle would not have any of it.
I guess that is what I get for doing a four hour hike in Converse.
We already have some tentative plans for more adventuring around Costa Blanca next weekend. Stay tuned!
Pictures:
Sella is beautiful
Don't know the dude, but he's like 60 years old and climbing, so that's pretty cool
The Profanity Sardine
Making our way to the top
The hiking group
Kitties on top of the mountain
The panoramic on top of Penon d'Ifach
Low hanging branches on the trail
Celebratory beer at the top
Penon d'Ifach from the port
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