"...I need no stars to guide me...I need no sun to shine..."

                                       

                                     

                                     

After lunch and a couple of hours at the Prado I conned Zok into taking me to the gardens of El Retiro.

There is a man made lake with rowboats that can be rented by the hour. I knew that Zok had been a coxwan for a rowing team, but somehow I didn't think he would be such an expert rower. I felt pretty smug as we darted around the lake from Roman columns to grand square, past the Sphinx and over to watch the rather large fish leap from the water.

All the statues, buildings and sculpted gardens seem strange until I read that the park was only for royalty, used throughout the 17 th, century, open to the public in 1868.

The largest monument on the lake is 'Monument to Alfonso XII'.

But the lake was just the beginning of our adventure.

Return to Cradle Mountain

Zok and I took two new guests to Cradle Mountain. The experience was different than the time before. I could see how a person would return to Cradle Mountain year after year. This year we got better weather, on New Years Eve, we watched lightning bolts hit the horizon in bolt shape, or light up the sky as far as our eyes could see, and I for one, enjoyed this more than fireworks.
The next day was bright and sunny yet not too hot for our walks.
Our guests are not great walkers so we did some of the short walks and one longer one ourselves after lunch.

I did learn that 'warning trail not maintained' translates to 'vague notion of a trail' or 'the great hunt for trail markers'.

We did not see a Tasmanian devil, but we did see a pygmy possum, and a bettong. A pademelon came to the porch for a small treat. There was some confusion as to whether or not the animal was a bennent wallaby or a pademelon, but this one didn't have the notable white stripe or dark paws that are listed as defining markers of the bennent wallaby.

We stayed in our same cabin, "Currawong" at the "Highlanders Cabin", which I am quite attached to as choice for accommodation.
We didn't need to use the fireplace this time, but more animals came to the porch (banana were the winner, pumpkin was accepted but asparagus was a resounding 'no').