Hey all! We are leaving Spain this Saturday and get to Omaha on Sunday night, so this will be our last blog before we leave. Thanks for reading! We'll keep posting on here, but it might change a bit.
The last few posts were all written on the same day, but they were posted late, sorry!
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Canoeing in the Asturias
Sunday morning was just as beautiful as the day before and we were very thankful because we were about to jump into canoes on the icy river! We were all fitted into a wetsuit and were given a lifejacket that fastened on the sides, and of all things, it had a strap that went from the back in between the legs to fasten in the front. The canoes were made of brightly colored plastic and were meant to seat two adults, but Matt and I went with Leanne because there was an odd number of people. Oh my! How we struggled to paddle in rhythm with one another while avoiding skimming rocks on the shallow parts and trying to fight the current that often carried us into the riverbanks. Finally, we got the hang of our boat and its movements and we slowly paddled along while enjoying the beautiful scenery and the peacefulness of the day. Our group was far ahead of us when we decided to pick up the pace and follow the current; not more than a few minutes later, we found ourselves bearing a hard left along with the rushing water, heading straight towards a large tree trunk along the bank jutting into the water. What happened next is a bit fuzzy, but somehow all three of us knew we were about to hit that tree, and yet none of us anticipated the strength of the impact or the pull of the current. After the crash we briefly struggled to pull away from the bank and the trunk, but instead we were tipped over into the icy water. Leanne and I were trapped under the canoe while Matt was quickly above water, just in time to realize he had lost his prized canteen in the boat’s capsizing. He then made a quick decision and left the canteen for lost and aided us girls in pulling off the canoe and catching our breaths before we scrambled for the oars, the boat, and the tub with our lunch. We were sitting in the boat, wet and shivering cold, when Evaristo called, “HEY you guys! Are you alright?” It’s funny how a person thinks. Leanne answered, “I lost my shoes!” and Matt yelled, “Catch the tub! It has our camera in it!” The rest of the trip was much more calm and we took our blessed time and made various jokes teasing each other, like, “Hey Leanne! I think I see your shoe floating over there!” And that was it. When we finished we ate yet another sandwich for lunch and took showers before heading back to Vigo. We had fun chatting in Spanish with Evaristo on the way home and that made the hours pass quickly. We were back in Vigo by 10 pm; today, we felt just fine, no muscle pain or anything (I mean, very little). You know what? This morning with Matt’s binoculars we saw Leanne’s shoes floating in the harbor. What a pity Matt’s canteen didn’t come along with them ☺
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Hiking in the Asturias
On Saturday, we were happy to sleep in and were content to meet for breakfast at ten in the morning. The hostel prepared a nice, abundant breakfast for our group: bread, butter, jelly, coffee and milk. I was a bit disappointed, honestly. We needed bacon and eggs for energy! Soon afterwards, we drove even higher up in the mountains for another hour and half more and parked in a small tourist village at the head of the trail. The hiking was amazing; the views were spectacular and the weather couldn’t have been more pleasant. We hiked until midway and stopped for our much needed lunch break and never, ever has a ham and cheese sandwich tasted so good! We also had yummy raisins, yogurt, and a bit of chocolate, so afterwards, Matt and I felt much more energetic. We took lots of photos and enjoyed good conversation with Leanne, our friend from Kansas City. We arrived back in the village 18 kilometers later, happy, exhausted and full of fresh air. What a good feeling! After going back to the hostel and showering, our group went looking for a nice restaurant to eat supper, only it was 11 pm. As expected, no one restaurant could seat and serve thirty people, so we split up into groups and chose according to our preference. Of all things, Matt, Leanne, and me ended up eating pizza, which was totally mundane and uncool, but it was the cheapest and at one of the few places still serving food. We did try the famous Asturian apple cider known as sidra and then went back to the hostel to enjoy some well-deserved sleep – it was almost 2 before we even got back! What do you think of the photos?
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Getting to Asturias
It’s been over a month since
we’ve last added to blog, and for good reason too. Our beloved computer suffered a screen meltdown (of sorts) so Matt dutifully trekked to Santiago to take the computer to the Apple service center. In the meantime, we stayed busy reading Don Quixote, which we recommend to everyone because it’s funny and silly and smart at the same time, hanging out around Vigo (we saw Spiderman with Jenny and Johnny!) and spending a weekend with Gabriel and his family near Ourense. Then we
began to prepare for a weekend trip to the Picos de Europa, which is in the Asturias, with a group of international students. We met at Plaza Espana on Friday night around 8 in the evening and left town just before nine. We made a fun car parade – five in total for our group of thirty. Matt and I were happy to ride with our friends Evaristo and Isabel, whom we met on our first hike earlier this spring. It turns out Europeans are fast
drivers, despite the disadvantages of a dark night and curvy mountainous roads. In fact, the Spaniards drove most dangerously, but the cars of French and Italian students certainly kept the pace up. However, I must admit that European cars are much more conducive for driving recklessly because all have stick control and run on diesel fuel and are small and compact. Matt says they weren’t driving too dangerously…just incredibly fast: at times, Evaristo was clocking at 140 km.
Around midnight we stopped for a break and I happily believed we were within an hour or so of the hostel in Cangas de Onis, but yet I couldn’t stay awake in the car, and neither could Matt. Somehow I was sleeping deeply and comfortably and yet I was aware of the bitter cold air of the wind when Evaristo would open the windows for a few moments to jolt himself awake. At three in the morning I was woken up by the neon lights
of several policemen on foot in the middle of the highway. It turns out, they were conducting a random drug and alcohol check and they chose the very last car of our parade to search: the Italians. Evaristo jumped out of our car to help the Italians with Spanish if they needed it and then he told us the funny story when he got back. The police demanded all forms of ID and licenses and heard the story of their studying abroad and then asked, “Do you have drugs in your car?” Evaristo made a joke, “YEAH! We are
from Vigo! What kind would you like?!” As to make fun of two things: first, because Vigo is infamous for drug traffic due to the busy harbor, and secondly, who would admit to having drugs in the car anyway? Consequently, the police opened the trunk and searched the bags and finally were satisfied and let us on our way after more than ten minutes. Thankfully, we arrived at the hostel within the next half hour and Matt and I found our bunk beds and were out for the night. That is, after the Italians decided to go to bed because all Italians are loud, happy, boisterous and active and most of all, they like to party. I mean, if we were to use stereotypes…
we’ve last added to blog, and for good reason too. Our beloved computer suffered a screen meltdown (of sorts) so Matt dutifully trekked to Santiago to take the computer to the Apple service center. In the meantime, we stayed busy reading Don Quixote, which we recommend to everyone because it’s funny and silly and smart at the same time, hanging out around Vigo (we saw Spiderman with Jenny and Johnny!) and spending a weekend with Gabriel and his family near Ourense. Then we
began to prepare for a weekend trip to the Picos de Europa, which is in the Asturias, with a group of international students. We met at Plaza Espana on Friday night around 8 in the evening and left town just before nine. We made a fun car parade – five in total for our group of thirty. Matt and I were happy to ride with our friends Evaristo and Isabel, whom we met on our first hike earlier this spring. It turns out Europeans are fast
drivers, despite the disadvantages of a dark night and curvy mountainous roads. In fact, the Spaniards drove most dangerously, but the cars of French and Italian students certainly kept the pace up. However, I must admit that European cars are much more conducive for driving recklessly because all have stick control and run on diesel fuel and are small and compact. Matt says they weren’t driving too dangerously…just incredibly fast: at times, Evaristo was clocking at 140 km.
Around midnight we stopped for a break and I happily believed we were within an hour or so of the hostel in Cangas de Onis, but yet I couldn’t stay awake in the car, and neither could Matt. Somehow I was sleeping deeply and comfortably and yet I was aware of the bitter cold air of the wind when Evaristo would open the windows for a few moments to jolt himself awake. At three in the morning I was woken up by the neon lights
of several policemen on foot in the middle of the highway. It turns out, they were conducting a random drug and alcohol check and they chose the very last car of our parade to search: the Italians. Evaristo jumped out of our car to help the Italians with Spanish if they needed it and then he told us the funny story when he got back. The police demanded all forms of ID and licenses and heard the story of their studying abroad and then asked, “Do you have drugs in your car?” Evaristo made a joke, “YEAH! We are
from Vigo! What kind would you like?!” As to make fun of two things: first, because Vigo is infamous for drug traffic due to the busy harbor, and secondly, who would admit to having drugs in the car anyway? Consequently, the police opened the trunk and searched the bags and finally were satisfied and let us on our way after more than ten minutes. Thankfully, we arrived at the hostel within the next half hour and Matt and I found our bunk beds and were out for the night. That is, after the Italians decided to go to bed because all Italians are loud, happy, boisterous and active and most of all, they like to party. I mean, if we were to use stereotypes…
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
