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Overwhelming nature, sporting challenges, laughter on the terrace with delicious snacks and even old-fashioned feet off the hot floor. This year it was finally here: to celebrate the 20th anniversary of our rowing team, in 2022, after two years of Corona postponement, we set off with 9 women after all to fellow former ‘Orcaan’ Jochum, to his Chill-Outdoor sojourn in the Spanish Pyrenees.
So says Marieke Hogendorf, who joined us along with her rowing team “Orca Ladies 2000. And from that anniversary trip in the Spanish Pyrenees, she shared with us a wonderful report:
Day 1 – A warm welcome and sleeping in the Safari Tent
5 days, 4 nights of nothing on our minds: no busy job, family or partner and nothing to buy or cook. Totally taken care of, we fall head over heels here. In the dark under a twinkling starry sky, we arrived at the Chill-Outdoor Café in the middle of the night with two rental cars the Wednesday before Ascension Day. A table full of snacks and a beaming Jochum awaited us. What a warm welcome!
We spread out among the 3 spacious safari tents and sneaked past the lights and sleeping guests in other tents to our warm, comfortable beds.
Day 2 – Rafting on the Ăsera River and well-deserved drinks
Fresh espressos and cappuccinos are brought out on the terrace in the morning sun, while we eat our warm croissants among the fragrant flowers. What a good start to these days. After walking through the village and its surroundings, past swaying green fields of grain, fragrant oleander and bright red poppies; a dip in the cold, turquoise river cannot be missed. At the campsite we chat, read a bit and let the beautiful surroundings take effect on us.
At 2:30 we headed by car to the raft center. Here it still proves to be a challenge to get all these tall ladies into a wetsuit :-). After the explanation, we set off in two boats. What an adventure! As former teammates, we are immediately fanatical and paddle right to the beat. Water swirls around us as we race ahead through the spectacular gorge. Dozens of vultures populate the air, southern spices invade our noses and the cheerful guide leads us unscathed through the rapids and along the huge boulders. Occasionally we go into the river and a real 4-meter jump gets the adrenaline pumping. No to-do list, nothing distractions, just here on the water with each other in this truly insanely beautiful setting: this is truly vacation, what a thrill and what a wonderful thing to do.
A surprise awaits us on the terrace in the evening. Our teammate and friend Saskia joined us for drinks via Jochum’s phone, with bubbles, for her at 5:30 in the morning! After a delicious three-course dinner, it seemed like we had been gone for a week, even though that was only the first day!
Day 3 – Mountain hiking and wine tasting from the region
We hike into the surrounding mountains with a GPS route provided by Jochum. Crickets sing, we climb steadily up past gorges and viewpoints, to an abandoned village at the summit. It’s 30 degrees and down again we dive into the river that we see glistening in the sun all the way in the distance. The hike including hidden little lakes, half caves and warm wind in our hair made an impression.
Once back, we get ready for a drive to a bodega to taste blissful wine: we’ll take it home! The landscape in the drive south changes almost immediately: out of the gorges and mountains we drive past golden fields to the flowery Bodega. Also this evening we are spoiled with delicious food in the cafĂ©: little can beat the warm Apple-crumble dessert!
Day 4 – Adrenaline on the canyoning tour and dancing on the terrace
On the third and last full day, we leave in time for the ride back into the mountains right: we’re going canoying today! More and more spectacular are the views from the car. In the distance we see plains with snow, and bare peaks rise above us. In an ever narrowing gorge we ride to the starting point. After 20 minutes of walking, we can begin the hike down the river. Among flowers and countless butterflies, the turquoise stream swarms down. We imagine ourselves in a subtropical swimming paradise, only with ice cold water! Jumps from 1 to 8 meters in crystal clear water, along waterfalls, through small crevices and finally abseiling into a kind of painting with gurgling waterfall in the background. What a victory and what an experience!
And then the evening has yet to begin :-). On the terrace, we see it slowly getting dark. And when the stars appear above the vines, we throw ourselves onto the dance floor the old-fashioned way: i.e. barefoot we dance on the still warm stones. When Jochum pulls out his four bags of dress-up clothes, the fun is unstoppable. Dj Chiorso spins it up and the evening ends with a terrace full of partying, dressed up people all dancing with each other, including beaming elderly Spaniards, a whole group of Belgians on company outings and a merry men’s group also on deferred Lustrum trip from Maastricht. That we are just back home the next evening in Holland in time for dinner is almost unfathomable. It seems like a dream this trip.
Day 5 – One more dip in the cold river
The last day we dip our sleepy bodies in the ice-cold river, which wakes us up well! What a great time we had, what a place to get away from it all! No fussing about groceries or who cooks or what are we going to do: Jochum and his team take care of everything. The beds are lovely, the surroundings too good to be true! I would say this is a mega-recommendation for any old team. And also for all non former rowers :-). Very definitely until next time!
On behalf of all of Ladies 2000, Marieke Hogendorf (Kiekbuiten!)
Would you like to take an active trip with your sports and/or friends group? Check out our customized trips for groups and who knows, see you soon!