Siurana/Horta

Mom agreed to watch the kids while Chloe and I went climbing at one of Spain's most famous crags: Siurana.  It was a windy and somewhat vomitous 1:30 drive to the crag, but through some beautiful countryside and more picturesque towns, like Porrera.   We eventually ended up in the not very pretty town of Cornudella de Montsant, found a bakery (and bathroom!) and then jetted off into the gorge east of the town that is home to the famous crags. 

We both got our butts kicked on the climbs -- I can't decide whether the grades are tough or I am out of shape, but I haven't done that badly on 7a/7a+s for a long time.  It was great to be on the rock though.  Also worth mentioning is that the road that winds up through the canyon is spectacular, and would be pretty awesome on a bike

We drove back in the early afternoon and then hung out with the kids.  Chloe and I took turns with them while she went for a run and I went for a ride.  I discovered a short but absolutely beautiful road that connects Prat de Comte to Bot.  

Towards the end of my ride, I got a flat tire, and as I was dealing with it, and old craggy man with a stick and a teenager came out of nowhere, waving their hands and speaking so fast that I couldn't even interject that I didn't speak Catalan (or Spanish!).  It was clear that they wanted me to move though, so I did.  Soon enough a large flock of sheep and goats crested the hill and bore down on the road.  Then they saw me and stopped dead in their tracks, which happened to be in the middle of a sharp turn in the road.  

I was beginning to think it would be goat for dinner, but then another guy came out of nowhere and convinced them to move on.  I eventually made it back to Horta, and we all had dinner with Mel and Leta down the street.  I had some kind of Spanish meatballs which were pretty tasty.