一面に広がる乾燥したオリーブ畑の中にあるアルパカのおばあちゃんのお家に行くのが、スペインに行ったら欠かせないこと。昼ごはんの支度ができるまで、家の正面にあるテラスにみんなで輪になって座って近況を話し合う。長いテーブルを囲んでおばあちゃんの手作りのスペイン料理をみんなで腹いっぱいになるまで食べたら、またテラスに移動して午後はずっとくつろぐ時間です。この前おばあちゃんちを訪れたとき、いっぱい食べた後は腹ごなしに散歩したい派の私、アルパカとアルパカママ、ブラザーは一緒に曲がりくねった道をひたすら山に向かって歩きました。
辺りは背の低いオリーブの木がきれいに並んでいて、地面は暑さもあって所々にヒビが入っている。そんな地面の割れ目からたくましくいろんな雑草が生えていたのだけど、一見葉っぱなんだけど実は棘を持つ雑草がたくさん生えていて、ここに転んだら痛いだろうなと想像しました。
ある地点で視界の開けたところに出た時。最初はその景色に圧倒されたんですが、すぐそこにたくさんパンパスグラスが伸びていて思わず目が行きました。風に頭のふさふさを揺らされてる。とってもススキに似ていたので、日本の秋を思い出して一人しみじみ。夏ももうすぐ終わりますね。
つづく
Alpaca's grandma's house is surrounded by a dry olive field. When we come back to Spain, going there is a must. Until lunch is ready, we sit and catch up with everyone on the terrace. After enjoying grandma's homemade Spanish dishes until we are about to explode, we go back to the terrace to chill for the whole afternoon. The last time we had a gathering, Alpaca, his mum & brother and I wanted to walk instead to help digestion, we had a long walk towards the mountains.
There were a lots of short olive trees around that were lined up nicely. The ground were cracking because of the heat and dryness - from where different types of peculiar-looking wild grasses were coming from. One of them had lots of thorns (that looked like little leaves) - this made me think about the massive pain and stress I would have to deal with if I fell on it.
At some point we came out to an open space where the lower part of the mountains could be seen. First I was completely fascinated by the view, but lots of pampas grass came into sight and they caught my eye. Their fluffy heads are shaken by wind. As they almost look the same as susuki, they reminded me of Japanese autumn - which made me melancholic. Summer is coming to an end.
To be continued
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