So this last week has been a whirlwind. Thus a crazy long blog--sorry. We again struck out
as a group of thirteen with our fearless leader Juanka, his wife Lorena, their
daughter Helena, our viaje leader Verónica, and our bus driver Ricardo for a
week of travels.
Domingo (Sunday):
I dragged myself out of bed at 7:30 and trudged the
40-minute walk with my luggage to the bus. We then proceeded to drive eight
hours to Salamanca where we checked into our hotel. We went on a quick walking
tour of the city and then had free time for dinner. A few of us just found a
close tapas place to eat and then I went back to the hotel and took a bath
(this will be a theme for this week) because it was raining (another theme) so
we were all soggy and cold (and another).
Lunes (Monday):
We got up at eight, ate
breakfast, and then checked out of our hotel. Before we left the city, we
visited the University of Salamanca, which is the oldest university in Spain
and the third oldest in Europe, founded in 1218 by King Alfonso IX. 
It’s very touristy now but the building is still really
cool. Unfortunately, due to a freak computer malfunction, I lost the vast
majority of pictures from Monday but at least I have the one of the library.
One day I want a library like this.
We also checked out the Nueva Catedral in Salamanca.
From there we hopped on the bus and drove to León for lunch
and a quick look at the cathedral and the town. This was one of the only times
this whole week that we saw sun and it was a good place for it.
Lunch was a big ordeal with all of us at a great restaurant
featuring an aperitif, first and second plate accompanied by wine, a desert,
and finished with espresso. I sat by Juanka, Lorena, and Verónica and we
chatted the two and a half hours in Spanish. We ate good food, drank good wine,
and had good conversation. From there we drove to Oviedo, checked into our
hotel by about 9, and then had free time. I was still pretty full from lunch so
I just ran out and bought a tomato, an avocado and some cheese and ate in my
room, took a bath, and turned in early. Gabbi, my roommate on the road, had her
own room with her boyfriend who visiting and traveling with us so I got a room
to myself this week. It was nice to have some space but I do like living with
someone and Gabbi and I get along well.
Martes (Tuesday):
Rise and shine at 8, ate breakfast, and headed out on the
bus for the outskirts of Oviedo to visit some Pre-Romanesque churches. One such
church, Santa María del Naranco, was built in 848 and is very cool.
The church, the hills, the green, and the rain made the
whole scene seem right out of Scotland or something.
Then we headed over to a tiny little town set into the
mountain to escape notice from pirates. This place was gorgeous though very
wet.
Nearby to this cute sea town we ate another similarly large
lunch. Not as fun because we were all grumpy and soggy. We had a ton of seafood
and fish on this trip because we were by the ocean but I’m sad to say that I am
one of the only adventurous eaters on the trip and everyone was very finiky. It
made meals a bit complicated and annoying. I loved it though. We headed back to
Oviedo and saw the inside of the cathedral this time and walked around the old,
historical part of the city. I was still stuffed so I ate a snack in my room,
took a bath, and crashed.
Miércoles (Wednesday):
We woke up to snow on Wednesday. We were supposed to go
check out a lake in the mountains that day and we were all looking forward to
it but because of the weather we couldn’t risk driving through the pass with
our bus. So I went back to sleep. After another large lunch with cool new types
of fish and a very interesting cauliflower stew, we went to a city named
Avilés. Francie and Khethiwe and I wandered around and discussed life and drank
coffee and that’s about it. We were all too worn out to do much. Same thing as
Tuesday night.
Jueves (Thursday):
Breakfast at 8 followed by a four-hour bus ride found us in
Luarca for some free time and an early lunch (meaning 1:30). Luarca is another
coastal town on a hill and it is as we say in Spain, muy impresionante. Also, my camara died right at the
beginning of the day so all I have are bad quality pictures from my ipod and my
friends.
There’s a lot of naval history in this little town and
plenty of things for me to geek out about. I was having a wonderful time.
And for the picture of the week: Paraguas (umbrellas)
After our bone-chilling tour we found a place that served
pasta. Pasta! Then, you guessed it, bath and sleep.
Viernes (Friday):
My favorite day in Spain to date. Friday was a tour of the
coast and our only day with sun. We first stopped for a photo-op at Carnota. This place:
This is my awesome new friend Francie. We take great photos
together.
Then on to another pueblo by the sea called Muros. I
wandered off by myself to walk along the water in the little bay. I found an
abundance of tiny shells that look like intricate ceramics. I’m coming for you
Nana :D
From there we stopped at a waterfall:
In the middle of these stops we drove along the waterfront
of one of the most quant and naturally beautiful places I’ve ever seen. As I’ve
told Richael over fanatic texts from the bus, my new goal in life is to become
a professor and spend my summers in a tiny cabin on the northern coast of
Spain. My favorite stop on this drive through paradise was a place called Cape
Finisterre. For the many centuries before Columbus “discovered” the Americas
for the Western cultures, it was thought that this Cape Finisterre was farthest
Western point before the flat world stopped. That’s why this is called the End
of the World. The magnitude of what this historically, culturally, and
navigationally means was multiplied by the absolute vastness of the ocean that
just seemed to go on forever and we were all giddy.
Like I said, we take great photos. The word for these I
believe would be epic.
I got a square-rigged ship fridge magnate to remember the
place :D We then proceeded to Rest were we had our best lunch yet. Since we were so
close to the ocean, we just had to have seafood. Our first course was sautéed
pulba or octopus and boiled mejillones or mussels and plenty of good white
wine. We were all in such a good mood that everyone except the one vegetarian
tried both dishes, which was a huge step for girls who normally have trouble
eating salmon. This was followed by enormous pans of paella with giant gambas
(prawns) and ended with a traditional cake from Salamanca made with almonds and
café con leche. Just in case we hadn’t had our minds blown enough that day we
ended with a stop at Muxía. This place has an old church right on this
peninsula with amazing rock formation beaches. I pulled an Ashley and started
scaling as many pinnacles as I could. There is no way to capture the beauty of
this place.
I did not want to leave. I go back there one day, I swear.
Then, sadly, we drove back to Santiago. Everyone was worn out but Khethiwe and
I decided to go find some tapas and see what was going on. We found a fun tapas
place where a ton of people were watching a fútbol game and then moved on to
see if we could find a bar. The problem was it was only midnight and even
though it was Friday, nothing had started yet. We wandered and while walking by
the cathedral, we saw this large group of about a few hundred 15- or 16-year
olds in a circle chanting something. I’m pretty sure it was a school or camp
kind of thing, but in the shadow of the very large and serene cathedral at
night it seemed very cultish. It felt like we had stumbled upon some ancient
ritual. It was pretty crazy actually. We then found a bar that was pretty empty
but it was fun anyway. Walking back we were about to give up on the Santiago
nightlife when I heard a street performer singing the Rolling Stone’s Sympathy
for the Devil and I instinctively started singing along. He had an audience of
two women and they and the performer seemed happily surprised and he motioned
for me to keep singing so I harmonized along with his Spanish guitar version of
Jagger. They all kept telling me how much they liked my voice and wanted me to
sing more. The guitarist was thrilled that I knew the Beatles and sang with me
on I Want to Hold Your Hand, Blackbird, and Norwegian Wood. It was so
spontaneous and random but or course those are always the best experiences. I
shook the guy’s hand, tipped him a few euro for the pleasure of singing with
him and Khethi and I went home. You just can’t plan things like that!
Sábado (Saturday):
We checked out after breakfast at 8:30 and drove the five
hours to Zamora, a city with lots of cool Romanesque architecture. We had a
tour of the old stuff and I stupidly forgot my camera in the bus. I’m post some
photos when Mia sends me the ones she took for me. This was followed by another
enormous lunch and more hilarity within our group. Another three hours on the
bus found us in Cáceres for the night. I had bought some rice crackers, cheese,
and salami at a stop and just munched on that for dinner while skyping people.
I got to talk to mom about our amazing trip to Barcelona and Rome coming up in
less than a week and then caught up with Joseph. I still can’t wrap my head
around Skype. It’s bizarre being in Spain and seeing Joseph in his room next
door to my old room in Alder. I sure do miss that place despite my amazing
adventures. I am so happy I’ll get to spend summer with that wonderful man and
Janel.
Domingo (Sunday):
A walking tour of Cáceres showed us that there is a surplus
of little streets and very cool buildings. It’s just ridiculous how different
the architecture in the North is from the South. This is such a diverse
country.
Oh, and I became a horse for a moment. I carried the fearless warrior (Charlotte) into battle with the dragon (Alyssa). We're goofy.
Then we drove to Mérida. In our art history class we studied
the ancient Roman ruins of the theater of Mérida. It’s one of the best-preserved
Roman theaters and I’ve been itching to see it. My reaction to standing on the
stage makes me a bit worried that my mind and, frankly, emotions won’t be able
to handle Rome where everything is like this. I love my life.
We went to lunch and then drove back to Sevilla. It was so
weird that even after only two months of living in this city, it felt like
coming home. Josefa was so smiley and happy to see me; it was adorable. It
feels good to be back, unpacked, sitting in bed, chatting with Merisa.
To sum up a crazy trip: Spain’s cool. And I’m so incredibly
lucky and privileged to have seen a large part of it already. Ok, back to
classes for four days, then getting pampered by Mom. !Hasta luego!
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