A trip up into the mountains to Almogía

A walk through the sister city to Winters, California.

Almogía is a town and municipality in the province of Málaga, part of Andalusia in southern Spain about fifteen miles from Málaga, where the cultivation of almonds and olives is their livelihood.  This village is where my great grandfather Francisco RUIZ Garcia worked as a math tutor before sailing to Hawaii with his family and then on to California, where I would be born 35 years later.  (I did not get his math genes, unfortunately).

My biological father Miguel RUIZ Silvan was instrumental in making Winters, California the sister city to Almogia, Spain.  And that is how it happened that I was determined to show the street to Steven where I'd walked six years ago with my brother also named Steven.

Before our trip up the mountain, Steven asked me, "Is there going to be a lot of walking?  I mean, I'll wear tennis shoes instead of these flip flops, he said as he  pointed to his sandals.
Me:  "No, not much walking, you'll be fine."
Once we'd parked and begun exploring, all uphill it seemed to me, I hoped he'd forgotten our conversation.  He hadn't.  By then, as we puffed our way upward looking for Calle Winters, he gave me the side eye.  
Steven: "Not much walking, huh?"  
I, of course, looked innocent.  "Sorry.  I'm sure it will be downhill back to the car." (I was wrong again, of course).  He is still talking to me but that's because after the long haul, I bought him an ice-cold beer in the main plaza where he'd asked some Spaniards where the street was located in the first place.  

Steven has no problem approaching Spaniards with questions now!

I grinned when the bartender served my tinto verano con limon: half glass of red wine with ice and a small bottle of lemon mix.  Steven and I both sipped it and agreed --- it tasted like margarita mix or squirt.  I'd been experimenting for over a year with not luck.  Now, I had something!  Lyn laughed at us and drank it as we discussed it in great detail.

It was a beautiful village and I tried to listen to the ghost conversations of my ancestors.
Afterward, we headed toward our friend, Saidie's, driving about twenty minutes further up the mountain.  A huge dinner and lots of hugs later, we wandered around her beautiful property and enjoyed the ambiance of the mountain view surrounding us.  So much colored tile, flowers dangling from pots, a small outside bar overlooking the valley below.  

Saidie served tapas and drinks on her outside patio before dinner...

Lyn loved the dessert too.

We were sorry to leave Saidie, who is a delightful woman whom I'd met last year.  She is charming and lovely, an added bonus to my friendship with Lyn and the round house.  And then, off we went to another friend's home just "up" the road (in the car) near where Lyn and Sean used to live before moving down the hill to Los Nunez.  We shared good conversation and sat in their outside patio room beside their shimmering swimming pool with purple mountains in the distance.  But the sun soon saturated us and we were sagging, although we still managed to walk through the gardens and point out specific plants and flowers before we were homeward bound.  We were sorry to cut the visit short, but we were also glad we were able to see these sweet people.

The memories of our day in Almogia will linger as I recall the time with smiles and the recipe for making my own tinto verano con limon.  

Tomorrow, Steven and I both get on separate airplanes and leave the valley... Steven flies home to California and I fly to Madrid...overnight.  An unexpected sixteen-hour layover has a silver lining...because I will be able to visit my cousin Mercedes Trascasas and her husband Jenaro again before returning to America.  Life is truly so sweet.