¡Feliz Cumple a Madre!

In honor of my madre's 57th birthday, my host parents invited my housemate Andrea and me to their home in the mountains, an hour's drive from Valencia.  Their villa is located in the Gallinera Valley, "an area of exceptional beauty with spectacular mountains (Imirante and Sierra Foradá), winding roads and picturesque valleys.  It was originally settled by the Moors during the Arab conquest, and their presence is still recognizable in the names of the villages and in the hill terraces."  Hence, LOTS of Arabic influence in the decorating and architecture.  Thought I was on an episode of House Hunters International (shout out #Fred 2009-2010).

 (White one in the middle.)

 (Check out that ceiling!)

While we had been praying for good weather the entire week leading up to the trip, Friday proved rainy and cold.  Despite our misfortune, we made the most of it.  First, we visited an 11th century Moorish castle on our way into town.  Though we couldn't enter, we checked out the crumbling walls and, as always, snapped a few pics. 

 (Las chicas - Andrea, Paqui, Mia (dog), and me)

 (Padre doing what he does best:  imparting knowledge.)

After settling into the house and sparking the (much needed) fire, padre took Andrea and me to a beautiful waterfall ("cascada," like the singer).  The less than favorable temperature and lack of sun kept us from diving off the cliff and going for a dip, but couldn't keep  us from snapping some crucial nature pics.  Also picked up some info. on the site's history:

"The human presence in the ravine dates back long ago to the Neolithic age, and sever finds from the region of the Almadec in the seventies prove it.  But if there one something that shows its cultural importance it's the existence of a legend, which gives the name to the ravine and has been passed on orally since time immemorial.  According to the legend, considering the impending arrival of the Jaume I troops, the Moorish that lived in these lands rushed to hide all their wealth in a cave of the ravine while they put an enchanted damsel in charge of it.  The legend teaches that this damsel appears once every hundred years waiting for some man to choose her instead of the treasure to be finally released from the charm that keeps her prisoner."  Naturally, she's still waiting, cause let's be honest, what kind of man is going to choose "love at first sight" over a chest of gold?

 (Andrea and me in front of the cascada.  A terribly rude reminder of how badly I need sun.)

We returned to the casa post-cultural excursion, scooped madre after her siesta, then headed for a little tour of the pueblo (village).  Peeked into the beautiful church (iglesia), checked out some pretty ancient laundry pools, grabbed a refreshment (peach juice for me, coffee for the padres), and headed home to rest up before dinner.  Thankfully, Andrea is also an elite veteran of Spades (best card game known to man), so we teamed up to teach Ma and Pa how to play.  They caught on quickly and before we knew it, we had a real game going.  Mid-way through, madre threw some steak on the "barbacoa" (fireplace/grill?) and roasted some peppers for dinner.  Andrea and I threw together a quick salad to complement the meal.  After dessert (fruit - you guessed it?), we finished up the competition by the fire before calling it a night.  

 (La iglesia del pueblo.)

(BrRrRrRrRrRrRrR!!!!!)

Saturday morning we woke up to the clearest blue sky - the week's prayers paid off.  A little croissant and tea for breakfast and we were on our way to the beach for the day.  Though there are many seaside towns to choose from, madre's favorite is Denia; she's been going for over thirty years.  As always, the padres slipped in some historical context on our way, explaining how the area was a safe haven for Nazis after WWII, as Franco paid back Hitler for the German's support of the Spanish dictator.  They also casually mentioned today's very much still alive Nazi community in the region.  As you can imagine, this made Andrea (black) and me (Jewish) feel really comfortable before hitting the beach.

Blurb:  "La Costa Blanca's town of Denia is a delightful cosmopolitan town, rich in history and culture and its streets are a fascinating showcase of architecture through the ages. Its buildings are a permanent monument to the civilizations which have made their mark here - Iberian, Carthaginian, Roman, Arab and Christian."

 (I know what you're thinking:  is this real life?  I can only assure you that is it because I was there; otherwise, I'd have to agree with you.)

 (?!?!?!?!?!!!!)

We headed to the summit and feasted our eyes on the most beautiful vista I've ever seen in my life (coming from Trinidad and Tobago, not as easy for Andrea to say).  On the left side we had endless water; couldn't decipher sea from sky (donde esta el HORIZON?!), and to the right, we had a beautiful view of the town's coastline and neighboring mountains.  Pictures and words don't do it justice.  

After this jaw-dropping experience, we met up with madre's daughter and granddaughter for some paella lunch at the most picturesque cafe, right on the Mediterranean.  I thought I was in a post card.  'Twas the perfect way to round off the weekend of R&R.  

 (Gracias for lunch, padres!)

 Until next time, Costa Blanca.....

Geographic information from http://www.needahandspanishproperties.com/gallinera-valley.html