08 jan saturday - on the road 5th day in spain
woken up once again, it looks like the noisey trucker from france has found us and this time its 5.11 am that the engine must be run for 10 minutes again thanks a million. back to sleep for a bit
nice and leisurely start to today some nice blackcurrent jam on toast big cheers to our darling mother for that. then were back on the road for another 200 miles to our new home Gandia just up the coast from calpe, home to some amazing steep rock drapped in tuffas.
Did my good deed to a stranger today when i helped a spanish person take their knackered thermostat out of his car then brake it so that the water always flowed through his radiator then got him on his way, the whole time the only words i understood that he said was, thanks, please and the number 13 :) this was man comunication at its best, tools, an engine and a problem :)
we arrive and park up in the middle of a sprawling orange grove with the crag towering above us. have a quick wander up and cant resist having a play on some routes so fire up 3 nice juggy routes before the sun goes down. climbing in shorts with teeshirt off and feeling a bit warm :) really good end to a hard days driving,
09 jan sunday - Gandia 6th day in spain
wake up to glorious sunshine pouring through our rear window. slow get ready and were off hiking up to the crag, arrive warm up then head strait to sector potent home to many splended 7a-7b's manage my first 7a+ onsight and narrowley miss out on another the route i did get "A La Babilla" starts in a steep cave and follows a dripping tufa system to a crux rockover mantle thing onto the top of a really big blob then streuous jug pulling to the top. Then did the most fun and interesting 7a that goes on and on being really pumpy and fun nicely steep with the sun beaming down on me, im happy. was impressed with lucy today i thinks its been her best days climbing so far climbing confidently and strong. well done to you.
going to stay here again tonight have a good climb i have a few targets in my sights then a rest day the day after when i think were head to the beach :)
I have also been learning the guitar and can now play 4 different chords that lucy showed me, which i can link badly to play Everybody Hurts by REM. I have always thought i should learn to play guitar so super happy that have now started. lets see how it goes.
10 jan Monday - Gandia 7th day in spain
another day of sunshine pouring into the van to wake us up, nice early start and back upto the crag headed along to the far end where lucy impressed me massivley with her commitment and excelent rock reading by onsighting her warm up climb and then a impressive 6a+ with a technical slab followed by a nice overhanging wall at the top, splendid backed up by another sterling performance later on another 24 metre line that she sent in a very controled and stylish way
we then headed along to sector Hidraulics which has some 12 meter height archway looking overhangs, managed to pull out a 7a onsight. I was particularly proud of this as have never had to fight so much to onsight a climb. totally not the style im used to but managed to pull through, it starts with some strenuous and pumpy climbing for 5 metres to a cramped hole that you can kind of wedge yourself in and rest a bit, its then really akward to get established on the rock again faced straight away with the crux a few hard pulls later and i have the lip of the overhang in my sights, a quick scrable of the feet and im onto the verticle face above i wobble my up the last few metres very happy.
tried after to onsight 7a+ to the left very similar to last time a massive fight to the lip where at i miss read where the route went and tried to go onto sloapy nothing out left ignoring the large jug to the right :( onsight failed il get it next time so much fun ive never climbed such large overhangs before. had a laugh with a few irish guys who were climbing near who had a try top roping it after and also played on a weird climb where you go up a few meters then into a tunnel through a overhang and emerge at the top after!!!!
Found a weird little camp site after full of english motorhomes who look like they have setup home for the winter, decided not to stay but filled up water and emptied waste, 4 euros bargain.
11th jan tuesday - gandia 8th day in spain
wooow spooky todays date is 11.1.11 5 1's what does it mean . . . . . probably nothing
Woke up today feeling tired and felt knackered hiking upto the crag. had a nice gentile warm up on which i nearly got blown off the wall its super windy today, decided to find any bits that were a bit more sheltered, so worked on a 7b that i had mistakenly tried to warm up on a few days ago where i got to the 2nd bolt and decided i had the wrong route, its got a really crimpy crux and is totaly unlike all the other spannish climbing i have been doing it felt like a climb in cheddar this went first go today so pretty chuffed with that was pretty much a onsight if not for yesterday.
lucy then decided she liked the look of the climb next to it which looked pretty doable with a huge overhung roof full of big good holds, checked and its a 7C with the crux being a very fingery and extremly hard few moves to get round a buldge at the very top on sharp shallow pockets, she was adiment that she wanted to try the bottom part so we pre-clip the first 2 bolts and she set off, after a good effort she was swinging in mid air, a short rest and off again this time a good way higher. im very impressed. This then left me to go and have a play to see what it was like. i tied in and went for it got to lucys high point using pretty much the same sequence we figured out for her. the next few moves although looking hard were pretty reasonable, i get to below the top buldge a cheaky kneebar alows me to get to the first pocket so far so good a swap of the knees alows a snatch at the second poor pocket i try to bump to hte last and im off pull back on an cant figure it out so clip past it. and have a play, think i can see what to do but one move i cant do as the pocket is really sharp and my skin is super sensitive from the past few days climbing decide to leave it for another day.
A rest day is now well and truely needed as i feel exhausted, hands feel like the skin is burning. going to go to calpe tomorrow and book into a camp site and chill on the beach. should be good.
I started reading a book called "Between a rock and a hard place". Its the book the film 127 hours is based on where a guy gets trapped in a ravine with his hand crushed behind a boulder and he ends up amputating his arm. Really good so far i recomend it. he talks lots about the wilderness and living you dreams and not getting caught up with living a lifestyle you are unhappy with but feel paralised so cant change. I feel i can very much relate to this. Have i said i recently gave up my job moved into a van and now live on the road. whoop whoop loving it.
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