Visitor Season

(NOTE: I began this post Sunday afternoon, but haven't been able to finish it until now)

Visitor season is upon us! :)  A wonderful family friend (Maggie's childhood best friend's older sister...to be precise) arrived Friday afternoon from Germany and is staying through the weekend.  Next Saturday Maggie and Lucy arrive to spend spring break here and just a week later, on Apri 6th grandma is coming back for some more of her little Spanish nieta.  We are in full hostess mode.

It is always a pleasure to have visitors, especially those who have visited less often than my family.  This is not because I ever get tired of family visits, but rather because it allows me to revisit fun places near home that my family have already seen.  Kira's visit has made for a very fun weekend.  We have been taking full advantage of having an excuse to get out and about.  Thankfully the weather has also been cooperating.  It's been cold, but this weekend has been fairly warm and very obligingly sunny.

"Grey Bryce Canyon"

Friday was spent catching up and Kira met Emily for the first time.  They were fast friends, because just like my mom, Kira is very gentle, softspoken, patient and attentive with Emily.  My daughter will hardly leave her alone long enough to go to the bathroom! :)  That night we had drinks out at the bar and then headed to bed early to rest up for a full day of adventures yesterday.

The next day we had a leisurely morning and got out of the house around 11 to head to the Torcal of Antequera.  Several years ago I posted about the Torcal when I took my Aunt and Uncle there for a visit.  It's a nature reserve in the moutains behind Antequera with views that extend out over the Mediterranian to the south and to the west even the peaks of the Sierra Nevada can be glimsped.  The views alone make it worth a visit, but it is especially spectacular because of the strange karstic limestone formations formed by wind and water errosion.

Though, I've never been, these skirt formations looking like pictures I've seen of Capadocia, Turkey.

With the clashing of continental plates, the ancient sea floor of the prehistoric Mediterranian (which covered a large part of the Iberian Penninsula) rose up  to form the coastal mountain chain north of Málaga--and indeed many of the mountain chains in Spain. But it is here, in Antequera where some of the most outstanding rock formations can be found.  For those of you who have visited the Southwestern U.S., I liken it to a grey Bryce Canyon. The formations are similar to the hoodoos, found there, but rather than looking like boulders stacked on one another, the formations at the Torcal often look like stacked pancakes! 

See the pancake-like formations?

We didn't have a lot of time to explore because of our late start and also because we had to wait unexpectedly for a shuttle to the top because everyone else in the area thought a hike in the sun sounded like a good way to spend a Saturday and the upper parking lot had filled up.  We had to be back for lunch, mostly because we were unprepared for a picnic, but also because we'd left Angelines behind.  In any case we were still able to enjoy the day and the scenery--it was absolutely stunning and I'd really like to go back soon to explore the little interpretive center they have at the trail heads. 
Emily had fun wandering around too, but when I put her on my back to begin hiking in ernest, she quickly fell asleep.

Sunday I took full advantage of Kira as a babysitter and we headed to the sierra for a meeting with some of the moms in my breastfeeding support group.  Emily was more than happy to explore with her new friend and leave me to my meeting.  It was a wonderful afternoon and we finished off the evening with tapas out with Angelines who closed early.

Washed-out, but still cute selfie before Emily took her nap

Kira left Monday morning and now it's time to begin preparing for my sisters and Easter.  I am stocking up on white eggs (surprisingly hard to come by) for dying and have bought extra butter for cookie baking.   I have told the girls to bring egg dying kits and I am really looking forward to Emily's first egg-hunt. Her aunties are leaving Monday just so that can be here when the Easter Bunny arrives.  Now that Emily is a legitimate toddler, I cannot wait to see what she does with Easter eggs.  I suspect she'll pick up all manner of things indiscriminately, but I'll be sure to post a video for you all to see for yourselvs. :)