España: Esto No Es La Vida Real: A Whole New Meaning to Bottoms Up -Extremadura, Spain

So sorry that these blog updates are becoming less and less frequent. I have just been so busy with midterms just wrapping up, traveling on the weekends and trying to get ahead on my work load here. I am in the middle of what will perhaps be the busy week of the semester for me. I just got back from a weekend trip to the west of Spain and am currently trying to prepare for a weekend trip to Barcelona this weekend. On top of all of this traveling, I of course have school work to do. This week I am lucky enough to have to to a 10 minute presentation about the importance of honey in Spanish cuisine and in my Arab class I have a presentation on how tourism has been affected by the recent Arab uprising. It is extremely interesting to me since I am a tourism major, however planning adventures around Europe is much more thrilling then a 10 page paper due on the day I get back from Barcelona. So being the good student that I am, I am trying to do this all before I leave as well as doing last minute preparations for my semana santa trip next week to Copenhagen, Budapest and Capri! I find myself resorting back to my favorite activity, list making, and updating my blog is one thing I can now check off!

Ok so I had such an unreal weekend. This was our last API excursion as a group so it was bittersweet. When we first got a list of all the places we would be going, I had absolutely no idea what Extremadura was. Later finding out that it entailed a 10 mile hike in the mountain, made me all sorts of hesitant. I am so glad I decided to tough it out and go. It was truly a once in a life time experience. We boarded our little bus as 815 and headed off for a three hour ride to the first town called Merida. This was a gorgeous little town with incredible Roman ruins scattered throughout the city. We would be walking down the street and then just stumble upon an amphitheater or Roman columns. After two hours frolicking in the ruins, we headed off to our final destination for the night, a town called Trujillo. We found out we would be staying in a 15th century palace which was beyond thrilling to me. Being a hospitality major, I get all sorts of excited seeing how different hotels operate. After we checked into our palace, we explored the city and stumbled upon an ancient castle. We climbed to the top and had some of the most beautiful landscapes you would have ever seen. It was like a mix of being in Ireland with all the rolling greens and Italy with the small villages tucked into the hills near castles. It was truly spectacular. For dinner, we happened to be in town during the annual medieval festival. So kebabs, sangria and delicious pastry for dinner it was! After dinner, we went to this great discopub we heard great reviews for. The only down side was we literally opened the bar since we had gotten there so early. But the bartenders were awesome and the deck had great views of the castle we had just recently climbed. We called it a night early since we had a 10 miles hike ahead of us the next day!

We awoke early the next morning, grabbed our sneakers and sunblock and hoped for the best. I was slightly hesitant for a 10 miles hike but there was no turning back now. We arrived to the hike site and all of API joined in on some group stretching before we embarked. The first two hours were so far so good. Nothing too treacherous but we knew some kids who had gone the week before and they said it got intense real fast. Yeah they were lying. Kepa, our leader tempted us with lunch, but didnt warn us we would literally be scaling a mountain for 45 minutes, balancing on sheer rubble. When we reached the pinnacle, we were treated so some of the most beautiful landscapes ever. Mountains converging, rivers with valleys in them and cities off far in the distance. Pictures can honestly not do it justice. Walking down the mountain after lunch was almost worse than climbing up it. But I somehow managed to survive without rolling down the mountain so that was a success in itself. I can now say I have literally walked from one city to the next! After our hike we arrived at an 11th century monastery which would serve as our hotel for the night. I do not think I have been surrounded by so much history in a hotel in my life. It was mind blowing to think what had gone on in this building over the past 1000 years! We decided to celebrate our victory in the hike that night with a little karaoke at the local bar, however apparently they didnt do it on Saturday night so we learned a little salsa dancing instead. All in all it was an amazing weekend and am so glad I didnt ditch to stay in Sevilla!

But I have so much to look forward to. This weekend is Barcelona! I am staying with my friend Lily from UMass and just recently found out that Bettina, one of my roommates from Amherst, is making a spontaneous trip to Espana this weekend! I cannot wait! But I need to run off and stop procrastinating about my homework! Muchisimos besitios!