Rainy day conquered

Tunes: LCD Soundsystem

Yesterday, just like all days this past week, was rainy and exceptionally cold. And it was a Saturday! Bah. No worries. My friend Maria's mom came into town, and she decided to organize a mini-road trip. So Maria, her mother, Anja (the Germans), Jilliann, and I (the Americans) rented a Honda Fit and went North. We went into a cave system that is full of water. So how do they do tours, you ask? Via boat. We took a boat ride in caves. It was fantastic. What a perfect way to get out of the elements, by climbing into a boat and going underground. I don't have many pictures, because we weren't supposed to take any, but I did take some videos. I'll try to post one soon. It highlights the tiny passage-ways and horrible "cave music" that they played during the tour.

After that spot, we traveled to a small town to the West, walked around, visited an olive oil museum, and got lunch at a little bodega. We got bravas, two "chivitos" (sandwich with jamón, lomo, lettuce, and mayonase), and sangria. Finger-licking good. After lunch, we hopped back into our car to find a church that is built into a cave. You heard right. A church in a cave. It was amazing. I have some decent photos that I will paste soon. The drive up there was twisty, because we were in the mountainous regions, and very foggy. When we arrived, we saw the sign and some tour busses. After few minutes of stretching, we realized the building was right in front of us, but its white surface blended in with the thick fog. Walking into the church was awe-inspiring. From the outside, it looks like any other building. But when you step inside, you see the large, rock stairwell that leads down into the sanctuary. It's a legit cave. Everything inside was wet due to the constant dripping from the ceiling.
I never knew such a thing existed, and I'm so glad we discovered it. It wasn't on our list of things to see--we just stopped at a tourist info spot, and the lady recommended it to us. Definitely a gift.
Can you imagine going to mass in a cave?

Maria's mom is a hoot. I sat in the front while she drove, and she often leaned over and asked me a question or commented on something in German. I don't speak German. She knew that. But I generally understood what she was saying, and would casually respond in English. It was a fun game that continued throughout the entire trip.

Well, I actually have some work to do. Later