Gluten Day

Tomorrow is my favorite holiday of the year, Gluten Day. Gluten Day commemorates the first day, six years ago now, that I started my gluten-free diet. I celebrate February first, the day that robbed me of a life of cinnamon pop-tarts, beer, and my Mom's birthday cakes by eating as much gluten as possible. Yes, it makes me sick, but for one day a year it's worth it. Who hasn't stuffed themselves with sweets, like a kid on Halloween, knowing perfectly well it will come back to haunt them? Plus, for the most part, it helps me stick to my diet the rest of the year. I'm not tempted to try glutenous things, I save them for gluten day.

I am in Rome for Gluten Day this year, and extra-special treat. I was sitting a cafe down the street form my apartment this afternoon reading an article by Burkhard Bilger called "Nature's Spoils", eyeing with jealousy and anticipation the counter of freshly baked Italian pastries in front of me when gluten popped up in the article. "Nature's Spoils" is a report on 'Opportunivores' - people who rely on methods such as dumpster diving as their main source of food - and our coexistence with bacteria. Did you know about 90% of the cells in your body are, in fact, bacteria? Only about 10% of 'us' is really 'us'. While I can't say I'm about to swan-dive into the nearest dumpster to embrace my other 90%, the article had a point about bacteria that throughly startled me. We (Americans, namely) have an obsession with sterilization. Think about how many times a day you encounter Purell - in wall dispensers, next to sinks, hanging from student's backpacks. In kindergarten we learn the alphabet, not to hit, and to sneeze into the crook of our elbow. Share everything, except your germs. We like bacteria about as much as we like TSA. So what does bacteria have to do with Gluten Day? According to Bilger, everything. He states;

"The bacteria in the gut can take up to four years to recover from a round of antibiotics, recent studies have found, and the steady assault of detergents, preservatives, chlorine, and other chemicals also takes its toll. The immune system builds up fewer antibiotics in a sterile environment; the deadliest pathogens can grow more resistant to antibiotics; and innocent bystanders such as peanuts or gluten are more likely to provoke allergic reactions."

I was dumbfounded when I read that. Was growing up in a sterile environment the reason that the fresh chocolate croissant I'm staring down will stay behind it's glass case today? Did I kill off the bacteria that allowed my body to digest gluten with purell? I don't know. Maybe tomorrow with my first bowl of real Italian pasta I'll have to have a side of bacteria. Either way, something to think about, and something I will definitely be reading up on.

(Mom, a picture with me in it, for you)

First day of classes today! Mondays I only have one class, Italian, and there are only three people in my level. It was a little bit of a struggle-fest, but I learned that the word for climbing is arrampicata. I'm researching cliffs tonight.

After class some more roaming Rome (couldn't help myself there). Walking down Via Nazionale is one of my favorite things to do here. It leads to the old part of Rome, and after an espresso and some chips at a snack bar I took a friend to see the view of the Forum Colleen and I discovered our first day. He pointed out to me that from the hill above one of the ruins people throw coins to try to land them on top of one of the still-standing rows of pillars. There are hundreds of coins on top. I tried, but my 1 cent euro coin -which is about the size of my thumbnail- bounced off. I'm going to practice and try again. Anyone got some thousand year old marble I can borrow?

At the Italian White House there is a changing of the guards ceremony every day at 15:15, so I went to see that today as well. It was a fun ceremony; a band, lots of marching about, and two guys with two swords who do fancy tricks. They are an impressive group, I would not want to cross one.

Doing as the Romans Do

Yesterday Colleen, Leise and myself set out to explore the city. We wandered from Ottaviano, a main shopping street, across the river into one of the most beautiful areas of the city I've encountered so far. It was one of the areas of the city where the street plans are left over from the medieval times, so they wind about between closely clustered houses, and make for great exploring. We window-shopped antique stores filled with replica roman statues and tables made out of old columns. Lights form Christmas are still strung over the cobble stone streets. We found a great trattoria for lunch and sat in their outdoor covered area under heat lamps. My antipasti included the best parmesan cheese I've ever had, and I've had a lot of parmesan cheese. We ate Roman style-split a bottle of wine and sat there for about three hours enjoying it. We didn't get up from our table until 4:30, and we weren't even the last table to finish up. We had passed a home-made gelateria earlier and wove our way back there, and I had apple-cinnamon and walnut gelato. I probably keep saying this, but it was the best gelato. The gelateria (which is hidden in the little alleyway pictured) had an array of creative flavors, and gluten-free cones. Needless to say, I'm going back soon and often.

Some more wandering took us through Piazza Novona and to the Pantheon, and eventually to a bridge across the Tiber River where we watched the lights of the Vatican turn on as night set in. It was the perfect time of night to just sit and enjoy Rome, and we did, for quite a while. Plans to meet up with friends from school eventually took us on a long but enjoyable walk past the end of Via XX Settembre, where our school is. An enjoyable night out at an Irish pub on Via Natzionale and finally a lot of sleep. Lazy day today exploring the neighborhood, and maybe some adventures with cooking dinner later...or maybe we'll just eat a block of cheese.

Put The Maps Away, Let's Get Lost

Today the entire LdM class headed into school to get our Permits of Stay. After some paperwork at the school we trekked to a local postoffice to get something important, and waited on the sidewalk while the processed something else important. We waited for about two hours, and by the time we were finally let go we were so eager to delve into the city we stampeded around Rome for the rest of the day. Suffice to say, I have more pictures of the Colosseum than anyone person should have. But they're all awesome, and I'm going to post a lot of them. The Colosseum catches the last light of the day, so a group of us sat next to it on the hill and watched the sunset. Not a bad day.

Orientation

Oh hey, Trevi Fountain. And what's next? The Spanish Steps? Ok.

Little Kelly, Big Jump. Also, ROMA!

I can now officially answer the question "if all your friends are going to jump off a bridge would you jump too?". Turns out, I would go first. So, as promised, here are videos/pictures from the bridge jump off the Mascarat Gorge. Seeing as these are of questionable legality, they are, on the record, completely fake, not of me, or I did not take them. Take your pick.

Either way, I would suggest turning the volume down on your computers before watching this:

(OK I lied the video won't upload I'll figure that out)

It was quite a jump. I've never fully appreciated how fast gravity works before. After I went a some much calmer Europeans, some of the guys decided to do it head first, which was terrifying enough just to watch. After we had all had out adrenaline fill we hiked up to Sierra de Toix TV for some late afternoon climbing. TV gets last light over the sea, so we stayed there until sunset. I lead two 6a's, and had the best possible last day in Spain I could have hoped for. Huge thanks to all the folks at the Orange House for making my stay so amazing, I'll miss everyone. Open invitation to all for a Roman holiday.

Speaking of Rome...

In transit to Rome via Barcelona I picked up a nasty stomach bug and had my own international barf-fest as I flew into Rome. It got so bad at one point one of my contacts fell out, so I landed in Rome with vision in only one eye and sick as-well, I'll leave you to draw your own analogy. Thankfully Colleen arrived only twenty minutes after me, and we hauled our massive bags through the airport and onto the Leonardo Express into Rome. We then caught the metro into the city center where we were staying at a Bed and Breakfast on Via degli Scipioni. I have never fought so hard not to puke as I did while carrying my giant backpack and my suitcase through the subway. We finally got into the B&B, and I must not have looked too good, because the owner gave me his cell phone number just in case I needed to go to the hospital. Colleen and I were so overwhelmed we just went to bed.

Waking up in Rome the next morning (yesterday, now) was fantastic. I was feeling great, so we ventured out into the street for cappuccino. Our B&B was only a few blocks from the Vatican City, so we walked through St. Peter's Square. Walking into the Vatican meant for each of us visiting our third country in two days, and we gave ourselves a pat on the back about that. We avoided anything we had to pay for because we will get discount passes once school starts, but St. Peter's Basilica is free so we wandered in there. It was so massive I felt like it had it's own atmosphere. We spent a good amount of time exploring it's alcoves decorated richly with paintings, statues, and more. The marble columns that rise to it's dome are so impressively huge, and I can't imagine how they built it.

After The Vatican we wandered across the Trivere River into old Rome. We had lunch in Campo di Fuori, an open-air market. We trusted our instincts and followed the river some more until we found a path heading into a park on a hillside where I figured we could get a good view. As we wandered out of the little wooded area we found ourselves overlooking a breath-taking view of the Roman Forum and the Coliseum. I can't describe how amazing it felt to stumble upon them, except to say that we spent a few hours wandering around in dazed amazement. We crossed over to walk along the Circus Maximus, then followed the river back home. After a nap we had dinner at a little restaurant down the street, and yes, the food was amazing. Some wine and a movie later we went to bed, ready to get up early to meet our host mom.

This morning was sunny, and we walked around the shopping area near by and picked up some flowers for our host mom a street vendor's stand. We packed up and hopped in a taxi and drove to our new home. Lucia, out mom, greeted us, and Colleen and I have been unpacking and settling in. Tomorrow we head into the city center again to see our University.

I'm pretty sure this is all real, but I keep expecting to wake up at 5:15am and go to morning practice on the St. Lawrence River...maybe I just need another cappuccino.

All Roads

I have quite a lot to post (mostly videos of me and various europeans jumping off a bridge) and only 15 free minutes of internet in the airport so here's just a quick update-

Made it out of Alicante alive and am currently raiding the Barcelona airport in hopes of finding gluten free food. No luck so far, but once again, everyone is drinking (it's noon) and sleeping everywhere. Considering joining them. I arrive in Rome later this afternoon. Ciao for now!

Tai Chi or Chai Tea?

Back to Olta yesterday to practice leading and get some more classic pictures on Tai Chi. After a long day of climbing in the hot sun me and mytwo climbing partners came home and I cooke dinner, which I'm getting pretty good at, although they called my caprese salad 'posh'. Crazy Brits.

Today I took a great ride along the coast into Alicante to meet up with a friend I met on the plane over who helped me navigate the Madrid airport, which I highly suggest everyone ever avoid like a smelly kid. Alicante was beautiful, I took a walk around the Castillo de Santa Barbara, which sits on top of the hill overlooking the city. We hung out on the beach for a while, and I realized how much I'll miss the fantastic weather here once I leave for Rome. After some tapas I caught the train back to Finestrat. Tomorrow is my last full day here, and I've been coerced into jumping off a bridge in the Mascarat Gorge. Can't go wrong...right?

Cause I'm Like, A Sack of Potatoes

Some quick notes:

Today I helped one of the Orange House boys with a rescue course by acting as victim-basically I tanned while hanging on belay like a sack of potatoes and he did all sorts of fancy things to rescue me. I then got to practice my leading and caught the rope when I pulled it, and it's hard to say which was more exciting. The general rule with climbers is that if you catch the rope someone buys you a beer, but I settled for a coffee. And by settled I mean I was very adamant about getting a coffee.

Also in the world today, I highly suggest you check out L. L. Bean's 100 Years Celebration. One of their special events is a gear giveaway where you submit why you should be given Bean gear. This is my submission:

"Deep in the heart of the north country of New York lies St. Lawrence University, a place of knowledge, tradition, and a little bit of ruckus. North of the Adirondacks and just a stones throw away from Canada, we get a healthy dose of winter at St. Lawrence. While most people hide from the cold behind fluffy L.L. Bean comforters, the St. Lawrence crew team wakes up well before the sun to trek to the ERG room for winter training. While winter training itself is daunting, those of us habituating the far reaches of campus find the hike to our athletics center a daunting enough task. No mortal shoe can face the near-nightly snow fall and sub-zero temperatures. No, it takes a real boot to conquer a Canton winter. You can't run from a snowplow at 5:30 AM in sneakers. I've tried, true story. So please L. L. Bean, grace me with a pair of your famous Bean Boots so I can get to practice on time?"

All of the submissions are fantastic, so I'd be surprised if mine is actually picked. They're worth browsing through.

Adventure is out there!

German Hot Wine Recipe

These are the instructions for Liz Weber, but normal people will be able to decipher how to do this properly.

Step One

-Take two bottles of red wine out of their hiding places in your bedroom.

Step Two

-Squeeze four fresh oranges and four fresh lemons per bottle of wine. Ok fine. Lemonade and Sunny D. Whatever. Add a lot of sugar. More sugar. Stir and bring to a boil. A soft boil, no one wants to harm the alcohol here.

Step Three

-Add cinnamon sticks and cloves. You have those lying around, right?

Step Four

-Stir until spicy. Taste a lot as you go, you've been good this week.

Step Five

-Add the wine. Don't drink it before you add it. I'm serious.

Step Six

-Allow it to cool just enough to not burn your mouth.

Step Seven

-Consume, responsibly, Liz Weber

Los Pinos

It rained into the morning here, so we all took advantage of a lazy morning here at the Orange House to drink a lot of coffee and scour our guidebooks for fast-drying routes. I set out around 10:30 with two other climbers, and we pin-balled between cliffs in the Xalo Valley looking for dry crags. We finally settled on Los Pinos, a series of short but tough cliffs on the side of a very twisted mountain road. The routes there start at 6a (5.10b), so while the guys cruised I had my own struggle-fest. It was good climbing, though, and I enjoyed being pushed. The best way to become a better climber is by climbing with people who can kick your ass all day long.

The last route we tried was a newly bolted project, not in the guidebook, but looked very fun. The moves were extremely difficult but great climbing; lots of side pulls, crimps, and reachy (kelly-reachy) jugs. We found out later it is rated at 7a (5.11d). None of us sent it, and it will definitely be a project-something to fuel my now nightly climbing dreams. Hello, future climbing withdrawal, it's hideous to meet you. Does anyone know any climbers in Rome? I'm considering putting out want ad when I get there.

At the crag today I spotted one of Spain's tiny hummingbirds. Or maybe it's a moth that acts like a hummingbird, I can't read the spanish Wikipedia too well. Either way, it was about the size of my thumb, and zipped around us for a little while getting nectar form the rosemary bushes that grow wild here.

Time for hot wine with the Germans! Night ya'll

Bouldering With Germans

Strange weather persisted all day here, and even the rainbow stayed until early afternoon. I went for a run up the hill to Finestrat (ow) and then came back and tanned on my porch-in the rain. The sun never quite left but neither did the rain; small rain clouds drifted off the Puig Compana and over the valley, so that there was the odd combination of hot sun with a slight drizzle. It was very enjoyable, if not extremely odd.

The cliffs seemed to be getting the most rain, so I checked out the Orange House's bouldering room with a German couple that has been staying here as well. The bouldering room is a small shack built into the side of the hill, with a mixture of plastic and hand-made wooden holds. It has some good moves on it, but I'm missing the Munroe Family Climbing Wall. Overall a pretty relaxed day, with promises of good weather and good climbing tomorrow. The Germans and I had dinner together, they have been very friendly to me and tell hilarious stories about their travels. I've traded The Bod's left-over beer for a ride to the cliff tomorrow, and after two days off I'm excited to get back.

The Face and Crack should take note that I had left-over rice for dinner-and I barely made a dent in the left-over rice. How much did you guys make?? A note to their parents: keep them out of the kitchen.

Wake Up Call

A sad rainy day made brighter this morning with a beautiful double rainbow over Finestrat. The sun is shining on the Orange House-where is my crew to marvel at this with me? Safe flights to all as they head home.

Adventures With 1 Euro Wine and Metallic Candy

On a rainy day in Spain you have to get creative. The group and I headed into Benidorm to pick up some food, and Crack and I got 1 Euro bottles of wine and 1 Euro metallic candies. We weren't entirely sure if said metallic candies were edible at first, but they're actually quite good. The wine, however, leaves something to be wanted. Either way, we're making the most of our last day together.

Spain Rain

Rainy day today, so no climbing for this group. Instead it looks like a day of books by the fire and hunting for coffee makers. Tip: Italian coffee makers are not for the weak, or those not addicted to caffeine. Just ask The Grizz, who after his first encounter with Italian coffee shook like he had been electrocuted.

A reflection on the trip...

Spain has been an unbelievable experience. I did my best to go into this trip with no expectations, which wasn't hard seeing as this is my first time in Europe. I expected to have a good time, and what I got did not disappoint. I have come to love the Costa Blanca, with its terraced hillsides, ancient towns, and towering mountains. Spain still confuses me (bars are closed on Fridays but open on Sundays?) but everyone has been very nice to us, despite my fantastically failed attempts at speaking Spanish. The Orange House in particular has been an awesome base of operations. Climbers are fun people, plain and simple. Climbing is a test of strength and endurance, but in an incomparably fun manner. There is nothing quite like the joy of reaching the top of a route, calling "take!" to your belayer, and finally sitting back and enjoying the view, muscles pumped. Everything is beautiful from a couple hundred feet up.

And yet with all the time we spend up in the clouds, the climbers I know are, to their essence, down to earth people. Perhaps it's because we spend so much time being dwarfed by towering rock, but the climbing community is the most supportive group I have ever encountered. They are also hilarious; we have gotten ourselves in trouble laughing ourselves off routes. However, there is as much joy in sending a route yourself as there is in seeing your friends send them. The best climbers I know (I'm looking at you, C-Dawg and The Bod) are the ones who have the most fun. Who can't send a fantastic route without pausing to tell their friends how good it is half way through. "It's so good!" has become the catch phrase of our group.

And it is so good. We've all had an experience we won't forget, and will probably drive our friends and families mad with stories and pictures. When my fellow saints head back to the cold upstate New York winter, I'll miss them, but I hope they keep sending. It's too good not to.

Sella

Today was a Sella day, great cliffs with some tougher routes that wore me out. It's 8:30 and half of our group is already in bed-the mark of a day well spent. I attempted the hardest route I've ever tried today, and while I didn't quite get it I'm feeling stronger than ever. It's good to fail every now and then, if rock climbing was easy, we wouldn't fly to Spain for it.

The Face leaves us tomorrow, and the rest of the group the day after that. They will be sorely missed. I will be staying on at The Orange House an extra six days before I meet up with the wonderful Colleen, my partner in crime, in Rome. Maybe once everyone leaves I'll actually get some sleep, but I can't say I'm looking forward to it. My mid-day siestas on sunny rocks have been more than enough.

A shout out to the Mountaineer, who featured a picture of The Face, C-Dawg and I on Penon. Thanks to Vinny and the gang, and be proud to know we've represented St. Lawrence all over Costa Blanca! All roads may lead to Rome, but they stop at St. Lawrence on the way.

One of These Things Is Not Like The Others

Cliffs on Cliffs on Cliffs

A wonderful half-day of climbing today. We checked out Gandia, a cool location with cliffs rising up on top of other cliffs. We only hit a few routes, but took advantage of the sheer overhang and one cool formation that was a hole straight through the cliff, creating a chimney to climb through. Around one we were hot and ready for some Mediterranean water, so we packed up and headed to Calpe, at the base of Penon de Ifach. We looked ridiculous being the only people in bathing suits (it may have been in the 70's but it's still winter here) but being hardy Adirondack folk we didn't care. It did take some convincing to get C-Dawg, who ice climbs in the 'dacks, to jump in. But we all (minus the Bod) splashed our way into the sea, yelled for a few minutes, then ran back to the safety of our puffy coats. After drying off we walked around the coastal town, buying tchotchkes and sipping cappuccinos. We made it back to the Orange House before sunset for the first time in a while, and are now sitting on the porch outside my room enjoying the evening, watching the lights of Finestrat flick on. A beautiful day here in Spain. It's going to be hard to leave.

Losing Our Minds...In A Good Way

One week of climbing down, and things are going great. We're all a little sore, beat up, swollen, and smelly, but having the time of our lives. Today we climbed the Alcalali cliffs, a pretty popular spot. We all got to practice our lead climbing in the morning, which for those of you who don't know is when the climber has the rope tied to their harness and clips it into the cliff as they go, dragging it with them until they reach an anchor at the top of the route. Lead climbing is more dangerous than top-roping, our normal mode of climbing, but we all did great. We also got a lot of harder routes in later in the day, which was satisfying, if not painful.

Tonight I headed into Finestrat with the whole gang for dinner. We ate at a local pizza place, and every course included cheese as a major component-even my salad was more cheese than lettuce. No complaints from this girl.

It's quarter two eleven and everyone else has already turned in-a long day of hard work and mass amounts of cheese will do that to a person-so I'll leave it here for tonight. Eat cheese, sleep well.

Day Six

It's day six of operation climb everything in Alicante, and things are getting weird. The Bod, The Face, The Crack, and The Grizz and I went to Pago, about an hour away. Pago is a pretty un-developed location in a gorgeous ravine of abandoned terraces. The Bod produced a fantastic display of climbing, while for the rest of us the day went a little like this:

After climbing we walked through town. It was siesta time for the Spaniards so very little was open, but everything was old and beautiful. Everywhere you turn here the attention to detail is striking. Tonight we are going to head into Finestrat, and hopefully be in bed in time to get up early again tomorrow. Climb, eat, sleep, repeat.

Olta

Today, halfway through the trip, was a very relaxed day. While the other half of our group set out to tackle Penon de Ifach, C-Dawg, The Face, and Turtle woke up around 9, ate a leisurely breakfast, enjoyed some fantastic coffee, and headed to Olta around noon. We climbed two of the hardest routes I've encountered so far this trip, Tufa Groove and Tai Chi. I climbed Tufa twice it was so much fun, and both of those routes were a 6b+, or about 5.11 American rating. We had a great view of Penon from Olta, which you can see in the background of the picture of The Face. Hard work on a relaxed day-coudln't ask for more.

Although things did get a little sassy...cold, Face?

Penon de Ifach

Today is multi-pitch day! C-Dawg, The Face, and I woke up early this morning to be the first ones to Pinon de Ifach, one of the highest sea cliffs in the region. Another one of Alicante's beautiful golden limestone behemoths, Penon rises over a thousand feet out of the sea. And we climbed to the top.

We parked next to a marina and hiked to the base of the cliff. It was strange to go from a city sidewalk to an approach trail. We got a lot of interesting looks walking through the marina loaded down with ropes and gear, helmeted and harnessed up. One group of ladies out for an early morning walk stopped us to ask what the heck we thought we were doing. C-Dawg pointed to the top of Penon and said, "We're going up that!". One of the ladies pointed to The Face (another shortie) and I and shook her head saying "Ellas? No."

"Yes, them too! Hearty American girls!" Thanks, C-Dawg.

We were lucky to be the first to the route, considering there were climbers sleeping on the sidewalk next to the approach, hoping to be the first ones up. We just beat them out, and as Colin lead our first pitch I talked with two guys from Chile who had camped out on a nearby helicopter pad, which seems even more precarious than the ascent itself. They told me that in spanish climbing shoes are called pie de gato, or cats shoes.

The view got better with every pitch. It was unbelievable from the top of the fifth pitch, where out anchor had us straddling a foot or so wide arete with all of Costa Blanca sprawling out beneath us. The cliff plummeted down on either side of us, and for the first time in my life I experienced some vertigo. As The Face is displaying, it was high and precarious. Notehow small the city in the background is. It was the most beautiful place I have everbeen in my life, and that statement doesn't come lightly.

After eight or nine pitches (we lost count) we reached the top. Mama and Papa G will be excited to hear that we found a family of cats that live up there. Not too shabby real estate for wild cats. We also realized we hadn't eaten anything since 7:30 that morning, and it was nearing 4 o'clock. I'm not one to miss an opportunity to eat, but we had been so absorbed in the climb it barely felt like time had passed. I had been offered a cookie by my new chilean friends when we met again on pitch 7. Great people, but did not fully understand the concept of gluten. We ate our lunches, enjoyed the view, snapped a picture for The Mountaineer, and hiked out. Spain is amazing in the way that you can climb anywhere and no one will try to stop you, and every inch of Costa Blanca begs to be explored. The hike out wound its way over the back of Penon, through a tunnel cut through the cliff, and emerges once again in the city.

Thanks to C-Dawg for the amazing day, every inch of the thousand or so feet we climbed was unforgettable. Rock on.

Sierra De Toix

Today we climbed Sierra De Toix, which shoots out of the Mediterranean on the Costa Blanca. It was hot and beautiful, and we got in some great climbing. At the end of the day The Grizz, The Bod, Turtle, and I went to an area with amazing orange limestone that has been carved out into the cliff. Too tired to write much, so here are some pictures:

C-Dawg, the attentive Belayer

Costa Blanca

Alright Folks, this is gonna be a long one.

Alicante is beautiful beyond words. The Orange House is wonderful, full of climbers, and very homey. I am staying in the Tower Room with Jessie "Crack" and Katherine "Gouda". Our room is only accessible from the second story porch, which has the beautiful view I posted earlier. Yesterday we slept in and headed to the cliffs around noon, ready to tackle some routes. We climbed Echo 1.5, about 15 minutes from the Orange

House. Echo 1.5 is a smaller section of cliff between the behemoths of Echo 1 and 2. We all climbed many routes, tackling the sharp limestone. From the base we had views of the Mediterranean as well. Fun and snacks were had by all. We've managed to find gluten-free bread here, but each slice is about the size of your palm. Four peanut butter and honey sandwiches do the trick. Little sandwiches, big cliffs.

With only about a half day we still managed

about seven routes each, and factor into that the time we spent simply gazing out at the mountains around us saying, "woah". Overall, an amazing day.

Today got even better. A few days before we arrived, Colin "C-Dawg", our ever-enthusiastic trip leader, and Jessie "Stache Master", our guide and proud SLU alum, had found a town called Guadalest completely by accident. Guadalest is famous for it's castle sitting on top of a towering cliff that shoots out of the valley floor. They discovered the cliff is open to climbers and has several bolted sport routes, so we woke up bright and early this morning and headed over. The cliffs of Guadalest are impressive rocks, surrounded by rolling terraced hillsides and the mountains in the distance. The castle adds a surreal factor to the landscape. None of us could take enough pictures. In every direction the view was too good to be true. The routes were wonderful, each unique and unlike anything I've ever climbed before. One went past a cave that dives into the cliffside, another jutted up a towering arete, and at the end of the day Stache-Master and C-Dawg tackled the imposing face of the cliff right under the ancient castles doors.

I'm having trouble believing this is my life.

Good Morning

Even after being awake for 30 hours, it's not hard to wake up when you step outside and see this:

Madrid is Classy

One flight down, one all-nighter-in-progress, and going strong in Madrid. The espresso here is fantastic, and since I'm kicking it Air Greenwood style in the priority lounge it's free! If my heart explodes, you'll know why.

Impressions of Europe so far:

-It is easier to get a travel size bottle of wine than water in any form. Not that I'm complaining, but water bottles are expensive (granted I haven't left the airport) and water fountains seem to be nonexistent.

-You can sleep anywhere

-Roving soccer teams travel in packs of 50 plus wearing identical track suits

In other words, Europe is a frat party.

Run, Run, Rudolph

Feliz Navidad!

Today I leave for Spain, where they are celebrating Christmas today. I feel a bit like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNt6R_LOmnQ&feature=related

Hopefully I'll end up in the right city. Heck, I'll take the correct country. To JFK!