Picos de Europa: Or the 7 Natural Wonders of Northern Spain

Oh the wonders I have seen! This weekend on our Girl's Trip to Picos de Europa in Asturias and Cantabria, I honestly believe I've seen what should be considered the Seven Natural Wonders of Spain...or something like it. Incredible views both in the mountains and on the beach-- and on beaches surrounded by mountains. At times I felt like I was on another planet with the interesting rock formations. On the drive home we stopped at about four beaches, which might have been excessive but every time we got out to explore, I was left more impressed and intrigued than by the last. Obviously we're not talking about just sandy beaches, but ones with sick rock formations and little grottos. Since between the four of us we probably took 500 pictures, instead of writing I'm just going to include a plethora of photos. So if your computer is slow, you might just wanna skip this post. :) However I will say that after passing through many a-town, we would all say "If I had a country house it would be here" I've decided on the ideal: Cangas de Onís for during the week, and then San Sebastián or another coastal city for the weekends.

Tales from Galicia's Greatest Instituto

Haven't written in a while, basically because nothing extraordinary has happened. Daily life in Galicia now seems pretty normal. This week in almost all of my classes I played vocabulary baseball with the kids. People often ask me what I miss about the USA, and now I have my answer. It made my day when one of the older students seemingly researched my baseball team, even if he said he preferred the Yankees. I guess I'm making it my mission 1. explain baseball to every Galician/Spaniard I come across and 2. convert them into fans of my team. Similarly I will do the same with Os Heredeiros when I am back in the USA.

Anyways, I'm still convinced my school is the best in Galicia. Today a teacher used his free block to help me plan some routes along the Galician coast, and noteworthy places in the interior. Perfect timing, because at the end of Semana Santa (next week) my friend is coming and we're renting a car to explore Galicia! Aside from this kindness, the director lent me a movie without me even asking, and my coordinator is always willing to hear my silly weekend stories. Or there's my favorite non-English teacher who always tries to converse with me about something interesting.

Some funny EFL moments:
In a game the students had to negate the word, ie perfect-->imperfect, happy-->unhappy. At one point I asked "Whose turn is it?" and the kid said "Inhuseturn..." Good effort! We all spent the next few minutes laughing with him.

They had to translate morir (to die). One student (at least 12-years-old) was convinced it was rip, because he'd seen it on tombstones before. But as far as I know, on Spanish tombstones if they put DEP (descanse en paz) it doesn't mean die.

Me: What's the name of a place you sleep at on vacation/holiday?
Students: Hospital
Umm...I hope not!

Adventure Weekend!

SATURDAY:

Despite the fact that it's mid-March, we went white water rafting. There were 9 of us in 2 rafts, each with a guide. I was the only female in our raft, and although I don't look like it, I'm quite a professional rower. Or at least I pull my own weight. While we waited on the shore to board, some looneys (almost all) decided to jump in and test the water. Unsurprisingly, they all gasped/screamed/shivered at the coldness. Later, a few minutes after rafting, everyone decided to take a dip. This time I caved...but did only once because it was FREEZING. Even wearing a full wetsuit, I was cold. Not to mention I needed a boost to get back into the raft from the water haha.

The rapids themselves were not as intense as I expected. They were certainly fun though.Our guide said that they got increasingly more dangerous, but I didn't find them to be overwhelming. We did get stuck on one, and the front two guys had to push off the rock with their paddles to send us back into the flow. Luckily I wasn't up front, or I bet we would still be stuck on the side. Overall I would repeat the experience, but when the weather is warmer, por favor!

SUNDAY:
My friend and I joined up with a Galician hiking group to hike the mountains in (relatively) nearby O Courel. It was beautiful even with no leaves on the trees, so I can only imagine that with buds blooming or leaves changing it looks marvelous. I haven't hiked in months, so starting off the day uphill at a pretty quick pace was rough for me. I prefer stroll-hiking at a leisurely pace, however I maintained a place in the middle of the group. As we neared the peak of the mini-mountain, we were met with increasing amounts of...snow! Hooray! I've missed snow. It was a weird sensation walking in foot-deep hardened snow while wearing only a long-sleeve shirt and vest. During the descent in the sun, even less layering was required.

We spent 6 hours on the hike, and 12 hours out of the house. That's because after resting at the end of the trail, the majority of the group went to O Cebreiro, the first Galician town on the Camino de Santiago and now a definite tourist stop thanks to it's quaint buildings, with straw roofs in some cases.

A Coruña

Saturday we took advantage of the warm temperatures and sunshine with a trip to coastal A Coruña. It was my third trip, technically speaking-- 1st time just passing through and getting lost on a bus, trying to reach Lugo, 2nd time an 8-hour stint in A Coruña's enormous mall-- but first for actually seeing the city. It's such a contrast to Lugo, with an actual city feeling and OCEAN! Man, San Sebastián spoiled me with its perfect playas, but A Coruña is also nice. 

The Park of the Tower of Hercules was really nice. The tower was built by Romans as a lighthouse, and later they put a massive compass below it (Rosa de los Vientos) with symbols and names of all the Celtic nations. Cool! But apart from this main attraction, the park boasts a nice trail along the coast: lovely place to stroll. 

Tower of Hercules in the background

Compass of Celtic Nations

Lugo is alive again

Breaking News: The sun has been spotted in Galicia! For an extended period of time-- we're talking almost the entire day! And the weekend's forecast is also looking delightful. Hoping to take advantage with a visit the sea. The sun is really changing the Lugo vibe; it nearly feels like when we arrived in September/October. Today the plaza was full of people-- couples strolling, kids running, old folks huddled on benches, people feeding birds. One of which pooped on me (a bird, that is). Not so bad, because then I got to ask someone for a tissue. Woohoo! I don't mind having crummy weather, because it makes you appreciate the good stuff. Goodbye for a while, fog. Spring and summer are upon us!

The Foggy Muralla Romana de Lugo hace un mes

Entroido (Carnaval)

In Galicia and other parts of Spain/Europe/the World, Carnaval is well underway. Traditionally a time for people to act wild and out-of-character before the somber 40 days of lent, it's now just a time to dress up and have fun.

On Friday we celebrated Carnaval in school. A group of the teachers dressed up as tourists, and I was their tourguide. I've dressed as a tourist before, but this time it was impressive since I didn't have access to my parents' wardrobe. However some of the teachers really went all out to pull off the look. Aside from the teachers, I would say 1/2 or less of the students were dressed up. Disappointing. There were mimes, zombies, guerrillas, a monk, and Minnie Mouses. After the costume contest there was a dessert contest, with chaos reigning around the table filled with delectables. Then everyone went outside to witness the burning in effigy of Sr. Minister Wert, a man loathed by students of all ages for his drastic cutbacks in Spanish education. The school day ended in kids karaoke-ing to classic Galician songs. Cool.

The teachers had a traditional Entroido meal-- cocido, which includes garbanzo beans, steamed cabbage/other greens, pork shoulder, chorizo, steamed potatoes, and other types of meat I ate without knowing the body part (it was better this way, trust me). For dessert we had apple empanada, and the typical Carnaval "orejas", fried dough folded to look like pig ears, and topped with sugar and/or cinnamon. We probably could've rolled out of there, so much food!

 Saturday was a friend's birthday, and an important night for going out Entroido-style. There was an attempted surprise party, but apparently this group has yet to pull off a true surprise party. Anyways, our theme was Noah's Ark, appropriate because of the incessant rain in Lugo this year. We even made a boat out of cardboard, and walked around places in formation. Which reminds me...there was another group dressed as Amish people, and they walked around under a barn roof hahah. Our ark included: a tiger, penguin, rooster, monkey, octopus, turtle, koala, cow, Waldo, and of course the old man Noah himself. Miraculously, it barely rained at night. Tonight we return to the streets in more costumes, because tomorrow nobody works. Happy Carnaval! Bo Entroido!