"Light más candles, Mujeres."

It all started with a cheese museum. Melinda found it last year and didn’t go, so it was her goal for this year. We had arrived in Trujillo and had a lazy first morning. This means we ran into the “siesta problem” where everything is closed when you are finally ready to see things. We figured by driving to Casar de Cáceres, we would arrive after the museum reopened. As usual, we left later than planned. Also usual, we got lost in the sidewalk-street driving and were even later. Get to the museum just before 5...and it’s closed. (We thought it was supposed to open at 4.) At 5:01 a frustrated woman arrives to reopen the museum (thinking, “lame, early Germans!”) and we enter. She seems gruff, uninterested, and annoyed by us. You know, typical European museum staff. But we were so wrong. By the time we finished touring the museum, she was explaining things and smiling and she even gave the kids little sheep keychain souvenirs.

Casar makes a very strong, pungent, soft cheese “tort”. Casar was a stopping point along the shepherding route from southern to northern Spain. The town began to make a hard sheep cheese, but when it failed, it made a soft cheese that spoiled quickly without refrigeration. Of course with time, the “failure” became a delicacy and now “Torta de Casar” is a sought after cheese exported worldwide.

We left Casar after the museum and stopped in the county seat of Cáceres. Unimpressed by the honking local drivers and the Atlantic City feel...we returned to Trujillo. But not before the tire warning light came on in the car🤦‍♀️ THAT is not the fun story for today. Blah, blah, blah, but after a nice Spanish gas station attendant checked our tires a million times...I think they were all overinflated and the sensor is set wrong.

The good story comes AFTER the tires. You may think it was Maria hitting the castle wall, but NO! That was the previous story! Pay attention! 😂

THIS is the story...

The following morning we went on a walking tour of Trujillo which ended at the castle (ie...our car park;)) I thought we should check the tires to confirm the sensor was not showing a real problem after all. We checked the tires, photographed the ding in the bumper from the castle wall, and parked the car in a better position. We left. We napped, we swam, we went out for drinks and tapas, we slept for the night, we repacked, we checked out from the hotel the this morning, and:
Melinda: “You have the keys. You never gave them back to me after we moved the car.”
Maria: “😳. I don’t have the keys.”

Maria is not sure how to introduce this...or begin the story...or...but in the end, Maria made Ian go check the car, and... he found the key, on the front seat of our Audi A4 (for which we purchased no extra insurance)...and...needless to say...the car was unlocked. Maria doesn’t know if that is the funny part, or the fact that Ian then took the keys and LOCKED the car. Because, I mean, you got away with 24 hours unlocked with the keys on the front seat, but... Ian takes no chances😂

So, pretty much, that ONE candle I lit for hopeless causes? Got. my. money’s. worth.🙌Read more