I was back in Benalmádena Tuesday with Kristina to go up to the town’s highest point, Mount Calamorro. We rode the “teleférico” (funicular or sky cablecar). The trip begins at about 100 meters above sea level (328 feet) and ends at nearly 800 meters (2,625 feet). San Geraldo didn’t join us. He has a fear of heights, can be a bit claustrophobic, and experiences motion sickness. (Other than that, he really is loads of fun.)
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| BEGINNING THE CLIMB. |
Story Time
Twenty-three years ago, we were stuck in a ski lift (chairlift) in Vermont with our friend Judy. While we waited in the air above Mount Snow, Judy and I commented on the spectacular view.
San Geraldo was not pleased. “Stop turning your heads!!! You’re shaking the chair!!!”
We were stuck for about 10 minutes — maybe less — at a height of about 30 feet.
San Geraldo says we swung wildly over a 500-foot chasm — for more than two hours.
Admittedly, there was a really big boulder below us. It would have hurt.
So, I suppose Benalmádena’s Teleférico is one thing San Geraldo will likely never experience.
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| HANGING OUT THE WINDOW FOR A VIEW BACK TO THE SEA. |
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| LOOKING WEST. |
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| FROM THE TOP: VIEW FROM ONE OF THE HIKING TRAILS. |
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| HANGING OUT THE WINDOW AS WE HEAD BACK DOWN. |
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| WE COULD ALWAYS JUST HIKE THAT TRAIL.. |
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| ON A CLEAR DAY, YOU CAN SEE THE NORTH COAST OF AFRICA. |
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| LOOKING BACK AT MOUNT CALAMORRO. |
Maybe some fairy dust would help San Geraldo.
Then again, maybe not. He’d still be airborne.
I remember seeing this on TV for the first time in 1960 and it gave me goose bumps. It still does. (I won’t grow up, I guess.)