Faltas, Sulayr, Patas Negras, Sobremesa...y ¡LLEGA PAPÁ!

This is Owen, getting ready to do the "boomerang" with  his trompo at the Huerto de Carlos. Notice his stance. It's rooted with both feet solid and ready for the whiplash affect of throwing down the trompo. His eyes are steady. His right arm is winding up for one of the best throws he's ever performed....ok, ok, I'm getting carried away here.  Trompos continue to be serious business and are NOT for the faint hearted....The Huerto de Carlos is a park just around the corner from where we live that is the stomping grounds of all local Albaycin kids, at some time during the day.  They don't necessarily frequent the park every day, but in general hang out a little bit there each week. It's a nice mix of hippies playing music, tourists, local moms with their babies and toddlers and more. It's open, with a couple fountains, is south facing with lots of sun and a magnificent view of the Alhambra. At any given time you are sure to run into someone you know either here or at the Plaza Larga around the corner from our home as well.
I love this atmosphere of getting out and hanging out in the barrio with everyone. I know we have this back home with our parks and beaches, but it doesn't feel quite the same. The park and the plazas are an extension of our home. Perhaps it's because we are in such a small space in our apartment that we like to be outside more.
Besides spending time at the huerto we have after school programs that include patinaje, baloncesto and karate that have given us the opportunity to get to know so many people. Myles has chosen to become a part of a basketball team with many of his buds from Curso 4B.  Every Tues. and Thurs. we're off to the local park and rec depart. (specific to sports) for bball practice as well as on Fridays after school.  Saturdays are game days taking us to primary schools all over Granada.
Mind you, Myles has only had a couple little week-long basketball camps in Truckee and now he's playing baloncesto with his friends, but everything is in Spanish!  It's a kick I've gotta say. At least he's right in the thick of it with his teammates, as they are normally used to playing fútbol (soccer) and are learning the rules and game just like him (but they at least can understand the coach yelling at them).  A new set of vocabulary: falta, tira, pásalo, doble, pasos, ofensiva, defense, rebote, ataque, etc. Here's a clip of them playing their very first game out in the Vega outside of Granada. Cute, if I must say myself....

The day after this partido de baloncesto we had another AMPA organized event.  We went on a senderismo Northeast of Granada ouside of a littel pueblo called Lugros.  But first it's important to let everyone know that ¡Papá ha llegado!  The boys were so anxious for papá to arrive that they could hardly sleep the night before, eating breakfast was a challenge and when I picked them up from school just after comedor they could hardly contain themselves. We took one of the local buses out to the main bus station and waited for papá to arrive.  Brad looked really tired when he got off the bus and the boys nearly took him down as they tried to crawl all over him. They love their papá so.
We headed back to the Albaycin walking up the Caldería and hand time to sit down and relax. The boys wanted to show Brad every single thing they could think of in Granada that night and Owen couldn't stop talking nor keep his hands off Brad.  (He wouldn't leave Brad's side for the next week and still today, some three weeks later, he wants to be next to Brad all the time).  This is going to be a tough one when Brad has to leave in a few months!

Back on track with the outing we had with AMPA.  We all cimbed into Chris and Stik's landrover and headed North of Granada to a little village situated in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada called Lugros. Senderismo, hiking, is quite popular here with trails everywhere. I've just learned there is a trail called Sulayr which is an Arabic term that means la montaña del sol. This trail circumnavigates the Sierra Nevada mountain range South of Granada.
It's 300km and can be done either by foot or bike. Our hike up from Lugros crossed a small portion of the entire route.  How I would love to do this on a mountain bike! Maybe in the spring.

All along the way the boys were collecting blackberries with the kids and eating them as fast as they picked them. Meanwhile the adults were trying to make music with the acorn tops. Well, they're not exactly acorns but sometime of nut that looks similar, but I'm told this particular nut is not just any nut. This is the nut of all nut that gives Jamón Ibérico de la pata negra its flavor and gusto. 

A couple of hams trying to "play" the acorn tops like all the other silly adults.

Ok, let's digress a bit here...Jamón Ibérico is a staple here dare I say more important than café con leche, vino o cerveza? Every bar has huge, salted hind legs of pigs hanging which they pull down and carve for your tapas. When you go to the market you can buy it in small quantities sliced at the deli or if you're feeling like you need to have your own pig haunch in your kitchen, you can buy one for 150euros.  You just leave it on the counter covered with cheesecloth and cut off a hunk when you feel like knawing on salted ham. Back to the black-footed pigs that eat the acorns we are playing as instruments on this hike...
These guys live a beautiful, free range life out in the countryside and ONLY eat bellotas, herbs and roots I'm told.  The bellotas are the key ingredient to their exquisite taste. The meat is cured for some 36 months before sold. Brad has yet to eat pig butt. I don't think I'll be able to talk him into savoring this Spanish delicacy. Myles and I can eat handfuls of it while Brad hasn't touched it and Owen gags on it because it's so laborous to chew. So goes the division of our family in Spain.

Next up in line is a day...and night, with friends. It was a beautiful fall day, spent with wonderful company and yet another learning experience. When someone in Spain invites to their home for a meal (in particular the main meal of the day which is around 15:00) you need to plan on not returning to your home until the wee hours of the night. I love it! It so reminded me of the Soulek reunions that went on and on and on and we ate and ate and ate.
Above in this photo are some of the friends we have met at the boys' school. Juan and Julia live in a renovated tabaquerria in Churriana de la vega. Yes, that means they live in a renovated tobacco shed in the fertile lands outside Granada. We all brought a few items to share with the main course being paella.  

Of most importance...notice the trompo in the lower right-hand corner...never leave home without it!
Juan put together a great paella of arroz, gambas, pimentones, legumbres, calamares, almejas, azafrán, ajo, etc. Not only was the food and company incredible but the environment as well. We hardly saw the kids at all as they were running around the little farm the whole time.  Juan and Julia have horses, a cow, pig, ducks, chickens, dog, cats, etc.  The boys loved it.

After filling our bellies and relaxing a tad we then moved into what is called sobremesa. This is when time seems to take on a new meaning - that without hours, minutes or seconds.  Now, it could be attributed to the conversations that simply take you away or perhaps the 100% infused alcohol. When you feel the need to communicate and say something intelligent, you can have a shot of espresso, laced with a little more alcohol. Oh, and then there are the pastries. As you can see in the photo above, the light is low in the sky and time has passed and we are content...I need not say more. Sobremesa is something that I wish we did more of in the states. (The following questions need a heavy sarcastic tone) What are we worried about? The dishes getting washed? The left-overs going bad? Cucarachas getting into the dirty sink? Why are we in such a hurry? Why do we think what WE are doing is SO important to leave our lovely company so quickly and WHO really cares? (Ok, I'm getting a little smug here) Let's talk. That's what sobremesa is all about...table talk, eat, drink, talk, connect, laugh, breath, open up, discuss. I know we all have nice dinners with friends in the states and we hang out afterwards chatting etc., but it's nothing like sobremesa. Let's just put it this way...your butt starts to hurt because you sit there for so long. Enough said?

Back in town on a rainy day we meander down through the Albaycín to a market in the center of town to get our leche, pan, mandarinas, zumo, galletas, frutas, verduras, pollo, etc. This photo may look like taking the carrito is an easy job but when it's loaded down with many kilos of food and you're pulling it uphill from the mercado San Agustín you get a work out. Laugh it up all you hard core athletes! It really is a work out especially if you don't stop to have a caña! :) By the way, Holly, Katie and Sarah, I've had quite a few for you gals. Should I keep going?


Here's the end of this blog. This one was fun! Some quotes for the road:


"Do they have In-n-Out in Granada?"
"You've got to get the English out of your mouth, Dad."
"¡Brad, cuidado, Brad, cuidado!"
"Cheeseburger in Granada!" (sung to the tune of "Cheeseburger in Paradise by Jimmy Buffet)
"Ten cuidado, mi padre le gusta la pizza muchísimo, Iker!" (said with an awesome Andalucian accent!) (Right on Myles! He said this to one of his buddies, warning him that his dad really likes pizza and there might not be much left if they don't hurry.)
"Me pene." "Is that how you conjugate it?" (oh, Brad, careful with this verb...)