Tash's Blog

Saturday, January 28, 2012

The leisurely start to the year continues...

This week has continued to be fairly sedate, with less climbing than normal! Nevertheless, we had a nice day up at Montsant last weekend checking out "El Camell" which, while not being a classic sector we'll be rushing back to, offered some lovely views of the sea to one side and the snow-capped Pyrenees on the other!

Ermita de la Mare de Deu, above Albarca, with the Pyrenees behind.

Ulldemolins village, again with the Pyrenees in view across the Lleida plains.

We also had a morning at Mont Ral, where in between climbs we were kept company by this little chap. Unbelievably tame and happily posing for photos!

On Saturday morning we woke up to grey skies and it looked grim over the mountains :-( Not psyched for a day in the drizzle, we shelved our climbing plans in favour of tea, honeymoon planning and local bimbling - God knows how we'd cope in the UK these days now we're such fair weather climbers!

By late afternoon it had cleared up nicely and we went up to Castell d'Escornalbou, a short drive from the house. And on the way back 'acquired' some more free oranges and lemons - the trees are groaning under the weight of them at the moment so it'd be rude not to help pick them!

Castell d'Escornalbou - you can see our flat down on the plain if you look very carefully!

Monday, January 16, 2012

The first tentative steps away from the sofa...

It’s been pretty quiet since we came back from Jordan, with this week mostly devoted to chores, catching up on sleep and fighting off a pesky cold (don’t you just love January?!).

But today we decided to prise ourselves away from the sofa and kettle and get some fresh air. It was a gloriously sunny day after all! So we headed up to Llaberia for some exploration, we’d heard about some climbing being developed here and it’s a lovely place to walk.

Lots of new climbs for us to try!

The sleepy village of Llaberia - not another person in sight!

A stop to admire the views on the way home, overlooking Pratdip and out to sea

Pratdip in the evening light

We also collected some free medicine for our cold from the tree around the corner from our house!

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Jordan - Petra

It was pictures of Petra in the National Geographic that first prompted our interest in Jordan, and it was as spectacular as it looked in the magazine! It was definitely the most extravagant part of the trip, as the tickets were pretty pricey but we spent two days here to get our money's worth. There was so much to explore, enjoying sunrise and sunset for the best colours on the sandstone and the scale of the site, a maze of tombs, houses and caves carved into the rock, has to be seen to be believed. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves!

The Grand temple.

More modern use for the Nabataean caves!

Toilet block in Petra!

'The Monastery' - second most famous building in Petra and well worth the walk up.

Overlooking the 'Monastery' - wondering where all the crowds are!

The Royal tombs (from L-R the Palace, Corinthian, Silk, and Urn tombs)

Not known as the red-rose city for nothing!

Making a friend at the Silk tomb.

Palace tomb

Palace tomb again

Pottery stall at the Urn tomb.

Columns at the Urn tomb.

Lanky shadows at the end of the day inside the Urn tomb.

Dinner after a long day exploring. Rice, falafel and the best kebabs in town.

The Siq - pretty spectacular entrance to Petra!

Trying to recreate the National Geographic photo at the 'Treasury'

Alone at the 'Treasury' - it pays to get up early!

The theatre - seating painstakingly carved out of the rock!

The 'Treasury' facade.

A bit busier now.

The 'Street of Facades'

Amazing rock houses - some with two or three storeys!

Renaissance tomb in Wadi Farasa

Sunset over the royal tombs after another long day of exploration.

Moon rising over the Obelisk tomb on the long uphill walk out from Petra.

Proof that the trip's over...back to reality via a night in Gatwick airport and connecting flight to Spain.

Jordan - Wadi Rum

Happy New Year!

After a fleeting trip home for a family Christmas we headed to Jordan – taking advantage of cheap flights booked in the “Arab Spring”. Having had such a nice time seeing friends and family (not to mention enjoying all the lovely food!), I was fairly sad to leave the UK, but Jordan turned out to be amazing – far exceeding my expectations!

After queuing for hours at immigration our first night in Amman was spent in a pretty dilapidated hotel (the Palace Hotel is far from palatial!) but early next morning we headed to Wadi Rum, a National Park in the south of the country where all the rock towers and canyons can be found. It did not disappoint; spectacular scenery and colours, vast expanses of open desert framed by rock towers. There’s a lifetime of climbing and canyons to explore!

We camped in the Resthouse and spent the first few days climbing within walking distance of our tent.

The first of many camels, waiting for a willing victim!

The mosque from which the 4.45am wake-up call came every morning.

Rum village seen from our first climb.

'Inferno' on the Jebel Rum East towers.

The halfway ledge on 'Inferno'

The stunning continuous crack line of 'Lionheart' - the next objective.

Abbing down, just before an afternoon shower arrived - the only day of rain on the trip.

This is where the approach route went...seriously!

Wish I hadn't eaten so many mince pies!

Looking down on the bedouin camps.

Grass(!) growing near what the tourists are told is Lawrence's spring. It isn't!

"What you looking at?" The only tree in Rum, actually.

Fun and games with the playful kitten!

Jebel Rum East Face from our campsite

After a few days in the village getting used to climbing on sandstone, we ventured out for our first excursion in the wild desert. Choosing to walk rather than hire a jeep or camel seemed to shock the locals! “Unfortunately” we only had one huge rucksack which Ali carried with all our camping gear, so I could only carry the small one and some plastic bags of food ;-)

"Jihad" or "Guerre Sainte" - a HUGE but fantastic bolted sport route. They must have had a limited supply of bolts though, as there were some rather large run-outs for Ali to deal with.

Spot Ali underneath our route!

Nice soft camping spot.

Chilling in the sun.

Our staple diet of flat bread, hummus and tuna!

Evening light over the desert.

Happy new year!! Breakfast watching the first sunrise of 2012. Flat bread again but with jam for breakfast!

The view looking out from the wall!

Ali on the way back down.

Carrying 120 metres of rope. Not fast or comfortable but necessary to avoid the ropes blowing into a tangle in the wind!

Safely down and watching the sunrise next day from camp 2.

Ali the camel carrying all the gear!

Luxury accomodation in Rum!

Cloudy today! On the way into Rakabat canyon to explore.

Maze of canyons and corridors through the mountain.

It's a big place! Spot me on the ledge.

Nice trousers! Spanish guy on pitch 1 of 'The Beauty'.

This camel obviously wasn't working hard enough. (note the shotgun cartridge!)

Nabataean ruined temple below Jebel Rum ~ First Century BC

Our second excursion was to Barrah Canyon, a 45 minute drive from the village. We took a 4x4 jeep taxi this time, allowing us to pack in plenty of food, enjoying both local and British delicacies!