The Trip To Extremadura - Part 2

Sorry for not posting in awhile! Since we're nearing the end of the semester there have been a lot of things to do. Here's the second half of my trip to Extremadura, and I figured out to delete the photos of previous posts! Now I can upload new photos and not leave you wondering what everything looked like. I do not have many photos for this entry, but I've asked a friends who does if he can lend me his. When/If he gives me his photos I'll update this entry. Enjoy!

We had free time until dinner (9 pm), so the same three friends and I walked around. Nate wanted to climb a nearby hill, so we did. It was totally worth it! The view was breathtaking. We were in a field full of small yellow flowers and there were three brown horses grazing in front of us. Beyond the field the city and more fields stretched out to the horizon with the mountains rising up at the edge. We found a large rock to sit on and rested for awhile, taking in the beautiful sight. Álvaro had told us that if we wanted to, we could go with him at 4 pm to see a church on the top of a hill. This hill was next to the hill that my friends and I had just climbed. It was a little past 3 pm and we didn't want to have to walk back down the hill to only walk up another one, so Kaitlyn, Sydney, and I decided to cut across our hill to the other one. Nate didn't want to go so he stayed behind in the field. The hike up the hill was harder than we expected. We got quite a workout and were tired and thirsty, but the view made up for the climb. It was spectacular! The clouds seemed closer to us and the sunlight streamed through the white puffiness. The church hadn't opened yet, so we found a small restaurant nearby to buy some much-needed refreshments. Afterwards we climbed some large rocks to see the view better, and it was just amazing. A little after 4 we entered the church, which was smaller than others we had seen but just as beautiful. There were three little naves with their own statues and paintings and with the candlelight it was wonderful to see. On our way down we passed the group and I could tell that the climb for them was also hard. When we arrived in the outskirts of Cáceres, Kaitlyn wanted to explore some more, so we split up. Sydney and I returned to the hotel and then went to the Central Plaza (la Plaza Mayor) where we sat and wrote a little in our journals for English. Soon we heard some music so we went to see what it was, and a huge speaker had been set up and was blasting music in the Plaza. We sat there for awhile, writing more and enjoying the tranquility of the place. We started to hear shouting and horns, and a large group of people with flags, banners, and horns were marching toward the Plaza. They were on strike against the economy. Álvaro had told us that morning that there would be strikes that day. Sydney and I decided to move somewhere else so that we weren't in danger. I returned to the hotel, but she walked around some more. 

Up on the hill!

Horses!

Amazing view.

Kaitlyn, Sydney, and I climbing the hill.

The statue of Jesus with a cool view of the sun.

Another amazing view.

On Thursday we left Cáceres, which was a bit sad for me, and headed towards the city of Guadalupe where we would spend the night. First though we stopped at the National Park of Monfragüe. We watched a small video about it. The Park was founded in 1979 and helps to protect a lot of birds. Only a small part can be visited. We stayed there for about half an hour. We got to see the Tajo River which runs through the park. 

The sign of the park. Phoebe.

Phoebe, Ella, Lisa, Gabby, and Jasper.

Meg, Sara, and Jordan with the Tajo River in the background.

After the Park we visited another monastery. It was located on top of a hill which we had to climb. It was hard work and took at least half and hour I'd say. Once at the monastery we climbed a tower and ate a picnic lunch there. The view was amazing once again. It was also quite windy and we saw some big birds, maybe eagles. We stayed there for about an hour.

April and Will

On top of the castle looking down.

We arrived in Guadalupe around 5 pm and were assigned our new rooms and roommates. The hotel we stayed in was connected to the Monastery of Guadalupe. After everyone got settled, we toured the Monastery. One room was full of the clothes the priests had worn. Each garment looked very heavy and itchy. Another room was full of big books that each weighed between 50-80 kilos, which is about 110-176 lbs. They were all written by hand, which is very impressive. Other rooms we saw were all decorated with very intricate designs. I wonder how long all the decorations took. After the tour we had about three hours of free time before dinner, but since I was quite tired I stayed in my room, watching some TV. 

Part of the monastery. Michelle.

On Friday we left Guadalupe early, around 9:15 am. I was sad that we were leaving Extremadura. I had had a great four days seeing and learning about the community and I didn't want to leave it. We rode on the bus for about three hours to Madrid. We had about two hours of free time to have lunch and explore a little. Sydney, Kaitlyn, Jordan, and I formed a little group. They really wanted to find a Starbucks, so we did. It was a few minutes walk away from the station. On the windows people had written "anti-capitalist" and put stickers. Inside it was very nice. We put our bags down and they ordered while I watched over our things. The shop was playing American Christmas music which made us all miss the US. We sat for about 20 minutes and then visited the Reina Sofía Museum right next to us. The school had given us at the beginning of the year special ID cards called Carnet Joven which are for students in Europe. They can be used for getting special discounts in stores and other places. We used them in the museum and were able to enter for free! We rode in the glass elevator up to the fourth floor, which was very cool because we could see ourselves rising. Once on the fourth floor we looked around a bit, not really knowing what to expect. Some things were a bit creepy, like a video of flashing white human statues and a display of damaged baby dolls lying in a pile of sand. We really wanted to find Picasso, which was on the second floor. I never thought that I would actually be able to see an authentic Picasso painting in person. It filled me wih wonder. We were only able to look at them for about a minute. The one painting I looked at was of musical instruments. I liked it a lot. Afterwards we ate a quick lunch and at 3:30 pm we boarded El Ave to Zaragoza. 

That week was amazing, wonderful, fantastic. It was so much fun. I was with a great group of people and I came to know them better. It felt as if we were the only people in SYA Spain. This year was the first time they went to Extremadura for one of the five-day trips. I hope they continue going there. I thought the trip was a metaphor for the whole SYA experience. We stop what we usually do and take time to travel somewhere new, doing and learning new things. Then at the end we return to what we did before, though initially it will probably feel different because we've changed along the way. I'm very glad that I was chosen to go to Extremadura. I loved all of it.