El Valle

After Santa Fe, we went to El Valle and that little town, located in a crater of an old volcano, was yet again another amazingly beautiful place that we visited during this fantastic holiday. The drive up was an interesting one as the road up to the edge of the crater was like a go-carting track with many serpentine curves right through the jungle. Fortunately, none of us got car sick (this time.)

The Airbnb location had a pool and that was something we had all looked forward to as in Santa Fe, we had been without a shower for the entire the duration of our stay. Washing ourselves with warm (cooked on our stove) water from pots and pans was not our ideal way of having a holiday. That the water was a little cold didn't matter that much. 

Although Anna and I do like to hike it is not always easy to get the girls enthusiastic (which is logic when they are at this age). They do join when we promise them some kind of 'carrot', whether it is a nice waterfall to swim in, an Oreo cookie (Junia) or a salty cheese snack (Alma) in advance. So we usually have those cookies and snacks on stock, at least as long as Anna and I haven't finished them the night before. 

El Valle was a great place for hiking. One of the greatest hikes we did this holiday was a hike to the edge of the crater. What started as a short 10 min stroll to a waterfall ended up to be a 90 min hardcore hike upwards. Junia managed to get up to the top all by her own, which was truly impressive! Kiara sat very comfortably in her mother's 'ergo baby' and Alma sat on my shoulders for the last part of the hike. The view from the top was stunning and even the girls seemed to enjoy it. It was a great family achievement and it made a nice picture moment. 

One happy family!

At times, it was rather windy and rainy. 

We didn't do much with Christmas this year. It was a little odd that we didn't have 'physical' presents but we all (some more than others...) realised that the biggest present we got was the fact that we were on an amazing journey with the five of us. Christmas Eve dinner was mashed potatoes, broccoli, frozen vegetable mix and supermarket grilled chicken. Not in accordance to a Hasselrot tradition but it truly was a feast for all of us.  

At Christmas Day, Junia decided that she wanted to spend Mormors Christmas gift money on a canopy zip lining experience. Although she didn't realize what she was up to, she was extremely enthusiastic. Anna and I were both impressed by her fearless attitude. When Junia finished, she admitted that she was little nervous when she saw how high it was, but she was looking forward to the Leksand sommarland day this summer where we promised her another zip line tour. 

We finished our El Valle visit by visiting a mud bath/ natural spa.