I can honestly say that I was not too upset to find the Perenaos Mountains with lack of snow. Well..there was enough snow to make it absolutely beautiful; but not enough to justify paying 100 euros for a lift ticket and snow board rental for manufactured snow.
We had a back up plan…. bicycles- mountains-switchbacks-13th century churches-and road side snack breaks on a bicycle ride. On borrowed heavy steal mountain bikes with flat peddles, no suspension, and the biggest seat that my rear has felt in a long time; we left Amador’s village later in the afternoon than we planned.
We head to “make sport” or ride, not necessarily up a mountain, but in this land you really have no choice. The Perenaos mountains boarders France, surprisingly the foliage in this region feels like the Appalachian Mountains in the south US.
Still green even in January, a light dusting of snow melts to make the roads slippery and the green of the land shimmer. Streams and rivers are flowing with snowmelt from the mountains above.
It is just cold enough that I wear gloves; yet warm enough that I do not need a jacket as we start our 900 meter climb up to the top of San Juan Pena mountain. The Spanish sun shines and brings a light pink color to my pale cheeks. After 45 minutes of climbing, we approach the most amazing monastery in the rock. San Juan Pena monastery makes for a wonderful place to rest and get another history lesson.
13th century, I cannot even comprehend how old this is. Constructed in traditional Romanic style, it is far different from the Moorish architecture that is common in the lands situated just south.
We are in the land of Aragon, the region just left of Catalonia, the region where Ruben now lives; has a different language, the people speak with an escalating infection of tone at the end of phrases, and in the past was home to the Catholics, Jews, and Arabic people. You see the influence of these cultures when you begin to look; even the food is different. I hear stories of Ruben as a child, visiting Amador in the village; this land is where he found his love of the mountains.
As we approach another monastery, after another 45 minutes of climbing, we decide to chance running out of light so we can continue to the top.
I find myself on beautiful roads that overlook the most amazing horizon. I look down to see the monastery that we just passed.
It looks so small and gives me prospective, just how much we have climbed on our bicycles. We continue to climb until the road stops. Having mountain bikes, we can continue up to the very top as we find a dirt trail that lines the ridge
.
We only have a brief moment to catch our breaths and turn 360 degrees to see all the mountains before we must return and head down the mountain because we are running out of sunlight. Four hours, and 900 meters of climbing, we return back to the village a little score, cold, and tired as the sun sets…and it was a perfect day.
Amore,
1 comment:
serindipity is an amazing thing.
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