The Mountains; Day 4

Last night was an amazing experience. I have never experienced anything like it. Yeah, ok, we had a fabulous dinner with Ray and Lourdes and Andreas. That was nice and it is always nice having dinner and wine with assorted characters. Is there anything better?

The true amazement happened after dinner. Once again we work our way through the fog back to our place. The same ritual; go in, see the dogs, let them out, back in and call it a night. The entertainment tonight was going to be the latest Mel Gibson thriller. Once we are in our nighties, we set up the computer for viewing, crawl into the mosquito net and click ‘start’. Typical, Tonya doses off not even 15 minutes into the film. I sit watching, half interested but still mildly amused. It has started to rain, and there are a few times that the sound goes out. No biggie, just lasts a few seconds and back on. Mark it down to cheap bootlegged DVDs. The sound goes out again and I keep watching, anxiously waiting for its return. Idiot me keeps waiting, I haven’t the slightest clue that the power has gone out and the sound will not be back on tonight. I am watching the DVD on battery power, and the external speakers are silent due to lack of electricity. After about 10 minutes or so, I decide that this DVD is crap, and I get up and turn it off. I will not realize the truth of the matter until late the next morning.

Tonya moans as I get situated in bed. She’s been pretty much out anyway, so cutting the film short makes no difference to her. She’ll ask how it was and I will tell her fantastic. I lay there and listen to the gentle rain. It is very peaceful. I like this stuff at night, it is truly relaxing…kind of adds to the whole ‘getaway from it all’ vibe.

I have no idea what time it was when the bed shook. There was a tremendous bang. Tonya and I woke up in tandem, not having any idea what was happening. It took a moment or two to get our bearings. It was so loud that it is somewhat frightening. It is a huge thunderstorm. Lightning is flashing like a giant strobe. I am not joking when I tell you it is like the adjustment knob has been set to continuous flashing. Slices of light come from underneath the shudders, while a square box of light continually flashes from the hallway window. I would love to get up and watch, but there are no actual windows in this place (except this one, the view blocked by a tree) only heavy wooden shudders. This is my first heavy duty mountain storm, and it is amazing. Tonya and I lay in bed, wide awake, not saying much but just listening and getting bounced around a bit. The thunder is so strong it does shake the whole place. I am not a pro at this, but I am guessing that because we are in a mountain range, that the thunder just rolls along and echoes back. It is like it is running laps around the whole range.

I have never heard anything like this. A clap of thunder will go off and continue, nonstop for a few minutes. Sometimes it will begin to die down and another is let loose. Sometimes, an extra dollop of whammy thunder is added just because, and then you have two echoing thunder bombs bouncing around out there. I wish I could tape this and play it back to all in a surround sound theater, it is that amazing. Obviously, the dogs are freaked out beyond belief and are clamoring to get a space on the bed. The extra shakes from Winston and Sunny keep the bed constantly wiggling, and whenever a good sonic boom is let off from the storm, we get an extra shake. I do not know how we fell asleep, but we eventually did. I assume it was from complete exhaustion of the senses.

The next morning we awoke to no power and outside was drenched. We kept talking of the amazing storm, and how neither of us had experienced anything like it. We were so awestruck, that Tonya even forgot to ask about the Mel Gibson film!

While walking the dogs, we realized that because of the storm and no power, we would not be able to make coffee. This is unsettling. We take extra care not to slip on the stone streets as we do the rounds with the dogs. We drop the dogs off and decide to try our regular breakfast place. Thankfully Leonora was open! I was also pleased to know that we city folk were not the only ones awestruck form the storm. Even the locals were abuzz with talk over the huge storm. A young guy sits across form us and talks with Tonya and Leonora. We are all wondering after the big deal, how long we would be without power. Look! Consensus is; the thunderhead settled on the actual ridge where the village was, that is why there was no relief, but the constant barrage. Leonora comes out and checks on Tonya. I think she is taking a liking to her. They sit and have small talk and then she has to get back to the kitchen to cook some more locals breakfast. As we are sitting there, a buzzing starts in the corner of the room. It is the bottle cooler. I look to where the sound is coming from, catching the startled gaze of the guy across from us. We both let out an excited “Luz!” The power is back and I just shared my glee in Spanish with a local! I am proud, even more so that he acknowledged that I knew what I was saying.

The rest of the day is pretty much a wash-out, pardon the pun. Lourdes calls Tonya to check on us and let us know they have to go see some people about work being done on their land. They will be tied up for a while. We manage to make do, I sit and type up this blog and Tonya does a bit of reading, straightening up and napping.

As evening comes we get a round up visit. Ray and Lourdes are here. This can only mean one thing; it is time to go eat! Andreas is in tow and we are going back to the great Italian joint so we can all partake in more great eats.

Walter & Coco's. Truly scrumptious Italian food.

We are the only ones there. I suppose after the big storm and lazy day, not too many people are venturing out. We take the biggest table and get comfy. There is talk back and forth over what to try this time. Walter comes out and visits with us. He shakes everyone’s’ hands and while rubbing his own, asks what we are all drinking. It appears that not only is he cooking, but he is the waiter too. (Actually, his son is there, but he will only help bring out plates as needed) He gives us some time and then asks what we want. I am salivating over the pasta choices, so I ask his assistance. He reassures me that the lasagna is a big favorite with the locals, and he thinks it is quite tasty too. Ok, I am having that!

The place all to ourselves

What can I say? Once again, Walter does a fantastic job. Everyone is quite happy with their dishes. All the pasta and sauces are homemade, and the wine came from Costco (I recognized the bottle, because it is one we buy there too!). The conversation is splendid and we are all feeling pretty good. Walter comes to check on all of us, this time he has his son in tow and they are both carrying round trays with assorted frosty bottles on them. He stands like a proud conductor and tells us that he wants us to sample his homemade digestives! Mmmmm. He has some crazy green one, like Chartreuse. He has an orange one, he has some other herby ones too. He sets out several shot glasses and pours the slow, cold liquid into each one. Man! That is some jazz! It is fantastic! Walter's lovely digestifs (orange on the left)

Coco shows up. She has been out all day shopping. She says hello and goes back and forth to the car. She finishes up and then pulls up a chair and lights up a cig. As she sits, she sees the digestives on the table and asks what we think of Walter’s latest creations. Everyone nods in approval. Coco puffs, tilts her head back and exhales, then nods in agreement, “It’s good, no?” It is.

surprise dinner guest under my seat.

It has gotten quite dark now, and the setting is a bit eerie. Fog is creeping up onto the seating area, as well as something furry at my feet. It is a cat! There are few cats crawling around under our table and chairs. Coco is talking about all sorts of stuff. In a way, she is like some kind of sage, or wise woman. Ray is thinking of pruning some trees, and asks Coco what to do. She tells him he only has two days. He must do so while the moon is right, so the trees will grow properly. She shakes her head to re-affirm her wisdom. She smokes some more, and in the haze she gives us another tidbit for free, “The same with your hair. You should cut it when it is a full moon. It will grow much quicker” I do not know what to think about that. I am caught in her gaze and her serious, droll tone is almost hypnotizing. The topics change at whim. It could be World Cup, it could be basil leaves, and it could be tourists. Then again, it could be snakes! Coco dispels some more mountain truths, and tells of when the snakes come down from on high. “October” she says tapping another cigarette in an ashtray. “The snakes come down from the mountain in October. You have to be careful, as they are everywhere”. Good thing it is May, or I would be looking under my table about now. I tell you, the way Coco smokes and talks, and you will believe most anything she says. I stare out into their garden and see what looks like green neon cross, floating in the thick fog. Man, talk about ambience.

Surreal view from Coco's garden.

It is time for a break. Coco wants us to try her homemade peach nectar. She gets up and goes to the bar to fetch a round of glasses. She returns to give us each a shot glass, and proceeds to pour her brew into all of our glasses. Walter has finished up, and he takes his apron off and pulls up a chair at the end of the table, next to Coco. He tells us this is good even before we get our lips wet with the stuff. It is rich, golden orange in color, and moves like silk. Tastes a bit caramelly too. He shakes his head and smiles, and says there is a bit of caramel in there. It is lovely. There are enough drinks and cigarettes here to keep us a while longer. It is great sitting here, having a chat with the proprietors. They are interesting people and their stories are fascinating too. Somehow, while talking of their ‘wonder’ herbs they grow in the garden, Walter chirps up excitedly, “I have cabernet grapes too! I am growing my own grapes for wine” he stands up and asks if we want to see. I happily oblige. He takes us into the garden, up to his vines, and gently lifts up the small bundle of grapes “Look! Aren’t they fantastic!” he is beaming like a new father. ‘I don’t know what happened. I planted them about three years ago and nothing. Then, all of a sudden, this year, I have grapes! They are beautiful, no?” They are. Like the coffee lady, this is a huge thrill for me. I am over-taken with his enthusiasm, and stand staring and the bright green grapes amidst the fog and the even foggier mind. What another great night! I want to hug this guy and his wife!

Walter's cabernet grapes

The hours have flown past, and it is getting late. Coco and Walter give us a warm goodbye. They have been wondrous hosts and serve up truly amazing food and drinks. We are all pleased, full and well saturated. Hey, this is a great way to spend a Thursday night, right? Luckily, Walter’s place is close to where we are staying, so we say goodnight to everyone, and let those chumps walk the distance back to their place. We should be in our jammies by the time they get back. We are feeling good, and good enough to try and finish this Mel Gibson film. Feeling a bit idiotic not knowing the power outage caused the silence the night before, we feel like champs tonight and will tackle it once again.