One Sweet Ride (blog music: in a big country)

There's nothin' better than throwin' the family into the back of the Land Rover and taken off into the mountains of Spain!! The guides pulled up in front of the hotel and we were off.

The boys thought they had died and gone to heaven! The top of the Rover had been cut off and replaced with a tarp and when you're flyin' down the freeways of Spain, you just wanted to stand up and yell, "This is so AWESOME"! It was on and we started climbing! The first village that we had reached just seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Just like a desert oasis. It was a maze of homes built into the mountainside. The bright white paint popped against the green dusty mountainside. We made our way into the village and began to wonder its streets. The streets were so narrow at times, the descents steep, and the inclines sharp. There were flowers hanging from every iron balcony and quite reassuring that something could grow in this heat.

As we made our way to the Center of the village the guides pointed us to this fountain. He told us that it was a constant flowing fountian with the water coming from the mountains. The water was so clear and tasted so good. As the boys were playing in the fountain and others drinking from it, locals would arrive to fill their large drums and bottles! It was amazing! This was no ordinary little Spanish town. It turns out that many stars, even Oscar winning, have a villa here. Such as Dustin Hoffman, Catherine Zeta Jones, and Julio Iglesiass to name a few! We climbed a bit further and found ourselves in another little Spanish town and being that it was around lunchtime... time to eat. The guides along with those on the tour were invited into a real Spanish restaurant where we sat down to authentic Spanish cuisine. This wasn't a "restaurant"; this was a real place to eat in a real town with real people. Perhaps one of the most noticeable qualities about Spain is its people. They are so friendly and eager to say hello and chat, even though hardly anyone speaks English. They also seem to be very fond of children, nice, and caring towards them.
With lunch over it was time to start climbing again. Keeping in true safari style, the guides urged us to hang out the top of the Rovers. Here we are climbing and climbing, driving through little streams, being sloshed back and forth, as we make our way up the tiny dirt mountainn passes, and I can't remember anything greater or more fun than that. We were hot, sticky, and covered in dust!

We made a few stops along the way to take breaks and drink a lot of water. One of the stops that we made was for a bit of education. The guides spoke to us about many of the indigenous trees and flowers that grow in the area as well as their medicinal and practical uses. It was very interesting! We also made a stop at a lake high in the mountains and the water was so refreshing. William had a great time taking a dip in it. It was a long and hot day, but the boys did really well and we all enjoyed the great and special experience of treading through the Spanish mountains.

Even Opa! Yes, the one who said he had preferred the smooth ride of his Mercedes to the dirt roads of the mountains, in the end liked it very much. Even though he would make the funniest faces and sounds every time we went over a bump or he hit his head.