Day No. 155 - Among wolves

Even though I've told you a story about bumblebees and dung beetles in the last few days, I'm not going to tell you the story of bees and pigs today. Although we had fun with both of them. Above all, we are grateful to the bees for their hospitality. Yesterday we had sought shelter from the wind in a small clearing in the forest, which was apparently colonized by several bee colonies. When I took a closer look at the situation, I promptly had several bees sitting on my arms, which signaled to me so nicely but firmly, up to here and no further. When I pulled back a little, the bees immediately flew back. - Today we leave our clearing in the forest. It was a strange experience to set up camp right next to beehives. The atmosphere was tough but warm.

Otherwise, we felt very sheltered in our clearing. Perhaps it was also because we had absolutely no network here, not exactly the ideal environment for us who want to fill our blog. And yet our digital detox was a very positive experience. - No blog, no YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, email, WhatsApp, phone, no Spiegel Online, no research... - but a little time for ourselves and for reading. - Torgit has had this one day longer. - We will definitely do it again. I happened to read the following saying, which I think is quite nice. "I am only available to those who appreciate me". - What we don't know at the time of our departure is that our radio network will remain pretty spotty, even today. (Note from Torgit: Marc and I have contracts with different mobile phone providers. Sometimes Marc has coverage, sometimes I do. Most of the time. )

Our route should take us in the direction of Antequera. - Three different satnavs show us a driving time of around 1 hour. But we want to try the small roads. So we drive along the reservoir again. The landscape is somewhat reminiscent of Tuscany, although there are not only hills but also high mountains. Our mini road winds like a snake through the landscape. What impresses us most is the variety of colors. The rocks vary in various shades of gray and red. The meadows, fields and olive groves show us how many shades of green there are. The green is reminiscent of lime green, apple green, kiwi green, moss green, leaf green and, of course, olive green. - Suddenly two peregrine falcons hover, one could say stand, directly above the road. For me, they are still the most elegant of all birds of prey. Up and down we go...

Suddenly we see a large wolf's head on the side of the road with the words LOBO PARK next to it. Wolf park, what's that supposed to be? Curious as we are, we simply drive into the park.

Lobo Park was created in 2002 as a private initiative. Several wolf enclosures were created on 400,000m² of land. - Various wolf breeds are kept here for study purposes and to protect the species. The pack behavior of the wolves can be observed here. Guided tours are offered and the next one is about to start. Coincidence? We decide that something will happen to us again and are curious. Conclusion: It was very exciting to see wolves up close. There is an Alaskan tundra wolf, a Hudson Bay wolf, a pack of Iberian wolves and a pack of European wolves. Nevertheless, we left the area undecided. Surely an area like this is a good place to dispel people's exaggerated fears of wolves. But we are not sure exactly how this park differs from an oversized zoo. - Everything we find online sounds positive at least. - The area is described as large and the wolves are kept in a natural environment. But you should only judge such a facility if you have the relevant expertise. We do not have it. - It is certainly worth mentioning that the park also has a small sanctuary for other animal breeds. There are donkeys, foxes and two pot-bellied pigs, as well as a Thai pig. We made friends with the latter straight away. If you like, you can sponsor a wolf for between €25 and €120.

The price for the wolf tours was €11.50 for adults and €7.50 for children. But there are also wolf howling nights under a full moon. - 36°59'07.8″N 4°37'15.8″W - In addition to the wolves, we also met real wolfmen, two rockers from the Wolfmen MC visit their four-legged brothers here.

When we arrive in Antequera, our galley first needs to be stocked. Everything is available here, including ALDI and LIDL. This wouldn't be my first choice at home. But here I am happy to find items such as herring dip, wholemeal bread, coarse liver sausage etc. in between.

As soon as we have everything together, we look for a place to sleep for the night. Here, too, we find a few suggestions via Park4Night. They all make a good impression, but there is plenty of wind today too. So we try a forest path a few meters behind a very run-down campsite. And lo and behold, we find what we are looking for. A small serpentine road winds its way along the mountain. Here we find a corner sheltered from the wind and are otherwise quiet and completely alone. - 36°59'20.7″N 4°31'42.0″W

A brief look back: From our pictures, you could almost get the impression that shorts and flip-flops have always been standard equipment. But things used to be different. Four years ago today was one such occasion. - You know those invitations that you just can't turn down? - That's exactly what happened to us back then. Suddenly and unexpectedly, we received an invitation to the Golden Camera in Hamburg. There are certainly many people who are happy about this and yes, Hamburg is almost always worth a trip. But how often in life do you need a tuxedo - do you have one in your wardrobe and if so, does it still fit? - I felt the same way, as I'm sure most people do. But at just under two meters tall, you can't rent one on every corner. Or is there? As I had to go on a business trip for a few days on the day of the invitation, I needed the tuxedo on the same day. Thanks to my wife, who not only put up with my mood, but also found a suitable tuxedo at the tuxedo rental shop in Cologne. - So it was quite nice in the end. But when you see me in the photos today, where do you think I feel more comfortable?