Campeonato Escalada

I got on a beginners' climbing course a few weeks ago (after all, I had brought my gear all the way from Finland). The climbing courses of UPV are held by Pedro Pons, who is a world-famous climber, a boulder world champion. The indoor climbing wall they have here in UPV is just fantastic. They say it's one of the few of it's kind in Europe, of course made by a Spanish company.

The word about a competition just came up on the last climbing class. I was practically forced to sign my name and get on. Well, no regrets there... it was awesome to see the best competeers on the final route. The winner was no suprise. Juan Pons, the little brother of the campeón, did the final route even quicker than Pedro himself.

And by the way... I finished 18th :)

Starting up.. It was freezing cold inside


This is the Rocódromo


At first all the contestants had to do three routes


I'm getting ready for Via 2


The final route being prepared while the girls still climb


Here is the campeón Pedro Pons showing us how to do it


These are the finalists who finished second and third

Visiting Alcoy with Javier

It was time to see the traditional ensayo (rehearsal) they have each month in Alcoy, a small city close to Valencia. Javier asked me and Jussi (another finnish Erasmus) to come and see the what the party was all about. It turned out to be very fun. Especially the way that the fathers and sons drank and ate together and had a good time. People at the fiesta were really interested to know about Finland, so we had a lot to talk about.

Alcoy lies in a valley surrounded by steep rocky mountains. There are four long bridges that take you over the valley and to downtown. It's something that really catches your eye. I heard the rate of cars per population in Alcoy is the second highest in Europe after Milan. Just look at the cars running by - they all have just one passenger!

I learned that Alcoy was one of the first two cities in Spain to have a textile factory, in addition to Barcelona. The small town became wealthy and the alcoyans still have a strong relationship with barcelonetas. After all, the streets of Alcoy do resemble Barcelona with the narrow, rundown streets full of small balconies. On the other hand, there are the posh, miles long shopping avenues full of small shops. It seems you can find most of the things you need right here in Alcoy.

Javier, big thanks for all your effort! Let's see if we can get those hotel rooms booked for April's Gran Fiesta ;)

Here are some of the fotos I and Jussi took in Alcoy