Mountains Beyond Mountains (In The North Of Spain)

Posted by Emily

After Barcelona, it was a trip up to the north of Spain to a little town called San Sebastian. It is a BEAUTIFUL seaside town with a white sand beach, some fun rocks near the water to climb on, lots and lots of GREEN and hills to climb that offered lovely views.

I've decided that I really like the smaller towns of Spain because it's easier to walk around and enjoy the city without feeling any hustle. It's also much easier to get a feel for the people and life there. Since San Sebastian is such a small town, we did a lot of one of the only things there is to do: walk around. The first afternoon was warm and sunny so we spent a lot of time walking on the beach and climbing across the nearby rocks before the tide forced us to retreat. That evening we wandered to the different little bars (that Nicki mentioned) and tried all of their tapas buffets. Very good idea and it was very fun to try all the different little creations. You never quite know what you are going to get!!

The second day was a bit cloudy in the morning and rainy in the afternoon. Luckily, we got our hike to the top of one of the large hills out of the way in the morning. Nothing too exciting to repost on that matter other than the fact that it was nice to out of the city and walking through a green forest type area. When we got to the top there was the lovely view of the city and surrounding hills of course. The afternoon consisted of me getting a wierd sort of sick that seemed like an allergic reaction, although I am not allergic to anything that I know of. There was a large storm at the same time so I didn't miss too much while I was knocked out from the Benadryl I took.

The next day we took off for what Alex described as the "small mountain town" of Oviedo. We had to take two buses to get there and transferred in the town of Bilbao and had 3 hours ro kill before our next bus left. We miracously were able to fit our packs in the lockers at the bus station so stored them there while we walked around the city, most significantly known for the Guggenheim Museum that is there. The structure was designed by the same guy who did the Weisman Art Museum on the U of M campus, so think large, flat stainless steel curves that were probably meant to represent something but the idea is lost on most because of the incredibly abstract design. Nonetheless, it was very impressive and interesting to see.

Then the bus ride to Oviedo and the discovery that it was not the city that Alex through it was. Instead of the small mountain town that we were expecting, we got a city with a population of about 200,000 and too many 14 year olds in short short skirts! It was quite a strange place and we made the decision to leave the next day for a smaller town nearby called Cangas de Onís. This turned out the be EXACTLY the kind of place that we were looking for.

Cangas de Onís IS a sleepy little town surrounded by mountains. To take advantage of this, we took an afternoon bus to another little town nearby called Covadonga. Here we saw the basillica, not too extraordinary except for the fact that it is set right on the edge of a cliff with a stunning backdrop of mountains. After seeing this, we wandered around a bit and found a mountain trail to hike up. And do I mean up!! We had intended to take a low difficulty trail, but since it was a bit difficult to tell where the signs were pointing to, I'm pretty sure that we took the most difficult route. Despite this, it paid off with a beautiful path up the mountain and the eventual discovery of a mountain stream, more fun rocks to climb on and a lovely meadow. So so beautiful. I think it would not be hard for me to live in the mountains and explore!

The next day we spent the afternoon canyoning, which is quite the experience! Everyone starts by suiting up in a full wetsuit (booties, body suit and very tight jacket), rock climbing harness and helemt. And the fun has just begun!! Canyoning is pretty much a combination of wading through rapids, slip 'n' sliding down rocks, jumping off little cliffs into pools of water (don't worry, it's deep water!) and repelling down cliff/waterfalls. SO amazing and SO SO fun. Another thing that I wouldn't mind spending a lot of time doing, that's for sure' Plus, who doesn't love wearing a wet suit??

Then it was off to Toledo, the city where Alex and Nicki both stidied abroad, although during different years. Nicki was there while I was in Senegal and it was strange to see the different worlds that we were existing in! Toldeo is a very old city and, if I am not mistaken, was built in a very confusinf manner to confuse troops if they ever tried to invade. The old city is walled and basically consists of windy cobblestone streets. There are maps but i don't know why people bother because they would be very difficult to follow! I was very lucky to have two very good tour guides so I dod't need to bother with finding my own way.

Again, we spent a lot of time just walking around, seeing a few of the sights, taking the tourist train that is super cheesy but that Nicki loves, and I have to admit, was fun and a very good way to see the city. We ate at all of Nicki's favorite restaurants and I got to hear a lot of remeniscing (?) about the study abroad days. I also learned how to easily identify American girls: spaghetti strap tank tops and sandals. Funny how no one else seems to wear sandals.....

I really enjoyed my time in Toledo and in Spain in general. Yesterday morning I got up at the BEAUTIFUL hour of 5 am to take a train to Madrid, a crowded Metro to the airport (which, by the way is VERY confusing...the airport, not the Metro), a plaine to Budapest and a shuttle from the airport to my hotel in Budapest. And then I took a nap. Wow, lots of transport!!