After the wonderful night salsa dancing in Portland, I was questioning my original plan to spend the weekend rock climbing at Smith Rock. Should I instead plan another weekend dancing in Portland?
But I did FELT I had to go to Smith Rock, and sometimes, unexplainably, I just have to do things. I learned it from Coehlo’s “Alchemist”, and so far it has taken me far and in wonderful places.
Smith Rock was wonderful! It was great seeing Niel after so many years; he is exactly the same, more of a man, some white hairs, but brilliant and caring just like I remembered him. Niel, like Maria, Akiko and Tyson, is the product of the first magical year spent in Bangor, North Wales, the city of happiness.
Being back climbing was such a feeling too. I suck, but after so many years I am not that surprised. Luckily I have an accent and if I ask, at the start of a hard climb, “can you please help me to lift my bum, it feels so heavy today”, none objects (and I get the help I need).
I wanted to climb, I missed it, I missed the “vertical sensation”, when you feel you are just laying horizontally on the rock. Well, sometimes I though “why am I doing this again?”. My fingers bleed, my legs nervously shake like leaves in the wind, my whole body ached, but I felt so happy!
The company was wonderful. I car pooled with some people from Corvallis and meet with the rest of the Canadian crew in Smith. Niel was with them. Canadian do say “eh” at the end of each phrase, it is funny. They were all good climbers. The first day I was grateful to be able to climb a 5.9 or 5.10. The second day a 5.10b was my easiest pick. They said I had a great stamina, which is a nice way to say “I cannot believe it takes you so long to finish that route!”. But I do not like leaving things unfinished (with the exception of a 5.11, which I knew from the star I do not have the skills to finish, but it is fun to give it a try anyway).
Niel and I reunited after 8 years! He is just the same!
sometimes you just think "why is it that I am doing this again?"then you realize why mother nature gave us knuckles... it is to stick them into small cracks of the rocks to lift us up..
SECOND DAY: into the canyon
and dress up party with lasagna at night... before the hot tub!! yeah!
I wonder now if the reason was for me to go to the rock climbing gym to practice and meet somebody that at my age, did exactly what I am about to do, which is secure some financial stability and dedicate a life to a passion. He did it, I do not see why I can not do it.
One of my heroes, Randy Pausch, said: “Brick walls are there for a reason. They are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something”. I cannot really say “I want” something (my parents used to say “l’erba voglio non esiste neanche nel giardino del re” –“Not even in the king’s garden you can grow the grass ‘I want’”), but there are different things that “I would like”, and I do not see why I should not go for them.
It is time now for me to go for them. Right now I am flying on a winged steed called Lufthansa (fly with them! They serve Milka chocolate!!!), somewhere above Greenland, it is sunset, and I feel like I am about to fight a dragon. I escaped the castle many years ago, grew stronger with amazing friends, it is now time to go back.
And I am back taking my time, no work or home to go back to, I am foreseeing a whole summer in Italy.
Claudia, “eventually” as arrived, and do not worry, I am drawing the attach plan with you!
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