Just Chillin' (literally)

Hello from paradise. I'm re-considering the definition of paradise considering this blog entry is being written by someone who is huddled near a tiny area heater in a room that doesn't have any other source of heat and it's a bit cold here tonight. There is one outlet in this room and it happens to be the one the area heater is plugged into. Thank goodness for a VERY long-life battery on my computer. Paradise is meant to be visited in the summertime.

Honestly, though, I'm happy to be here now. There are few things that bug me more than mobs of tourists everywhere. Here, there are tons of cyclists on the roads, and very nice locals doing their thing. There are a lot of people from Great Britain and Germany here, from what I can tell. Funny, it occurred to me that I've never actually heard Germans talking to each other prior to this trip.

Yesterday was one of the most spectacular bike rides I've ever been on. Bill, Gretchen and I finally got out on the bike at noon (the morning was much too cold to consider riding)...turns out that it felt warmer than any of us had expected and I was thrilled to finally be on a bike (can't say when the last time was that I rode considering packing/getting out of Denver took all of my time & energy).

This ride is called Formentor (rhymes with "Tormentor"). The water you see is the Mediterranean. Probably not many other places on earth where one can be this far out into the Mediterranean without being in the water.

This is Gretchen and I at the top, happy to have made it up. Total ride time was 3 1/2 hrs, 2500-2800 feet of climbing.

After the ride, I took a long 1- 1 1/2 hr nap (this is something I always want to do after riding in Denver, but never have time after a ride) and we made dinner at home. Fettuccine and pesto, chicken-kabobs, salad, strawberries and chocolate. I'd woken up at a ridiculous 5 am which was great since it involved reading, organizing, having a pleasant breakfast, wandering down to the docks, wandering back to my favorite little bar/cafe in town and still having time left over.

 

Here's a shot of the docks, very peaceful out there on the water. 

That brings us to today (don't expect super long posts like this in the future...my feet are still cold so I'm still blogging). I thought my body had transitioned okay to Spanish time considering I went all day yesterday without being tired (aside from the nap, of course). Went to bed around midnight last night...and I slept until noon today. I woke up very disoriented and I was sure my friends were joking around with me when they told me it was noon. Yikes! I didn't take too long and I got packed up/out of the condo (they left for Barcelona) and I moved to a hostel not far away. Went to for a flat 2 1/2 hr ride after and returned just as it started to rain. My legs are toast. All of the oxygen allows me to ride too hard. I really like this place (if I don't freeze to death tonight) and the proprietors are super friendly. 

Oh, I must share my mid-ride snack: 2.50 euro for a gargantuan strawberry torte that was very tasty. It was served in a most unusual (to me) cafe. There was some smoke in the air (from smokers inside), guys at a gambling machine in one corner, a group of women with a dog in another corner, hard alcohol poured up for a business woman in a large glass at 5:30 in the afternoon...all under one roof. It's when I see stuff like this, it makes me appreciate how many government regulations we live under in the US and how this translates to fewer freedoms a business may enjoy (like it or not).

Time to fly! The night is young and there's some cool stuff I want to go enjoy...and it HAS to involve more heat than I have right now. My toes are *still* cold.