Pinos and Piscinas

Surprise Excursion! Would you like a hint? OK!

You will need: 

1) A picnic lunch

2) A bathing suit

3) Sneakers

4) Sunblock

Well, the sneakers part made assured me that I was not being whisked away to the beach for the day, but the sunscreen, bathing suit and picnic were a good sign.

So like a good girl, I didn't ask for more for hints and I didn't spy or stalk. I waited patiently for saturday to roll around and I packed all the necessary items including a fresh new pasta salad loaded with veggies and high fiber pasta! yum

Esteban drove us one hour away from Madrid, in the mountains of the Sierra, where apparently in the winter it snows a lot, but I wouldn't know considering I'm anti-snow. Before we knew it, we were near the little tiny ice cream-less town called Cercedilla.

What brought us here? Pinos and Piscinas. Here for 6.50 euros on the weekends and 5.50 on the weekdays, you can enter a small oasis with carloads of other Madrileños and escape the city heat for the day.

The atmosphere was a bit claustrophobic at first, the number of cars and people entering was overwhelming, but once we found a spot I could soak in the atmosphere, and the sun's rays, and really enjoy myself.

scoot over, please

It was actually kind of peculiar, to be surrounded by pines and other trees, but to be in clear view of a large pool and getting whiffs of chlorine!  (Note: I did not go into the pool. It was cold, and there were few people in the pool... a bad sign in my opinion... a sign of extreme coldness)

There you can also find a merendero, or picnic area/restaurant because it is said that there is no eating in the area, but I felt kind of left out being the ONLY person not eating, so we caved and enjoyed our pasta salad on our towels on the grassy greenness.  We did take advantage of the merendero and order a sangria and a beer to enjoy in the sun....

Which brings me to my next point... alcohol and pools are NEVER a permitted pair in America, so this was strange to me... what if someone got drunk and drowned!?!?! Surely that would/has happened in America. Good thing I'm not there anymore, Ill just sip my sangria in the sun of the Sierra =)

Once we've had enough sun, we moved onto the next portion of the surprise.... Amezonia Adventure Park! Aka Ropes Course AKA Death Trap.

Ok, so we didn't participate. Ok, maybe I chickened out.... but it was a die at your own risk type of thing! There were only a few monitors on the ground and you were on your own in the air! I would have participated with a trained professional up there to guide me and make sure I didn't hook something incorrectly and zip line my way to my death. 

So we passed... at least until I can mentally prepare myself with an ample amount of time before hand, and not 3 hours.... It is something I'd like to do again in my life, but with my increasing age I find myself to be more of a "scardy cat", or maybe ill instead go with the word "cautious". 

In any event, it was a perfect day and a great way to escape from the heat of Madrid, while not really leaving Madrid because you can still have your personal space in jeopardy by clustered Madrileños.

cross this pretty bridge at the edge of the ropes course to arrive to the oasis of pinos and piscinas