Translation of óptimo

The mothers of my girlfriends were so insulted when I never wanted to eat their food. I mean, in the beginning they liked me, but once the saw my eating habits everything changed. I guess I blew it.
Nevertheless I think that we need to communicate. All in all, we will learn a lot from each other, mostly by writing, but speaking exercises are also really good for your Spanish skills. Is this OK?
In order to get to this hidden lake one would have to row beneath a cave. On the other side of the cave the five of us were alone. The lake was surrounded by limestone mountains covered with tropical trees.