Before Darren and I left in March to visit my friend Stella and her husband Jason in Spain, I had suspected months prior that Darren would ask me to marry him during the trip. However, as the time grew closer I became more and more uncertain that it would be the time; I feared he thought I suspected it too much.
My doubt remained even when Darren flew all the way to meet my parents to ask permission to marry me. He had kept it a undercover from me saying he was going on a "secret mission," but of course I was suspicious. What he didn't realize was that my parents were going on a trip to North Carolina and would not be at my house in Tennessee. Thankfully he called my mother to tell her he was coming beforehand and was able to change his tickets to Raleigh, NC. There he rented a car, drove two hours to Charlotte, and slept in the vehicle in order for the meeting to occur. From what I hear, my parents and he had a grand weekend kayaking and watching a rodeo. I was at a rock climbing girls trip in Red Rocks when I received a photo text message of him hugging my parents with the title below saying "mission accomplished."
Two weeks later, still trying to not get my hopes up too high, Darren and I embarked on our voyage to Spain. Our trip began by missing our flight connection (we had left LAX an hour late due to technical problems) in Paris and making the most of it by enjoying our free food and hotel, running around the city seeing the sites in our thin airplane clothing, drinking tiny cups of coffee, and then successfully begging a Hilton Hotel lady to let us use a toilet (they are impossible to find in Paris!).
We traveled to Spain the next morning and arrived still without our luggage. But we we managed to meet Stella and Jason in Sevilla. We spent the next few days borrowing clothes, exploring Sevilla and Cordoba, drinking cafe con leche, and experiencing the essence of tapas and "cacoa" with our friends.
Our luggage arrived just in time for Darren and I to rent a Ford Fiesta and drive out into the country. Using a much needed GPS we navigated windy farm roads to the White Hill Towns of Andalucia. We ended in a small mountain village called El Chorro. This was the place we had been anticipating to visit for months. It is the home of reputably fantastic climbing and the craziest mountain walkway we have ever heard of: El Camino del Rey (The King's Walkway).
After getting some sleep at a climber's hostel, we set off in the morning to the climbing area. We strapped on our harnesses and attached ourselves with webbing and carabiners to metal cables along the path. We carefully edged our way hundreds of feet above the canyon below on steel beams and cracked concrete. Darren and I took hundreds of pictures navigating the treacherous path and across a bridge made of a huge tube.
Just after this massive construction, Darren paused, and we took a moment to analyze the train tracks tunneling midway up the opposite side of the canyon. As we were standing there, Darren suddenly asked me, "So, what are you doing the rest of your life?" I replied something like, "Umm...hopefully I'll be with you." Things are a little hazy after that, but I remember him getting on his knee and asking if I would marry him. I nervously chattered things like "Seriously?" "Oh my goodness."
Meanwhile he reached into his pocket, and brought out....his chapstick! Thankfully he then pulled out a beautiful diamond ring that he had stealthily kept hidden during our trip. I then ecstatically said "yes," or "como no (of course)" or something to that general effect. Soon some climbers hiked up to us, so we had them take our photo. I don't think they realized what a memorable moment had just occurred in our lives.
I was so giddy that I had to be extra careful to attach myself to the cables as we navigated the rest of the walkway. After we descended El Camino del Rey, we tromped through fields of wildflowers and leapt over a stream to get to our climbing spot. A couple British guys were already there and commented how the approach was pretty crazy. I replied, "Yeah, it was. I just got engaged!" They were the first people to congratulate us on our engagement, and with them beside us, we happily began climbing. Each time it was my turn to climb, I would take off the ring, but then immediately put it back on while I was belaying. I was so stoked to have it on and remember that I was really engaged to the man I love.
A day and a half later, we picked up Stella and Jason at the train station in Malaga. We had previously planned to meet and travel to Gibraltar and Morocco together. I was thrilled to share the happiness of our engagement with them, and the joy spread through the rest of our trip.
I'm so glad Darren and I got engaged in Spain in a beautiful gorge doing the activity that originally brought us together. Darren really did a fantastic job, and I cannot imagine a better way that we could have gotten engaged. Every time I think about it, I still become gleeful and smile, not just because of the circumstances, but because of the man behind them.
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