Crash Course in Sledding

Last Saturday, a group from the church and friends went to Cotos, which is about 2 hours by train, to sled and enjoy the fresh air. Each time I leave the city, the fresh air revives me. I need to leave civilization more often, I think. I was the first one at the train station that morning, arriving at 7:50 AM after having only slept six hours the night before. Around 8:25 the rest arrived and I forced my drowsy self to stand and greet the others. I took advantage of the trip to get to know a couple new people. In Cercedilla (Amy, we changed trains here to go to Segovia and met that Puerto Rican and Russian), we transferred to an ancient, sluggish, and charming train that took us as far as Cotos. The slopes were jam packed with kids sledding, so we pulled our four sleds to a slope a little more removed from the action. I understand now why it wasn't as populated. They were few the runs that didn't end in a spectacular crash due to the many large bumps. I got about six runs in total. My final run was with Guille, and we took a flying start, racing down the hill. It ended in a complete wipe out. I left my DNA on the slope, and my nose is still a little sore from where I bonked it on Guille's head. He took the brunt of the fall though, since I fell on top. I'm quite proud of the blood stain I left in the snow...like in the movies! Well, maybe not that spectacular. I'm very happy that no one was seriously injured.

After getting back to San Fernando, I helped cook for a dinner at the church in Canillejas. It was a late Valentine's Day dinner with entertainment, a fund raiser for the youth retreat during spring break. At the end of the evening, I was so tired I could have slept standing up, but I was also very contented. Sleepy and happy. The snow and fresh air combined with working in the kitchen made a full day, but a very good day as well. I had a lot of fun in the kitchen working with the others and I always enjoy work that brings visible results.

Sledding