In my happy place
Continuing
on with my amazing weekend stories we move on to Sunday and the snowy mountain
hike in Penalara Natural park which is in the Sierra de Guadarrama mountain
range just Northwest of Madrid. The
specific hike we were doing was the Laguna de Penalara, a short jaunt through
the forest to a glacial lake. I was
really excited to do this hike because I miss my mountain adventures from BC so
whenever we have the chance to be surrounded by them its like coming home.
Floridian in the snow! Who would have thought!?
Sunday
morning Lloyd picked up myself, Ross, Laura and Kevin and we drove about two
and a half hours to the mountain range.
It was here we were meeting Lloyds friend Ines (Ross and I had spent a few days Kayaking and adventuring with Ines last summer), her dog Rigo and Juan,
who Lloyd teaches English too. The drive there took us through some really
cute old towns and gorgeous forested mountains that to our surprise
were still covered in a ton of snow. Of
course I expected there to be some but this was much more than I imagined.
Its
funny because it is now halfway through march and I feel like it is the first
time I have really seen snow in Spain! I
know it snows in the mountains but I only saw snow in Valladolid once for about
20 minutes all winter so this was a lovely surprise.
Juan, Kevin, Myself, LLoyd, Ines, Rigo and Laura
Ross, my love, my best friend <3
The
park was full of people skiing, snowshoeing, hiking and sledding so it was
insanely difficult to find parking. It
was great to see so many people out enjoying nature and the last of the winter
season. Like I said I miss home a lot so
seeing this made me feel very happy but seriously longing to get back to
Vancouver! I did not bring any of my
winter gear when we moved so I knew trekking through the snow would not be as pleasant
as normal.
The
path we took was really easy and took only about an hour and a half to make it
to the lake. The views were
gorgeous! The lake itself was frozen
over (obviously) and covered in snow so we do not actually know what it looked
like but I can imagine it was lovely.
Perfect place to spend an afternoon
Take time to nurture your soul...
Once
there we found a dry spot of grass to have a picnic we had all planned on. Everyone brought different foods so we had a
ton to eat. Laura and Lloyd had a
tortilla competition so we were all trying both tortillas to pick the best
one. I don’t want to choose sides
because I thought they were both yummy. We
ate for a while enjoying the views but it was freezing cold and after some time
our fingers would no longer allow us to hold food so we packed up and headed
back down to the car.
Tortilla competition!
So many delicious foods!
Rastafarian Puppy
Being
from Canada people always seem surprised when I complain about being cold. I always hear “But you are from Canada” They
seem to think that because I grew up with freezing temperatures and snow that I
am somehow immune to it. This is crazy
to me. Of course the cold and snow are
not strangers but I still feel the cold!
I mean cold is cold. And contrary
to stereotypical beliefs Canada is not always covered in snow and ice, some
parts never really even see snow (Vancouver I miss you).
In love with the mountains
After
our chilly hike we drove into a small touristy town that I cannot remember the
name of and went for tea and hot chocolates.
A must after a snow filled afternoon.
Hot chocolate is not the same here as back home. Here it is like actual melted chocolate or
something. It is thick and rich and not
something I can drink. To me it seems
more like something you would drizzle on a dessert. People here really seem to like it. I personally like Tim Hortons or Arena hot
chocolate. It is sweet and not too
thick. It reminds me of being kid and
getting hot chocolate when you are ice skating or playing (watching)
hockey. I like instant Carnation
brand! My sister was kind enough to send
me some instant powder in my Christmas package and I love it!
After
we parted ways with Ines, Rigo and Juan we drove through the mountains again
and stopped in San lldefonso, a small
town where the royal palace of La Granja de San lldefonso is. This "modest" palace is the former summer
residence of the kings of Spain. There
are huge gardens and 26 gorgeous sculpted fountains, which are only turned on twice
a year for festivals. The fountains are sculpted
to represent classical Greek Mythology.
They were incredible.
The modest palace
Dragon fountains! I dig it...
Vicious sculptures. Again I dig it.
It
was a fun day with great people. I
love these trips out of town and into the mountains. I am so grateful that Lloyd is not only able
to drive here but willing to show us around and take us to such interesting
places. I look forward to more exciting adventures to come!
Lloyd! Thanks for being an awesome friend and tour guide!
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