Back in Rodellar

Theresa left to go back to the States on Monday morning and I headed back to Rodellar.  The drive was uneventful and I arrived back to pretty warm temperatures but with blue-bird skies.  I had left my tent up here with some stuff that I didn't want to drag around inside so there was a little bit of trepidation when I arrived that my stuff would still be here and be in good condition.  Everything with the tent was AOK (muy bueno!) so I unpacked from Paris/Mallorca and got reorganized.  As I was packing and making lunch some dark clouds started to gather but I didn't pay them much mind.

Around 2P I started to hike in to the gorge under darker skies. Just as I got out of the village the skies opened up, sending me scurrying to the doorway of an old barn.  I hung out there for 30 minutes while it poured, thinking to the blue skies that had been there just a bit ago.  Eventually the rain eased and I hiked down, muttering darkly.  Once in I noticed a lot of wet streaks on the walls, more seepage.  As I stared and sweared, it stared to rain again.  I hiked quickly to Las Ventanas which is sheltered from the rain.  I talked to a few folks there who said the rains had come back a few days ago and many routes had started seeping again.  There's still some dry stuff around but both of the routes that I wanted to do are soaked.

The last two days have been a little better with rain only for an hour or so in the afternoon with the cliffs starting to dry out.  I rested today, working until 4P or so and then hiked around, checking the conditions and taking some pictures.

Attempt to be artistic.  Climber in the background is on the awkward starting slab of Nanuk.

Same climber as above falling off the very top of Nanuk.

Hopefully you can see why they call it El Delphin now.

A quick recap of Theresa and I's visit to France and Mallorca.  We had a great time, really enjoying Paris (more than we had expected) and Mallorca.  If you rock climb at all, consider putting Mallorca on your list.  Nice sandy beaches, easy to get around for tourists, good climbing, and fairly cheap.  The weather, while a little cold in Paris but acceptable, was perfect in Mallorca.  Hot enough for the beach but not super unpleasantly hot.  I was sad to see Theresa go but now I get to be a dirty climber again!