Embraced by Spanish cousins, tall mountains, narrow roads and more...

PALM SUNDAY:  After Lyn and I tried to keep up with Pesky, Scally and Scamp as we walked across dry river beds early this morning, I prepared for my adventure into the mountains to gaze at the gigantic limestone gorge called El Chorro, 50 km inland from Malaga.  My cousins, Angela RF and her husband, Jose Maria FN, with their son, Ivan, arrived in their coche (car) at 10:30 a.m. And I was layered in clothes, had my walking shoes on and very ready for a day in those mountains.

It is hard to describe the instant camaraderie I felt as we attempted to converse in Spanish.   It was overwhelming to me that these young people were willing to give me a tour of their Spain, share their Sunday with me and eagerly welcome me into their world.  The roads began to blend together into one and I was completely lost (that's nothing new during this trip, I know that) as we left Los Nuñez and headed inland.  Once Jose left the main highway, the roads changed to a little more than one-car-width tracks as he wound his way around hairpin curves, one-car bridges and dodged cars like a pro.
I named Jose -  Señor Valiente (Mr. Brave).

We passed miles of límon (lemon) and naranja (orange) trees.  When we went over a narrow bridge just before Pizarra, a town 10 km from Álora (a favorite town of mine), I saw rushing water cascading over rocks in a river below.  The roads narrowed even more and then I started smelling the orange blossoms to make the day absolutely perfect.  Angela told me the blossoms are called azahar.  I like putting Spanish names to place, things and people here and Angela and Jose were eager to help me out.

When Jose pulled into a restaurant called Los Caballos, Angela told me that twelve years ago, this is where they celebrated their wedding reception.  In we went and they bought me my breakfast -- a bocadillo (sandwich) of minced, juicy tomatoes and Jose shared his sandwich of ham, cheese and tomatoes as well.  I ate it all and washed it down with creamy café con leche.  A woman was mopping the ceramic tile floor all around us as the man behind the bar steamed milk for coffee.  It was delicious.  There was a television behind Angela's head that caught my attention when a man held up a sign showing "Route 66".  When I pointed it out, I realized it was a documentary on Arizona.  I saw red rocks, the Grand Canyon, desert cactus and the San Francisco peaks in Flagstaff.  I was stunned.  It was a little eerie sitting there and sharing my home with them...And the backdrop of Álora, the white village where my great, great grandfather's ashes sit inside a niche of the castle ruins, my heart swelled.   My brother, Steven, and I'd driven those cobblestoned streets in 2012 and the memories flooded back through my mind.

Then Jose drove on, upward, past more límon trees.  The road became narrower and rockier.  The curves were sharp, sometimes endless and mostly we couldn't see around them at all.  When a car came toward us, my stomach dropped an inch or two.  Angela and Jose laughed.  They hardly noticed and Jose dodged each one perfectly.  The moment when the last curve showed us our first view of El Chorro caught me by surprise.  The beauty was boundless and I started taking photos again.

This photo is Angela, Ivan and me...with Álora's mountain village of white houses in the background.  If you look carefully, you can see the old castle that for many, many years has been housing the ashes of their dead.  In those days, it was too expensive to bury into the ground as there was also no room.  But if a family had enough money, they could attach a plaque to the niche.  Unfortunately, when Steven and I were there, we could not find the road that led up to that castle to have a look.  Maybe I can drive El Carro up there and try again...

There were churned up acres of land for miles, bright ampolas (red poppies) lining the roads and rogue límon trees growing out of the mountainside.  We stopped several times for my cousins to show me the top of the mountain, the presa (dam) that carried water to the pueblos below the mountain and the Caminito del Rey.  This is an extremely narrow walkway bolted to the side of the gorge.  No, we did not take that walk...  And then Bobastro.  This was a pueblo that is unique because of the ancient history within its rocks high above the road.  Did I walk up there?  Yes, and Angela held my hand to secure me to the ground, over huge stone steps in the mountain hewn so many years ago by the Moors.  When we got to the top, I was a bit awestruck when I realized this gigantic church had been chiseled by hand over many years.  Angela told me when the ruins were discovered, Malaga didn't know it existed.  It is one of the most unusual archaeological sites in Spain.  There are three large structures of stone, the ruins of the Alcázar, a Muslim necropolis and most importantly, a Mazárabic church -- the only one of its kind in the world (spain-holiday.com).  And of course, I marched up to that massive rock and walked right inside with little Ivan.  Oh, and then we had time to play...

My mind was roiling during this amazing experience...somewhere in there, we walked into a large restaurant on that mountain called El Kiosko and had our almuerzo (lunch) about 2:00 p.m.  We ordered a huge salad to share family style to go with my tinto verano con límon.  When I saw paella mixta on the menu, I knew it was for me.  When it arrived in a paella pan big enough for two, I was in pause mode.  Gambas (prawns), mussels, clams, pork cubes and vegetables were snuggled among that Spanish rice.  And I dug in...trying to eat it all (I failed).  During our conversation over lunch, Angela mentioned something she'd read in one of my daily blogs.  It endeared me to think she'd translated it.  Her eyebrows rose, she grabbed her phone and proceeded to show me that she receives her blog in Spanish!  It is translated for her.  How great is that?  I couldn't stop grinning about that too.

By the time Jose and Angela pointed out all the villages as he drove the car back down the mountainside, I thought surely we were going back to Lyn's so I could get in my own car and drive back to Calahonda.  But, I had another lovely surprise waiting for me:  Jose drove into Cártema and parked next to a large building on Calle de los Almendras.  Their new house!  And what a beautiful house it is.  Considering they only moved in four months ago, I was amazed to see it is perfectly settled.  I liked the beautiful light fixtures, the colors, the decor and the beautiful outside patio covered in Spanish, glazed tiles.  When I saw the kitchen cupboards, I laughed because of the perfect color (purple) on everything.  And the cupboards were so different than anything I'd ever seen.  And the cortina?  It is a curtain made of beads.  I want one.  Surely I can find a place in my house to hang one?

The perfect ending for the day was Angela preparing us coffee, breads and manchego cheese at their dining room table.  It was there we continued to talk in Spanish about all sorts of things.  It was such a great time spending my day with this lovely couple and one of their sons (Ivan shared his knowledge of a book of sports cards with me).  A real conversation in Spanish!
THANK YOU, PRIMOS.  You made my day beautiful.