Objekt: El Olivo
Spain vacation 2017...and everyone brings a small souvenir from the vacation home! She's not really that handy, surely a few hundred years old and a real heavyweight at that!
By the tip of an acquaintance we came to the root and the root with all forces we could muster to us!
"A dam in Catalonia"... was the recommendation. Arrived at the reservoir it was not so easy to get down to the water so steep it was. The descent resembled rather the gauntlet run over a scree slope. With luggage "not so funny"! But the water offered a welcome refreshment. While the children were still completely fascinated by the big fishes, our eyes were already wandering around on the opposite side of the lake... A good piece away but we were sure that what piled up there had to be mountains of driftwood. Armed for all sizes of takeaways - well not all sizes but we didn't know that until then - we found our big Luma (there are people who call this thing also "guest bed"), as a suitable carriage!
Quite soon it was clear that such a double bed was less suitable than a rowing vehicle, but what soll´s! Two who don't want to give up, on such a thing they reach the other shore sometime. Since the reservoir lake had a quite low water level, all the flotsam from better water times lay on this steep slope. One of us climbed along the shore and collected what went the other one took care that the "raft" does not make itself independent. Not such an easy undertaking! From the rugged rock we went directly into unknown water depths. After some "Aaah´s" and "Oooohs" because of the variety of beautiful flotsam and jetsam, she lay in front of us! Our olive root!! Unspoken that it is impossible to recover them. Unspoken that we have never found anything more powerful! Unspoken that we will not leave until this monster is loaded! And it is very clear that we will recover this root!
On our "comfortable" airbed back to the mooring paddled at the nearby boat rental, pedal boat and canoe rented and made with ropes, swimming noodles and all kids on the way to the root
The plan was to simply pull the root behind one of the boats... The pedal boat did not move one centimetre from the spot when the monster was hanging on the "hook". Since the root was so heavy that it sank in the water we had to support it with swimming noodles. In the end our sweetheart gave way and gave in. With ropes wrapped around and on swimming noodles softly bedded we dragged the root, with united forces by canoe once across the lake.
Since we did not have any aids for the heavy weight for the transport from the shore to the car, we secured the root and planned the next stage for the following day. Before the 'early bird' we arrived at the lake again the next morning. The plan was to pull the root along the shore with the help of our rubber dinghy. After about 200 meters we had a wheelbarrow (we had a great, fully equipped cottage) to get to the car.
Everything is always easier said than done if you start from a root that weighs between 160 and 180 kilos.
Long story short...We conquered the monster and came back to the house happy but totally accomplished, punctually for breakfast!
We must be eternally grateful to our bus for the return journey! 6 people with enough luggage anyway...Lots of flots of flotsam, memories and a root like it doesn't occur in the wildest dreams...good car!